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Mamie Van Doren (born February 6, 1931) is an
United States|American actor|actress and sex
symbol.

She was born Joan Lucille Olander in Rowena, South
Dakota, the daughter of Warner Carl Olander (March
30, 1908-June 4, 1992) and Lucille Harriet Bennett
(January 21, 1912-August 27, 1995).

She is of Sweden|Swedish ancestry. Her mother
named her after Joan Crawford. In 1939, the family
moved to Sioux City, Iowa. In May 1942, they moved
to Los Angeles.

In early 1946, Joan began working as an usherette
at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood,
California|Hollywood. The following year, she had
a bit-part on an early television show. She also
sang with Ted Fio Rito's band and entered beauty
contest|beauty contests. In the summer of 1949, at
age 18, she won the titles "Miss Eight Ball" and
"Miss Palm Springs."

While appearing in the Miss Palm Springs contest,
she was discovered by Howard Hughes.

==Early career==
She lunched with Hughes, who gave her a bit-part
in Jet Pilot (film)|Jet Pilot at RKO, which was
her film|motion picture debut. Her line of
dialogue consisted of one word, "Look!" Though
production of the movie was in 1949 in film|1949
and 1950 in film|1950, it was not released until
1957 in film|1957. The following year, 1951, she
posed for famous pin-up girl artist Alberto
Vargas, the painter of the glamorous "Vargas
Girls." His painting of Van Doren was on the July
cover of Esquire Magazine|Esquire.

She was briefly married at seventeen, when she and
first husband, Jack Newman, eloped to Santa
Barbara, California|Santa Barbara. But it turned
out that he was abusive, so she quickly got out of
the marriage.

She did a few more bit parts in movies at RKO,
including His Kind of Woman (1951 in film|1951)
starring Robert Mitchum, Jane Russell and Vincent
Price. About her appearance in that one, Van Doren
has said, "If you blinked you would miss me. I
look barely old enough to drive."

She then began working on the Theater|stage. She
was a showgirl in New York City|New York in Monte
Proser's nightclub version of Billion Dollar Baby.
Songwriter Jimmy McHugh discovered her for his
musicals, then decided she was too good for the
chorus line and should have dramatic training. She
studied with Ben Bard and Bliss-Hayden. While
appearing in the role of Marie in a showcase
production of Come Back, Little Sheba (play)|Come
Back, Little Sheba, she was seen by Phil Benjamin,
a casting director at Universal Studios|Universal
International.

==Motion pictures==
On January 20, 1953, she signed a contract with
Universal. The movie studio|studio had big plans
for her, hoping she would bring the success that
20th Century Fox had with Marilyn Monroe, the
reigning sex symbol of the era. It has been said
that because the day she was signed was also the
day President of the United States|President
Dwight D. Eisenhower|Eisenhower was
Inauguration|inaugurated, the studio decided to
give her the name Mamie for Ike's wife, Mamie
Eisenhower, and Van Doren because it sounds
Netherlands|Dutch.

Her first movie for Universal was Forbidden (1953
film)|Forbidden (1953 in film|1953), playing a
singer. She then made All American (1953 in
film|1953), playing Susie Ward, a girl from the
other side of the tracks who is the man-trap at a
campus beer joint. In Yankee Pasha (1954 in
film|1954) starring Tony Curtis and Rhonda
Fleming, she played a slave girl, Lilith.

Van Doren starred as the "bad girl" archetype in
several teenage cult film|cult movies of the
1950s. She also appeared in some of the first
movies to feature Rock and roll|Rock & Roll music.
She became identified with this rebellious style,
and made some Rock gramophone record|records.

While she and the other blonde bombshells did not
attain the same level of superstar status as
Monroe, Van Doren did become one of the leading
sex symbols of the day. Marilyn, Mamie and Jayne
Mansfield were known as the "Three M's," and Van
Doren achieved legendary status as being the sole
survivor (although she was currently referred to
as "the poor man's Mansfield").

But while Monroe did Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and
Mansfield had a big success with Will Success
Spoil Rock Hunter|Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?,
a part that was originally written for Van Doren,
who turned it down, Universal stuck Van Doren with
Francis the talking mule in Francis Joins the
WACS.

==Marriages, child & affairs==
Van Doren has had five husbands, sportswear
manufacturer Jack Newman (married 1950-divorced
1950), bandleader, composer and actor Ray Anthony
(married 1955-divorced 1961), baseball player Lee
Meyers (married 1966-divorced 1967), businessman
Ross McClintock (married 1972-divorced 1973) and
actor Thomas Dixon (married 1979-present).

She and Anthony had one son, Perry Ray Anthony
(born March 18, 1956).

