Mara Corday
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Mara Corday (born Marilyn Joan Watts; January 3, 1930) is an American
showgirl A showgirl is a female dancer or performer in a stage entertainment show intended to showcase the performer's physical attributes, typically by way of revealing clothing, toplessness, or nudity. History Showgirls date back to the late 180 ...
,
model A model is an informative representation of an object, person or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin ''modulus'', a measure. Models c ...
,
actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a Character (arts), character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek ...
, ''
Playboy ''Playboy'' is an American men's lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. K ...
''
Playmate A Playmate is a female model featured in the centerfold/gatefold of ''Playboy'' magazine as Playmate of the Month (PMOTM). The PMOTM's pictorial includes nude photographs and a centerfold poster, along with a pictorial biography and the "Playm ...
, and 1950s
cult figure A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic. A ...
.


Early life

Corday was born in
Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...
. Wanting a career in films, she came to
Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...
while still in her teens and found work as a
showgirl A showgirl is a female dancer or performer in a stage entertainment show intended to showcase the performer's physical attributes, typically by way of revealing clothing, toplessness, or nudity. History Showgirls date back to the late 180 ...
at the
Earl Carroll Theatre The Earl Carroll Theatre was a Broadway theatre at 753 Seventh Avenue near 50th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Built by impresario Earl Carroll and designed by architect George Keister, it opened on Febr ...
on
Sunset Boulevard Sunset Boulevard is a boulevard in the central and western part of Los Angeles, California, that stretches from the Pacific Coast Highway in Pacific Palisades east to Figueroa Street in Downtown Los Angeles. It is a major thoroughfare in t ...
. Her physical beauty brought jobs as a photographer's
model A model is an informative representation of an object, person or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin ''modulus'', a measure. Models c ...
that led to a bit part as a showgirl in the 1951 film '' Two Tickets to Broadway''.


Dancing

One of Corday's first professional jobs was as a dancer in the '' Earl Carroll Revue'' in Hollywood. Accompanied by her mother, Corday auditioned when she was 15 years old. During the 2½ years that she was in the show, she advanced "from showgirl to actress in the sketches". This was also when she adopted the stage name Mara Corday, because it made her seem more exotic. The name Mara came from a bongo player who called her Marita when Corday was working as an usher at the Mayan Theater; the name Corday was lifted from a bottle of perfume.


Film

Corday signed with
Universal-International Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...
(UI) as a contract player, where she was given small roles in various
B-movie A B movie or B film is a low-budget commercial motion picture. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified films intended for distribution as the less-publicized bottom half of a double featur ...
s and television series. In 1954, while on the set of ''
Playgirl ''Playgirl'' was an American magazine that featured general interest articles, lifestyle and celebrity news, in addition to nude or semi-nude men. In the 1970s and 1980s, the magazine printed monthly and was marketed mainly to women, although i ...
'', she met actor and future husband Richard Long. Her acting roles were small until 1955, when she was cast opposite
John Agar John George Agar Jr. (January 31, 1921 – April 7, 2002) was an American film and television actor. He is best known for starring alongside John Wayne in the films ''Sands of Iwo Jima'', '' Fort Apache'', and '' She Wore a Yellow Ribbon''. In h ...
and
Leo G. Carroll Leo Gratten Carroll (25 October 1886 – 16 October 1972) was an English actor. In a career of more than forty years, he appeared in six Hitchcock films including ''Spellbound'', '' Strangers on a Train'' and ''North by Northwest'' and in thre ...
in the successful
science-fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel univers ...
film ''
Tarantula Tarantulas comprise a group of large and often hairy spiders of the family Theraphosidae. , 1,040 species have been identified, with 156 genera. The term "tarantula" is usually used to describe members of the family Theraphosidae, although ...
'', which has
Clint Eastwood Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western TV series '' Rawhide'', he rose to international fame with his role as the "Man with No Name" in Sergio Leone's "''Doll ...
in a very brief role as a
jet fighter Fighter aircraft are fixed-wing aircraft, fixed-wing military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat. In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air supremacy, air superiority of the battlespace. Domination o ...
pilot. She had two other co-starring roles in the genre, '' The Black Scorpion'' and ''
The Giant Claw ''The Giant Claw'' is a 1957 American monster film from Columbia Pictures, produced by Sam Katzman, directed by Fred F. Sears, that stars Jeff Morrow and Mara Corday. Both Sears and Katzman were well known as low-budget B film genre filmmakers. ...
'' (both 1957), as well as in a number of
Western film The Western is a genre set in the American frontier and commonly associated with folk tales of the Western United States, particularly the Southwestern United States, as well as Northern Mexico and Western Canada. It is commonly referred ...
s, including ''
Man Without a Star ''Man Without a Star'' is a 1955 American Western film directed by King Vidor and starring Kirk Douglas, Jeanne Crain, Claire Trevor and William Campbell. It was based on the novel of the same name, published in 1952, by Dee Linford (1915–19 ...
'' and ''
Raw Edge ''Raw Edge'' is a 1956 American Western film directed by John Sherwood starring Rory Calhoun, Yvonne de Carlo, Mara Corday. It marked the movie debut of John Gavin under the name "John Gilmore". Plot In 1842, before law and order has come ...
''.
Film critic Film criticism is the analysis and evaluation of films and the film medium. In general, film criticism can be divided into two categories: journalistic criticism that appears regularly in newspapers, magazines and other popular mass-media outlets ...
Leonard Maltin Leonard Michael Maltin (born December 18, 1950) is an American film critic and film historian, as well as an author of several mainstream books on cinema, focusing on nostalgic, celebratory narratives. He is perhaps best known for his book of fil ...
said Corday had "more acting ability than she was permitted to exhibit". A few years after her husband's death in 1974, Corday's old friend Eastwood offered her a chance to return to films with a role in his 1977 film '' The Gauntlet''. She also had a brief but significant role in '' Sudden Impact'' (1983), where she played the waitress who dumped sugar into the coffee of Det. Harry Callahan in that film's iconic " Go ahead, make my day" sequence. She acted with Eastwood again in his 1989 film '' Pink Cadillac'', as well as in her last film, 1990's '' The Rookie''.


