Does Stella Stevens do her own singing in her numbers? If so, she is absolutely fabulous! Especially on "The Nearness of You"!
share I wish i knew;
-she sounds like the singer and she fits the part LIKE a glove !
ps She is simply great in the "Nutty Professor"
pss Never understood why she wasn't a bigger star thru the years....
According to an article in Filmfax magazine a few years back her singing voice was dubbed, which was an insult because she can sing.
I had the pleasure of meeting Stella Stevens at a Chiller Theatre show and she told me she has never seen Girls! Girls! Girls! and she never will because they promised her a part in another film and didn't deliver on their promise.
I met her at Silver Dollar City around 2004 and she was so nice and down to earth. She had great stories about friends in the business, but no gossip, only positive things to say. I never thought to ask her about Elvis Presley, both were born in Mississippi about the same time, she may have had a story about him as well.
As beautiful and talented as she is, it seems she should have been one of Hollywood's biggest stars. As is, she has had a nice career and lived an interesting life. I would love to have an opportunity to visit with her again.
She had some great snappy lines in the movie. The singing voice was great.
shareShe's said in the past that she didn't want to be in the film and her performance shows it. She's nasty. She also said that Elvis wasn't an actor so that makes her a big zero to me. The only thing she'll ever be remembered for is The Nutty Professor anyway.
"No! That’s not true at all. Elvis takes fifty percent of everything I earn." Col. Parker
Her ego had gotten big from her own publicity. She had barely done one film and felt she was too good for an Elvis film. Ha Wallis was pissed at her from then on and Paramount built up Carroll Baker instead of Stella and dropped her at the end of her contract after loaning her out.
shareAccording to the book "Elvis Movies," Stevens tried to go on strike against the movie studio for better roles and tried to get Elvis to go along, since he was already disenchanted with the movies he was being given. However, according to the book, he refused to go along with Stevens because the movies had been a success. Afterwards, Stevens appeared to have been down and cold on Elvis, once saying after his death that he was on drugs or drunk for much of the movie.
I'm guessing she thought she and Elvis were kindred spirits: born roughly around the same time in Mississippi, both their families moved to Memphis and both attended schools there, although I believe I heard Stevens attended a Catholic school, and both got stuck in movies that were beneath their talents. I'd also guess Elvis and Stevens didn't hit it off because although they were kindred spirits in a sense, I think Stella's family was better well to do, with her being able to attend a private school. Elvis came from a poorer background and thus, wasn't one to rock the boat. Stella probably approached Elvis the wrong way, but she sure remain bitter towards Elvis, although the career she had certainly wasn't his fault.