#22 Vikki Dougan

It can be argued that Vikki Dougan invented the butt crack. Known as “The Back,” Vikki’s main claim to fame was appearing in dresses with a low plunging back. “Buttage,” if you will. This seemed to keep her constantly in the press, though all the publicity never really panned out to many acting credits (IMDb has her down for only ten). 

Embarrassing Real Name:  Edith Tooker

Embarrassing Real Birthplace:  Brooklyn

Cheesy Pageant Titles

• Miss General Electric
• New York Skate Queen
• California Chiropractic Assoc. Perfect Posture Week Queen

Embarrassing Movies

• Tunnel of Love
• The Rebel Set *
• Here Come the Jets
• Hootenanny Hoot

* - author has seen

Embarrassing Taglines

• The Free-Living World of the Over-Teens!
• Hilarious Sophisticated Entertainment for ADULTS ONLY!
• 30 MINUTES TO LIVE - Head-hunter Drums grew louder in the jungle and a condemned criminal held 9 lives in his hands
• FROM THE BOLD BLUSHING STAGE HIT OF SEX IN THE SUBURBS!
• B-GUYS! (The Beatnicks) Living and Loving for strange kicks! JET DOLLS! Ready and willing to go into orbit! KING OF BEATSVILLE! Master mind behind a million dollars worth of murder! THE "WEIRDIES"! Nobody knows what makes them tick!

Embarrassing Characters

• Blonde
• Karen, the Waitress
• Putzi
• B Girl

Unlikely Spouses & Boyfriends

• John Barrymore, Jr.
• George Hormel (the meat heir)
• Melvin Belli (the lawyer)
• Lance Fuller (Ed Wood favorite)
• George Raft
• Frank Sinatra

Whiffs of Scandal

• Disqualified from Miss Rheingold contest for being underage
• First marriage at age 16
• Appeared in Modern Man, Playboy, Cavalier, and Nugget
• Lawsuits with the middle two
• Was on the dole

Interesting Tidbits

• Started modeling at age 11
• Was “immortalized” in a song by the Limeliters
• She was seen smoking a pipe, wearing a monocle, and sporting toe rings, long before the ‘60s really took off
• Possible model for Jessica Rabbit

Where can I learn more?

• Bio
• Glamour Girls of the Silver Screen
• Wikipedia
• IMDb
• Pix

I rest my case

<#23          #21>

#23 Martha Vickers

For a 40s babe, Martha Vickers sure was hot. I could never quite figure out why she wasn’t a bigger star – something along the lines of a Rita Hayworth or Lauren Bacall. At the same time, I’m sure having your first film credits being Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman and Captive Wild Woman probably didn’t help any.

Real Name:  Martha MacVicar (I guess they didn’t like the alliteration)

Embarrassing Real Birthplace:  Ann Arbor, MI

Cheesy Pageant Titles:  Miss Timber, Northeastern Retail Lumbermen's Association

Embarrassing Movies

• Bad Boy
• Hi’ya, Sailor
• The Mummy’s Ghost
• Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman 
• Captive Wild Woman 

Embarrassing Taglines

• A trail of perfume ... and violence!
• Those Hilarious "GUYS FROM MILWAUKEE"
• Boldly it sweeps ... Across the screen!
• Nameless! Fleshless! Deathless!
• FROZEN EVIL meets FIERY HATE

Embarrassing Characters

• Girl
• High school girl
• Miss McLean, a student
• Carmen Sternwood

Number of Marriages:  3 

Shortest Marriage:  4 months

Unlikely Spouses & Boyfriends

• Jimmy Stewart
• Mickey Rooney (she was 6 inches taller than he)

Untimely Demise:  At age 46, of cancer

Interesting Tidbits

• Former model
• Popular pinup during WWII
• Had a big role in the the noir classic The Big Sleep
• Was a big bowler

Where can I learn more?

• Glamour Girls of the Silver Screen
• IMDb
• Wikipedia 

Eye of newt ...

<#24          #22>

#24 Rhonda Fleming *

* - author has her autograph

A ravishing redhead (with green eyes!), Rhonda Fleming was known as the Queen of Technicolor. In addition to her 68 movie and TV credits, she was also a singer. Upon retiring, she appears to have devoted herself to philanthropy (which, I’m afraid, doesn’t sound very B movie babe to me at all).

Real Name:  Marilyn Louis

Embarrassing Movies

• Those Redheads from Seattle
• Queen of Babylon
• The Killer Is Loose
• The Nude Bomb
• Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood

Embarrassing Taglines

• JUNGLE THRILLS! JUNGLE LOVE!
• When the West was a Shameless Young Hussy!
• No story...No drama...No performance THIS powerful has ever been seen!
• Like a blast from the sky...a DRAMATIC THUNDERBOLT that builds to a crashing climax!

