She's an OK actress, but jimminy christmas is she UGLY! I don't intend to be mean-spirited, but this woman...wow, what the hell was Tom Laughlin thinking? I know the guy has a reputation as an eccentric, but jay-zus.
shareShe was sleeping with the director, that's how she was cast.
shareI'm not trying to be nasty or say anything about her looks.
But I will say that she is just not a very good actress. She seems to have one basic facial expression, and does not seem to differ at all in her delivery of dialogue.
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she MUST have been good in bed because it sure wasnt cause of her LOOKS! UGHHH!!
shareYeah, as others said, it was a casting couch thing. :)
Tom says he wrote the part for his wife and based Jean on Dolores's real personality, so there was never the slightest thought of auditioning other actresses. On the DVD commentary, Tom very sincerely raves about how beautiful and sexy his "Dodie" was in all the films.
Tom also mentions the body double used in the nude scene in "Billy Jack", saying Dolores never forgave him for using a double with (I'm quoting him) "a big bottom". He goes on and on about how Dolores's own body was beautiful, firm, perfect, well-proportioned, sexy, tight, etc to the point that it's kind of uncomfortable to hear it, especially in light of the fact that he was talking to their son, who was conducting the interview for the commentary! It was TMI, but hey, the man loves his wife and in his eyes, she is gorgeous.
(Just for the record, I re-watched the nude scene after I heard them talking about this, and the body double actress wasn't the least bit overweight or disproportionate. She just wasn't bone-skinny like Taylor, so I guess to them she looked big.)
Tom also waxes poetic about what a brilliant and powerful actress Taylor is, and claims that other actors (including some pretty famous ones) have sought her out to tell her what a huge influence she had on their acting and their careers. Sorry, Mr. & Mrs. Laughlin, that one is a bit hard to believe. But I will admit I have never seen her in anything but the BJ movies, so maybe she was better in other roles.
That's all you'll EVER see her in, as no one other than her husband ever had the desire to hire her for a part.
shareNever the slightest thought of casting other actresses?
That's odd. It says here that Tom originally cast Elizabeth James as Jean, but that Elizabeth was fired and he replaced her with Delores. Elizabeth played Vicky Barrington in The Born Losers.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066832/trivia?ref_=tt_trv_trv
"Elizabeth James was originally cast in the film but was later fired and replaced by Delores Taylor."
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion,"
~First Amendment
You don't think that Delores was going to allow sexy Elizabeth James to play around again with her husband do you? You just have to wonder what really went on in the Laughlan household prior to the 3 later movies being filmed with "Plain Jane" Delores!
shareI dunno. I always pictured Delores as the submissive wife of Tom--he seems like the kind of guy who tends to get his way. JMO.
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion,"
~First Amendment
I have never watched a Billy Jack movie in my life, but see they are airing now, so I started watching this one, and the 'hippie chick' in the hospital bed, I listened to her, deduced her sob stories was how it was done back then (I remember that crap) and then looked up to see which one Laughlin was married to (was he married to that sexy reporter? Is she the one who was his wife?) but NO!
Like you, I was rather stymied why this guy married this dishrag. I thought he was supposed to be a dynamic figure, but first impression was the same could not be said for the misses. She's a miss.
I don't know how far I'll get into Billy Jack before I might decide to change the channel and watch Gilligan's Island or One Day At A Time, but we'll see.
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Shes one of the most unattractive actresses ive EVER seen in the movies OR on tv. I STILL say she must have submitted to every sexual whim of Tom Laughlin cause otherwise I couldnt imagine the attraction to her. Ive seen some guys who looked prettier than her! UGH!
shareI don't think she's ugly I think she is just plain looking however she is a terrible actress.
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