Vikki Dougan (born Edith Tooker,
January 1, 1929) is an American former model and actress.
Early Years
Dougan was born in Brooklyn.
Her mother was a librarian and her father was an insurance salesman.
Her father left the family when Dougan was 6 months old.
Dougan began modeling at age eleven. She had a successful career in modeling before gaining her first movie role in ''
Back from Eternity
''Back from Eternity'' is a 1956 American drama film about a planeload of people stranded in the South American jungle and subsequently menaced by headhunters. The film stars Robert Ryan, Rod Steiger, Anita Ekberg and Gene Barry. The film is a r ...
'' as an uncredited showgirl. She gained small parts in another nine movies.
Dougan won multiple beauty pageants, including the Miss Coney Island pageant and the eighth annual New York Skate Queen contest.
She began modeling as a teenager, changing her name to Vikki after the actress
Vickie Lester
Vicky, Vicko,
Vick, Vickie or Vicki is a feminine given name, often a hypocorism of Victoria. The feminine name Vicky in Greece comes from the name Vasiliki.
Women
* Family nickname of Victoria, Princess Royal (1840–1901), wife of German ...
and Dougan after her mother’s maiden name.
Career
In 1956, publicity-man Milton Weiss had the idea of promoting Vikki using a backless dress to garner publicity. The idea was to gain a contrast with the fashion for models and actresses with large bosoms, such as
Jayne Mansfield
Jayne Mansfield (born Vera Jayne Palmer; April 19, 1933 – June 29, 1967) was an American actress, singer, nightclub entertainer, and ''Playboy'' Playmate. A sex symbol of the 1950s and early 1960s while under contract at 20th Century Fox, Man ...
.
In 1953, photographer Ralph Crane photographed Dougan for
''Life'' magazine, and their October 26 edition featured Dougan on the cover.
In June 1957, Dougan appeared in the (Vol. 4, Issue 6) edition of ''
Playboy
''Playboy'' is an American men's Lifestyle magazine, 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 H ...
'' magazine. Dougan featured again in the December 1962 issue, under the section "Playboy's Other Girlfriends".
In 1960, Dougan married Jim R. Sweeney, an ex-football player from
Texas Christian University
Texas Christian University (TCU) is a private research university in Fort Worth, Texas. It was established in 1873 by brothers Addison and Randolph Clark as the Add-Ran Male & Female College. It is affiliated with the Christian Church (Discipl ...
.
The marriage was short lived.
In 1961, her backless dresses and "callipygian cleft" were celebrated in the song "Vikki Dougan" by
The Limeliters in their album ''
The Slightly Fabulous Limeliters''.
In January 1964, ''
Cavalier
The term Cavalier () was first used by Roundheads as a term of abuse for the wealthier royalist supporters of King Charles I and his son Charles II of England during the English Civil War, the Interregnum, and the Restoration (1642 – ). ...
'' magazine featured twelve nude photographs of Vikki Dougan in a pictorial entitled "The Back is Back". Dougan brought a lawsuit against the magazine, stating that the magazine did not have permission to publish them. The photographs had been posed for ''Playboy'' but Dougan had subsequently declined to let ''Playboy'' publish the photographs.
Personal Life
Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, she dated a string of prominent
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)
* Hollywoo ...
men, including
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the " Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular entertainers of the 1940s, 1950s, and ...
and
Glenn Ford
Gwyllyn Samuel Newton "Glenn" Ford (May 1, 1916 – August 30, 2006) was a Canadian-American actor who often portrayed ordinary men in unusual circumstances. Ford was most prominent during Hollywood's Golden Age as one of the biggest box-offi ...
.
[
] She was lifelong friends with
Sandra Giles
Sandra Giles, born Lelia Bernice Giles, (July 24, 1932 – December 25, 2016) was an American actress and model. She was best known for her film debut role in '' Daddy-O'' in 1958, as well numerous other film roles, including ''It Happened at the ...
and
Gloria Pall
Gloria Pall (born Gloria Pallatz; July 15, 1927 – December 30, 2012) was an American model, showgirl, actress, author and businesswoman.
Biography
Gloria Pallatz was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1927. During World War II, she worked as an ...
.
She lives in Beverly Hills, California. She regularly attends the Los Angeles Jewish Film Festival and recently did interviews with ''Hollywood Exclusive'', ''The New York Times'', and ''
Classic Images''.
See also
*
List of people in Playboy 1953-1959
References
External links
*
Vikki Dougan at Glamour Girls of the Silver Screen Kitch-slapped "Looking back at Vikki 'the back' Dougan - A biography"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dougan, Vikki
1929 births
Glamour models
Living people
1950s Playboy Playmates