Embarrassing Characters

• Princess Kashmir
• Vera Royale
• Alisande Le Carteloise
• Edith Von Secondburg
• Izora
• Nyta
• Purity

Number of Marriages:  6 (!!!)

Shortest Marriage:  2 years

Unlikely Spouses & Boyfriends

• Tyrone Power
• Bing Crosby
• Prince Aly Khan
• JFK
• Ronald Reagan

Interesting Tidbit

• Discovered at Beverly Hills High School
• Actually quite a talented actress, she worked with Alfred Hitchock, Fritz Lang, Gregory Peck, Robert Mitchum, Kirk Douglas, Charlton Heston, Burt Lancaster, Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, and Rock Hudson
• Was in four films with Ronald Reagan
• Did her own stunts
• Was in a gospel singing group, the Four Girls, with Jane Russell
• Cut an LP, Rhonda
• Is a huge philanthropist and has a clinic named after her at the UCLA Medical Center

Where can I learn more?

• Official website
• Interview
• Glamour Girls of the Silver Screen
• IMDb
• Wikipedia
• Brian's Drive-In Theatre
• Pix
• Pix 2 (the camera absolutely loved her)

<#25          #23>

#25 Martha Hyer *

* - author has her autograph

Martha Hyer was once called “Universal’s Answer to Grace Kelly.” Indeed, she had the same elegance, the same flawless blond beauty (though she was not a natural blonde), and the same jet-setting lifestyle. Not a bad actress, she was nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for Vincent Minelli’s Some Came Running.  For some reason, she moved from fairly classy stuff to tons of genuine dreck. Overall, she had over 100 screen and TV credits before retiring.

Embarrassing Real Birthplace:  Fort Worth

Cheesy Pageant Titles:  Azalea Queen

Embarrassing Movies

• Francis in the Navy (Francis is a mule)
• Bikini Beach
• The Delicate Delinquent
• Oriental Evil
• Desire in the Dust (no, not the John Waters film)
• Abbott and Costello Go to Mars
• Pyro … The Thing Without a Face

Embarrassing Taglines

• The strange desire that feeds on her cannot be quenched by love alone!
• He was half Oriental...but he used the women of two continents WITHOUT SHAME OR GUILT!
• Primitive emotions, savage passions, nature in the raw!
• It's where the girls are BARE-ing... the guys are DAR-ing and the surf's RARE-ing to GO-GO-GO

Embarrassing Characters

• Catherine Bailey Struthers III
• Melinda Marquand
• Miss Amity Babb
• Dr. Serena Standish

Unlikely Spouses & Boyfriends

• Prince Aly Khan
• Clark Gable
• Gene Kelly
• Danny Kaye
• Phil Silver

Whiffs of Scandal

• Trouble with the IRS over back taxes
• Was sued for failing to keep up with the payments on a fancy Corona del Mar home 
• Got involved with loan sharks (totally unbeknownst to her very rich husband) to support her expensive lifestyle

Interesting Tidbits

• Her father was a state senator, international president of the Lions Club, and a judge advocate in the Nuremberg trials
• Once turned down a lunch date with JFK
• Northwestern grad (fellow students included Cloris Leachman, Paul Lynde, Charlton Heston, and Patricia Neal)
• Known for snooty socialite roles
• Lost out to Janet Leigh for the role in Psycho
• Owned paintings by Pissarro, Renoir, and Toulouse-Lautrec
• Convert to Judaism
• Ended up as a born-again Christian and something of a recluse

Where can I learn more?

• Finding My Way (her autobio)
• Glamour Girls of the Silver Screen
• IMDb
• Wikipedia
• Obit
• Brian’s Drive-In Theater

Whoa, pardner!

<#26          #24>

#26 Faith Domergue

If there was an Oscar for “bedroom eyes,” Faith Domergue would win in a heartbeat. A protégé of Howard Hughes, the “blockbusters” he put her in were mostly cinematic versions of the Spruce Goose. Domergue would eventually move on to classic sci-fi flicks like This Island Earth and It Came from Beneath the Sea, lots of TV, and a number of Italian cheapies.

Embarrassing Movies

• The Atomic Man
• Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet *
• The House of Seven Corpses *
• Cult of the Cobra
• Legacy of Blood *

* - author has seen

Embarrassing Taglines

• She drives men crazy – torments them to KILL!
• The Man With The Radio-Active Brain! 
• The fangs of the Snake Goddess will PIERCE YOUR FLESH!
• Two mortals trapped in outer space... challenging the unearthly furies of an outlaw planet gone mad!
• Havoc! Chaos! Destruction!

Number of Marriages:  3

Shortest Marriage:  6 months

Unlikely Spouses & Boyfriends:  Howard Hughes 

Whiffs of Scandal:  Met and started dating Hughes at age 15

Interesting Tidbits

• Was adopted
• Was in a life-threatening car accident 
• Had a slight lisp to go with her otherwise sultry voice
• Spoke French, Spanish, and Italian
• Her last name is pronounced “dah-mure”

Where can I learn more?