Her on-again off-again engagement to baseball
player Bo Belinsky broke off for good in 1964. In
her tell-all autobiography, she acknowledged
numerous affairs, including ones with Clark Gable,
Howard Hughes, Johnny Carson, Elvis Presley, Burt
Reynolds, Jack Dempsey, Steve McQueen, Johnny
Rivers, Robert Evans, Eddie Fisher, Warren Beatty,
Tony Curtis, Steve Cochran, and Joe Namath.

==Career continues==
Some of Van Doren's more noteworthy movies include
Teacher's Pet (1958 movie)|Teacher's Pet (1958 in
film|1958) at Paramount Pictures|Paramount, Born
Reckless (1958 in film|1958) at Warner Bros., High
School Confidential! (1958 in film|1958), and The
Beat Generation (1959 in film|1959), the latter
two at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer|MGM.


But many of the productions she starred in were
low-budget B-movies. They are largely unknown to
later generations, though some have gained a
following for their camp|high camp value. Besides
the casting decisions at Universal, a problem was
her poor management in selecting a suitable
project.

In 1959, Universal chose not to exercise the
option in her contract. Van Doren was now a free
agent and had to struggle to find work. Some of
her later movies were foreign and independent
productions, such as The Blonde from Buenos Aires
(1961 in film|1961), The Candidate (1964 in
film|1964), The Navy vs the Night Monsters (1966
in film|1966) and Voyage to the Planet of
Prehistoric Women (1968 in film|1968), which was
directed by Peter Bogdanovich, who used another
name, fearing the movie would ruin his reputation.

In 1963, she posed twice for Playboy
Magazine|Playboy to promote her movie Three Nuts
In Search of a Bolt (1964 in film|1964), though
she was never a Playmate.

In 1964, Van Doren was at the Whisky A Go-Go on
the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood,
California|West Hollywood when The Beatles were at
the club, and a drunk George Harrison accidentally
threw his drink on her when he was really trying
to throw it on some bothersome journalists.

Van Doren also developed a nightclub act and did a
lot of live theatre. She performed in stage
productions of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and Dames
at Sea at the Drury Lane Theatre (Chicago)|Drury
Lane Theatre, Chicago, Illinois|Chicago, and
appeared in Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter and The
Tender Trap at the Arlington Park Theatre.

During the Vietnam War|war, she did tours for U.S.
troops in Vietnam, for three months in 1968 and
again in 1970. In addition to United Service
Organizations|USO shows, she visited
hospital|hospitals, including the wards of
amputees and burn victims that many other
celebrities stayed away from.

Her guest appearances on TV include The Bob
Cummings Show, The Jack Benny Show, Fantasy
Island, Burke's Law, Vega$, and L.A. Law.

In the 1970s, she did a nightclub act in Las
Vegas, Nevada|Las Vegas.

==Later life==
Van Doren's autobiography titled Playing the
Field: My Story, which she wrote with Art Aveilhe,
was published in 1987 in literature|1987 by GP
Putnams, New York.

At age 60, she began having plastic
surgery|cosmetic surgery to maintain a youthful
appearance and enlarge her breasts. She has
written about this and discussed it in interviews.

More can be read about Van Doren and her past
exploits at her personal website, where "the first
authentic sex-kitten in cyberspace" gives one of
the most intimate looks at a celebrity's personal
life on the Internet. Included at her long,
detailed site are photograph|photos, stories and
anecdotes about the movie industry and her career,
and an articulate and opinionated
politics|political weblog. "The Web is the perfect
place for an appreciation of Hollywood Glamour.
Take a look at it through my eyes, kids!"

Mamie Van Doren has a star on the Hollywood Walk
of Fame at 7057 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood,
California|Hollywood.

