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5 classic television actresses that starred in films with Elvis Presley
These women were gracing television and film screens worldwide, from Carolyn Jones to Donna Douglas.
(L to R) Distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), F & J Pictures Distribution Company, Paramount Pictures
There are not a lot of classic television actresses that can say they starred in films alongside music icon Elvis Presley. Yet the ones who can are women with a long history of excelling in every role they play. Not only were they extremely talented, but these women also had their own spotlight despite being in a film where the main character (Elvis) caught the attention of everyone in a room.
Here are five actresses that can be seen catching the eye of Elvis in films and on our television screens in classic shows.
Check out some cool Elvis merch in the MeTV Mall!
1. Judy Tyler - "Jailhouse Rock" and "Perry Mason"
Distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
Original film release year: 1957
Although Tyler lived a short life, she gained significant success in film and television productions. Two of her most known roles are Peggy Van Alden in Jailhouse Rock with Elvis Presley and Irene Kilby in the Perry Mason episode "The Case of The Fan Dancer's Horse."
Her characters in both productions were similar, both in the entertainment industry. In Jailhouse Rock, she helped Vince Everett, played by Presley, get into the music business. In "The Case of the Fan Dancer's Horse," she was a dancer who also went by Cherie Chi-Chi.
She passed away three days after filming the movie in 1957, and Presley refused to watch it.
2. Carolyn Jones - "King Creole" and "The Addams Family"
Distributed by Paramount Pictures
Original film release year: 1958
The Addams Family wouldn't be complete without Queen Morticia Addams, played by Carolyn Jones. Yet, did you know she starred in King Creole as Ronnie, the woman Danny Fisher (Elvis) saves from an abusive date? This movie has a love triangle because Jones' character was also the girlfriend of a guy named Maxie.
In the plot, after saving Ronnie, Danny gets into a brawl with one of his classmates and has to drop out of school. After that, he joins a gang, and a lot happens.
Jones' role as Ronnie is entirely different than Morticia Addams. Ronnie is, for the most part, a young woman in a lot of drama, and Morticia is happily married and has a not-so-normal family.
3. Juliet Prowse - "G.I. Blue" and "The Love Boat"
Distributed by Paramount Pictures
Original film release year: 1960
What happens when a U.S. Army specialist places a bet with his friends that he could spend the night with the most sought-after dancer in town? Juliet Prowse played Lili in G.I. Blues, and the dancer Tulsa McLean (Elvis) is trying to make his. With Tulsa's charm, in the end, he wins her heart.
Although she was the star in this film, Prowse graced television screens worldwide with her appearances on The Love Boat as Samantha Bricker, Murder, She Wrote as Valerie Bechet, and as a guest performer on The Carol Burnett Show in London in 1970.
4. Joan Blackman - "Blue Hawaii" and "Perry Mason"
Distributed by Paramount Pictures
Original film release year: 1961
After Chad (Elvis) is released from the army, he comes back home to Hawaii and starts giving tours with his girlfriend Maile, played by Joan Blackman. However, there's a lot of drama in Blue Hawaii when the two decide to give a tour to a teacher and four teenage girls.
Blackman's character is young and full of life, but she becomes jealous when the tourists pay too much attention to Chad.
The actress is mainly known for her film roles, but she can be seen guest starring in popular classic television shows, often like Perry Mason's episode "The Case of the Ruinous Road," Bonanza and Gunsmoke.
5. Donna Douglas - "Frankie and Johnny" and "The Beverly Hillbillies"
Distributed by F & J Pictures Distribution Company
Original film release year: 1966
Donna Douglas was born to be a star, and her career's success proved it. She's mostly known for her role as Elly May Clampett on The Beverly Hillbillies, but she also got to star alongside Elvis Presley in Frankie and Johnny. In the film, she plays Johnny's girlfriend, who is in for an adventure when he decides to find his lucky redhead woman.
Douglas had to take a break from The Beverly Hillbillies to accept this role, and as soon as filming was finished, she returned to being Elly May.
SEE MORE: Donna Douglas took a break from The Beverly Hillbillies to star in a film with Elvis Presley
The actress snagged the role of Frankie in the 1966 film "Frankie and Johnny."
30 Comments
But there is one interesting fact is that on Perry Mason's "The Case of the Fan Dancer's Horse," she and Susan Cummings look exactly alike, so amazing.
It took me two weeks to finally register in the new system. Something's wrong at MeTV.
And, if Prowse made the list, Ann Margaret certainly should have, Bob Hope Specials and Flintstones
According to Wikipedia:
"After filming Jailhouse Rock, Tyler and her second husband, Gregory Lafayette (born Earl Gregory Nisonger Jr.), began driving home to New York from Hollywood. While driving through Wyoming on July 3, 1957, they were involved in an automobile accident on U.S. Route 287 near Rock River. Tyler was killed instantly, aged 24, and Lafayette died the next day, also aged 24. The Casper Morning Star reported the passenger killed in the oncoming car, driven by Paul Reed, was Don D. Jones, 23, of Hanna, Wyoming. Police said Lafayette swerved to avoid hitting a car that was towing a trailer and collided with the other vehicle involved in the crash. Reporter Ted Smith wrote in The Commercial Appeal that the trailer-towing car was returning to the highway after leaving a tourist shop."