Modeling

Corday appeared as a
pinup girl A pin-up model (known as a pin-up girl for a female and less commonly male pin-up for a male) is a model whose mass-produced pictures see widespread appeal as part of popular culture. Pin-up models were variously glamour models, fashion models ...
in numerous men's magazines during the 1950s and was the
Playmate A Playmate is a female model featured in the centerfold/gatefold of ''Playboy'' magazine as Playmate of the Month (PMOTM). The PMOTM's pictorial includes nude photographs and a centerfold poster, along with a pictorial biography and the "Playm ...
of the October 1958 issue of ''
Playboy ''Playboy'' is an American men's lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. K ...
'', along with model Pat Sheehan.


Television

In 1956, Corday had a recurring role in the
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...
television series '' Combat Sergeant''. From 1959 to early 1961, Corday worked exclusively doing guest spots on various television series, such as Peter Gunn in the episode, “Keep Smiling”. She also guest starred with Steve McQueen in '' Wanted: Dead or Alive'' in April 1960.


Personal life

Following the 1955 death of Suzan Ball, the first wife of actor Richard Long, Corday began dating Long, and they married in 1957. Through Long's sister Barbara, Corday was a sister-in-law of actor
Marshall Thompson James Marshall Thompson (November 27, 1925 – May 18, 1992) was an American film and television actor. Early years Thompson was born in Peoria, Illinois. He and his parents, Dr. and Mrs. Laurence B. Thompson, moved to California when he was a ...
. In the early 1960s, Corday gave up her career to devote herself to raising a family. Widowed in 1974, she had three children with Long during their 17-year marriage: Valerie, Carey, and Gregory. Corday has also been a lifelong friend of actor Clint Eastwood, whom she met while working for
Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...
.