==Filmography==
*Jet Pilot (1957 movie)|Jet Pilot (Production:
1949 in film|1949-1950 in film|1950) (Released:
1957 in film|1957) (RKO) ... WAF
*His Kind of Woman (1951 in film|1951) (RKO) ...
Lodge guest at bar (uncredited)
*Two Tickets to Broadway (1951 in film|1951) (RKO)
... (credited as Joan Olander) 
*Footlight Varieties (1951 in film|1951) (RKO) ...
Blonde in theatre (credited as Joan Olander)
*Forbidden (1953 film)|Forbidden (1953 in
film|1953) (Universal) ... Singer (uncredited)
*The All American (1953 in film|1953) (Universal)
... Susie Ward
*Hawaiian Nights (1954 in film|1954) (Universal)
*Yankee Pasha (1954 in film|1954) (Universal) ...
Lilith
*Francis Joins the WACS (1954 in film|1954)
(Universal) ... Cpl. Bunky Hilstrom
*Ain't Misbehavin' (movie)|Ain't Misbehavin (1955
in film|1955) (Universal) ... Jackie
*The Second Greatest Sex (1955 in film|1955)
(Universal) ... Birdie Snyder
*Running Wild (1955 movie)|Running Wild (1955 in
film|1955) (Universal) ... Irma Bean
*Star in the Dust (1956 in film|1956) (Universal)
... Ellen Ballard
*The Girl in Black Stockings (1957 in film|1957)
(United Artists) ... Harriet Ames
*Untamed Youth (1957 in film|1957) (Warner Bros.)
... Penny Lowe
*Teacher's Pet (1958 movie)|Teacher's Pet (1958 in
film|1958) (Paramount) ... Peggy DeFore
*Born Reckless (1958 in film|1958) (Warner Bros.)
... Jackie Adams
*The Beautiful Legs of Sabrina (1958 in film|1958)
Italian production (Cinecittà Studios) ...
Sabrina
*High School Confidential! (1958 in film|1958)
(MGM) ... Gwen Dulaine
*Guns, Girls, and Gangsters (1959 in film|1959)
(United Artists) ... Vi Victor
*The Beat Generation (1959 in film|1959) (MGM) ...
Georgia Altera
*The Big Operator (1959 in film|1959) (MGM) ...
Mary Gibson
*Girls Town (1959 in film|1959) (MGM) ... Silver
Morgan
*Vice Raid (1959 in film|1959) (United Artists)
... Carol Hudson
*The Big Operator (1959 in film|1959) (MGM) ...
Mary Gibson
*Sex Kittens Go to College (1960 in film|1960)
(Allied Artists) ... Dr. Mathilda West
*The Private Lives of Adam and Eve (1961 in
film|1961) (Universal) ... Evie Simms
*College Confidential (movie)|College Confidential
(1960 in film|1960) (Univeral) ... Sally Blake
*The Blonde from Buenos Aires (1961 in film|1961)
(Argentinian Films)
*Three Nuts In Search of a Bolt (1964 in
film|1964) (Adrian Weiss Productions) ... Saxie
Symbol
*The Wild, Wild West (1964 movie)|The Wild, Wild
West (1964 in film|1964) German production ...
Olivia
*The Candidate (1964 in film|1964) (Cosmat
Production) ... Samantha Ashley
*The Navy vs the Night Monsters (1966 in
film|1966) (Real Art) ... Nora Hall
*Las Vegas Hillbillys (1966 in film|1966) (Woolner
Brothers) ... Boots Malone
*You've Got to be Smart (1967 in film|1967)
(Producers Releasing Organization) ... Miss
Hathaway
*Voyage to the Planet of Prehistoric Women (1968
in film|1968) (Filmgroup Production) ... Moana 
*The Arizona Kid (1971 in film|1971) Italian
production ... Girlfriend
*That Girl from Boston (1975 in film|1975)
(Moonstone Films)
*Free Ride (1986 in film|1986) (Galaxy
International Pictures) ... Debbie Stockwell
*The Vegas Connection (1999 in film|1999) (Pacific
Films) ... Rita
*Slackers (2002 in film|2002) (Screen Gems, Sony)
... Mrs. Van Graaf

==Documentaries==
*Hollywood Uncensored (1987 in film|1987)

==Quotes==
*"My best asset is my brain. Without my brain, I
don't think the rest of me would be too hot."
*"I came to Hollywood determined to follow in Jean
Harlow's footsteps, but I was determined not to
die young. My hope was to endure. And endure I
have."
*"I don't wear panties anymore – this
startles the Hollywood wolves so much they don't
know what to pull at, so they leave me alone."
*"There is a history of calamitous and violent
deaths among the glamorous girls that boggles the
mind and chills the blood, especially if you're
one of the few survivors... As young women we were
told that we were infinitely desirable and
beautiful, only to discover that there was always
someone coming up behind who was more desirable
and beautiful. Our profession is perhaps the most
competitive in the world. For, to be glamorous, to
be beautiful, is to be doomed eventually to be
disappointed."

==External links==
*http://www.mamievandoren.com/ Mamie Van Doren's
Website at MamieVanDoren.com
*http://www.mamievandoren.com/weblog/index.htm
Inside/Out, Mamie Van Doren's Weblog
*imdb name|id=0886638|name=Mamie Van Doren
*http://home.san.rr.com/fsheff/mamie00.htm Mamie
Van Doren - Unique 1956 Photos
*http://dir.salon.com/people/feature/2000/07/19/ma
mie/index.html Salon.com article Bombshells away
*http://www.angelfire.com/la/ReelWild/mamie.txt
Mamie Van Doren interview by Sandra Bernhard
*http://www.cultsirens.com/vandoren/vandoren.htm
Cult Sirens: Mamie Van Doren