Jeanne Carmen spent her early childhood in Paragould, Arkansas with her family picking cotton. At age 13, she ran away from home, eventually landing in New York City and taking a job as a dancer in an off-Broadway touring company. The early 1950s found her in Las Vegas, Nevada, in the company of the likes of mobster Johnny Roselli. She discovered ...
August 4, 1930, Paragould, Arkansas, United States
Died
December 20, 2007, Irvine, California, United States
Place Of Birth
Paragould, Arkansas, USA
Height
5' 6½" (1.69 m)
Profession
Actress
Children
Jade Austin, Brandon James, Melinda
TV Shows
Broadway Open House
Star Sign
Leo
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Trademark
1
Seductive deep voice
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Voluptuous figure
3
Sparkling green eyes
4
Platinum blonde hair
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Quote
1
Everything I've done, I think I did it at the right time. And it turned out great. Maybe a few marriages I could have done without. As for my career, it absolutely happened the way it was supposed to happen. A door opened and I was a pin-up. I'm as happy as a pig in a pond.
2
I was just a little country girl that wanted to be a movie star.
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Fact
1
Following her death, she was interred at Pacific View Memorial Park in Corona del Mar, California.
2
In the 1950s, the Tropical Fruit Company named her "Miss Orange Whip", as publicity for their recently debuted Orange Whip fountain drink.
3
She vanished from public view to raise a family in Arizona, but over the last 20 years had parlayed her claimed associations with Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra and the Kennedys into recurrent appearances on television exposés.
4
First husband, an Italian singer named Sandy Scott, introduced her to Bert Lahr and she won a role as a dancer in his off-Broadway show "Burlesque".
5
She picked cotton until she left home at age 13 after a disagreement with her parents (she disliked her stepfather) to pursue her career.
6
While on tour with fellow trick-shot golfer Jack Redmond, she would perform stunts such as hitting a ball out of a man's mouth.
7
Survived by daughters Melinda Belli and Kellee Jade Campo, and her three grandchildren.
8
She has three children from her previous marriage - Melinda, Brandon James and Jade Austin.
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She was grandmother of Ashley, Melinda's daughter.
10
Got her start on Broadway in 1948 via the chorus line of Bert Lahr's "Burlesque". Soon was in demand as a model and wound up as Dagmar's replacement on television's Broadway Open House (1950). Also appeared on Bob Hope's early show originating from New York and The George Gobel Show (1954).
$5 Million