• Glamour Girls of the Silver Screen
• IMDb
• Wikipedia
• Obit
• On her romance with Hughes
• Brian's Drive-In Theater

And a merry Christmas to you!

<#27           #25>

#27 Allison Hayes

Well, you can’t have a blog about B movie queens without including the original 50 Foot Woman now, can you? Allison Hayes’ B movie career started right off the bat, with Francis Joins the WACs (Francis is a mule). Attack of the 50 Foot Woman, though, was a true high water mark – for both Allison and for B’s in general.

Few know it, but Allison was very smart and funny, in addition to exuding sultry sexuality from every pore. As for that second quality, she’s actually the one with the famous quote, “Who do I have to f**k to get off this picture?”

Embarrassing Real Name:  Mary Jane Hayes

Embarrassing Real Birthplace:  Charleston, WV

Cheesy Pageant Titles

• Miss District of Columbia
• Official Hostess, Washington Cherry Blossom Festival
• Miss Dixie
• Queen of the Atlantic
• Forget-Me-Not Girl (Disabled American Veterans)
• Miss 7-11 (not the C-store, by the way)

Embarrassing Movies

• The High-Powered Rifle
• The Steel Jungle
• The Purple Mask
• The Hypnotic Eye
• The Crawling Hand *
• The Unearthly *
• The Undead *
• The Disembodied

* - author has seen

Embarrassing Taglines

• FEMALE WITCH DOCTOR ... FIENDISH TIGRESS OF THE JUNGLE!
• A thousand years of naked terror!
• ZOMBIES OF THE OCEAN DEEPS! 
• An army of mutants on a mission from hell!
• BEWARE HIS HYPNOTIC POWER that turns human flesh into helpless robots!
• TWISTED MEN AND TWISTED WOMEN ... LIVING IN A TEMPEST OF DISTORTED DESIRE!
• See a female colossus ...  her mountainous torso, skyscraper limbs, giant desires!

Embarrassing Characters

• Angel Case
• Pearl Chute
• Tonda Metz
• Ildico

Whiffs of Scandal

• Had an early marriage annulled 
• Posed semi-nude for Gent
• Modeled for Frederick’s of Hollywood

Untimely Demise:  At age 46, of lead poisoning / leukemia /kidney failure from a dietary supplement she was taking

Interesting Tidbits

• A statuesque 5’8”
• Accomplished classic pianist
• Was a living test screen for color TV broadcasts
• Discovered at a reception for Supreme Court Justice Earl Warren
• Was an Elvis babe, in Tickle Me
• Injured on the set twice, breaking some ribs on Sign of the Pagan and an arm on Gunslinger
• Famous for her sneer

Where can I learn more?

• Glamour Girls of the Silver Screen
• IMDb
• Wikipedia
• The Astounding B Monster ("fifty feet of feminine pulchritude")
• Brian’s Drive-In Theater
• Cult Sirens
• Classic Film & TV Cafe ("pulchritude with attitude")
• Washington Post cartoon bio

Nice hair!

<#28          #26>

#28 Lola Albright

A stylish and sultry blonde, Lola Albright also had a distinctive, husky voice. She put the latter to good use in the TV show Peter Gunn, where she had an ongoing part as a singer and love interest (and was nominated for an Emmy). She also cut a few albums on her own as well. Overall, Lola was known for roles in westerns, lots of TV, and for being an Elvis girl. She may be one of the more unappreciated babes out there. With a couple of breaks, she could’ve been huge.

Embarrassing Real Birthplace:  Akron, OH

Embarrassing Movies

• The Racket Squad
• The Helicopter Spies
• The Killer That Stalked New York
• To Sleep, Perchance to Scream
• Monolith Monsters *
• Nurse Killer

* - author has seen

Embarrassing Taglines

• Cracking Like a Whip From Here to Excitement!
• Adventure Lashes Across The Face Of The West!
• THE LAST FRONTIER OF TERROR!
• From Outer Space They Came – Meteor Borne, Meteor Strange!

Embarrassing Characters

• Duff Daniels
• Gloria Buckles
• Azalea
• Waco

Number of Marriages:  3

Interesting Tidbits

• Parents were gospel music singers
• Worked as a model, receptionist, stenographer, and switchboard operator while learning her craft
• Frequent model for pinup artist Gil Elvgren
• Also used the stage name Lola Deem
• Often compared to tough gal Barbara Stanwyck
• Won the Silver Bear Award, at the Berlin International Film Festival (for the absolutely atrocious Lord Love a Duck)
• Had a 30-year hiatus between appearances (1983-2013)

Where can I learn more?

• Glamour Girls of the Silver Screen
• IMDb
• Wikipedia

Lola has me

<#29          #27>