Partial filmography

* '' Two Tickets to Broadway'' (1951) - Showgirl / Passerby on Sidewalk (uncredited) * ''
Sea Tiger The Sea Tigers (Tamil: கடற்புலிகள் ''Kaţaṛpulikaḷ'') was the naval wing of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam during the Sri Lankan Civil War. It was founded in 1984. The Sea Tigers had a number of small but effectiv ...
'' (1952) - Lola, Hotel Proprietress * ''
Son of Ali Baba ''Son of Ali Baba'' is a 1952 American adventure film directed by Kurt Neumann and starring Tony Curtis and Piper Laurie. According to the film's trailer, it was made in response to thousands of letters in response to '' The Prince Who Was a ...
'' (1952) - Girl on Balcony (uncredited) * '' Toughest Man in Arizona'' (1952) - Bit Role (uncredited) * ''
The Lady Wants Mink ''The Lady Wants Mink'' is a 1953 American comedy film directed by William A. Seiter and written by Dane Lussier and Richard Alan Simmons. The film stars Dennis O'Keefe, Ruth Hussey, Eve Arden, William Demarest, Gene Lockhart and Hope Emerson. ...
'' (1953) - Model * '' Problem Girls'' (1953) - Dorothy Childers * ''
Tarzan and the She-Devil ''Tarzan and the She-Devil'' is a 1953 American film directed by Kurt Neumann and starring Lex Barker as Tarzan and Joyce MacKenzie as Jane. It also features Raymond Burr, Tom Conway and Monique van Vooren, who plays the "She-Devil." Tarzan is h ...
'' (1953) - Locopo Woman (uncredited) * '' Sweethearts on Parade'' (1953) - Belle * ''
Money from Home ''Money From Home'' is a 1953 American comedy film starring Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. The comedy was the first for the Martin and Lewis team to be shot in color and was their only film in 3-D. The picture was premiered as a special previe ...
'' (1953) - Waitress (uncredited) * '' Yankee Pasha'' (1954) - Harem Girl (uncredited) * ''
Playgirl ''Playgirl'' was an American magazine that featured general interest articles, lifestyle and celebrity news, in addition to nude or semi-nude men. In the 1970s and 1980s, the magazine printed monthly and was marketed mainly to women, although i ...
'' (1954) - Pam * ''
Drums Across the River ''Drums Across the River '' is a 1954 American Technicolor Western film directed by Nathan Juran and starring Audie Murphy, Walter Brennan and Lyle Bettger. Plot Gary Brannon, is a peaceful homesteader living a quiet existence with his father S ...
'' (1954) - Sue * ''
Francis Joins the WACS ''Francis Joins the WACS'' is a 1954 American black-and-white comedy film from Universal-International, produced by Ted Richmond, directed by Arthur Lubin and starring Donald O'Connor, Julie Adams, ZaSu Pitts, Mamie Van Doren and Chill Wills in t ...
'' (1954) - Kate * ''
Dawn at Socorro ''Dawn at Socorro'' is a 1954 American Western film directed by George Sherman and starring Rory Calhoun and Piper Laurie. It was produced and distributed by Universal Pictures. The film is set mostly in Lordsburg, New Mexico, and the spoken in ...
'' (1954) - Letty Diamond * '' So This Is Paris'' (1954) - Yvonne * ''
Man Without a Star ''Man Without a Star'' is a 1955 American Western film directed by King Vidor and starring Kirk Douglas, Jeanne Crain, Claire Trevor and William Campbell. It was based on the novel of the same name, published in 1952, by Dee Linford (1915–19 ...
'' (1955) - Moccasin Mary * ''
The Man from Bitter Ridge ''The Man from Bitter Ridge'' is a 1955 American Western film directed by Jack Arnold and starring Lex Barker, Mara Corday and Stephen McNally. Plot A stranger comes to the town of Tomahawk to investigate who is behind a series of stagecoach ...
'' (1955) - Holly Kenton * ''
Tarantula Tarantulas comprise a group of large and often hairy spiders of the family Theraphosidae. , 1,040 species have been identified, with 156 genera. The term "tarantula" is usually used to describe members of the family Theraphosidae, although ...
'' (1955) - Stephanie 'Steve' Clayton * ''
Foxfire Foxfire, also called fairy fire and chimpanzee fire, is the bioluminescence created by some species of fungi present in decaying wood. The bluish-green glow is attributed to a luciferase, an oxidative enzyme, which emits light as it reacts with ...
'' (1955) - Maria - Hugh Slater's Nurse * ''
Raw Edge ''Raw Edge'' is a 1956 American Western film directed by John Sherwood starring Rory Calhoun, Yvonne de Carlo, Mara Corday. It marked the movie debut of John Gavin under the name "John Gilmore". Plot In 1842, before law and order has come ...
'' (1956) - Paca * ''
A Day of Fury ''A Day of Fury'' is a 1956 American Western (genre), Western film directed by Harmon Jones and starring Dale Robertson, Mara Corday and Jock Mahoney. Plot A gunslinger named Jagade happens upon a stranger in trouble on the trail and saves his ...
'' (1956) - Sharman Fulton * ''
Naked Gun Nudity is the state of being in which a human is without clothing. The loss of body hair was one of the physical characteristics that marked the biological evolution of modern humans from their hominin ancestors. Adaptations related to ...
'' (1956) - Louisa Jackson / Morales * '' The Quiet Gun'' (1957) - Irene * ''
The Giant Claw ''The Giant Claw'' is a 1957 American monster film from Columbia Pictures, produced by Sam Katzman, directed by Fred F. Sears, that stars Jeff Morrow and Mara Corday. Both Sears and Katzman were well known as low-budget B film genre filmmakers. ...
'' (1957) - Sally Caldwell * '' Undersea Girl'' (1957) - Valerie Hudson * '' The Black Scorpion'' (1957) - Teresa Alvarez * ''
Girls on the Loose ''Girls on the Loose'' is a 1958 American crime film noir directed by Paul Henreid and starring Mara Corday, Lita Milan and Barbara Bostock. Plot Vera (Mara Corday) runs a nightclub that's really a front for her secret operation: an all-female ...
'' (1958) - Vera Parkinson * ''
The Restless Gun ''The Restless Gun'' is an American Western television series that appeared on NBC between 1957 and 1959, with John Payne in the role of Vint Bonner, a wandering cowboy in the era after the American Civil War. A skilled gunfighter, Bonner is an ...
'' (1959) Episode "Shadow of a Gunfighter" * '' The Gauntlet'' (1977) - Jail Matron * '' Sudden Impact'' (1983) - Loretta - Coffee Shop Waitress * '' Pink Cadillac'' (1989) - Stick Lady * '' The Rookie'' (1990) - Interrogator #2 (final film role)


See also

*
List of people in Playboy 1953–1959 This list of people in ''Playboy'' 1953–1959 is a catalog of women and men who appeared in ''Playboy'' magazine in the years 1953 through 1959. Not all of the people featured in the magazine are pictured in the nude. The entry in indicate ...


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Corday, Mara 1930 births Actresses from Santa Monica, California Female models from California American film actresses American television actresses Living people 1950s Playboy Playmates 21st-century American women