Yvette Vickers

Yvette Vickers (born Yvette Iola Vedder; August 26, 1928 – c. 2010^[1][2]) was an American actress, pin-up model and singer.^[3]

Early life and career

Vickers was born in Kansas City, Missouri, the daughter of jazz musician Charles Vedder. During her youth she traveled with her parents to their various performances. She attended the University of California, Los Angeles, and studied Journalism.^[2] While at UCLA, she took a class in acting and discovered that she enjoyed it, so she changed her major to drama. She began making television commercials. She later moved to New York City to model for White Rain shampoo advertisements, but she eventually returned to California to pursue an acting career.^[4]

Her first movie appearance is listed under the name "Yvette Vedder" in Sunset Boulevard (1950), although she was not listed in the production credits. She made her first movie appearance under the Vickers name in Short Cut to Hell (1957), which was directed by James Cagney. In the same year, she starred in American International Pictures' Reform School Girl. Her image was used for the movie's theatrical poster, and it depicted her and Gloria Castillo fighting each other. The poster has subsequently become a collector's item.^[5]

In 1958, she appeared in Attack of the 50 Foot Woman as Honey Parker, in which she plays the role of the town floozy who has an affair with Harry Archer (William Hudson), who is married to Nancy Archer (Allison Hayes). The following year she played the role of Liz Walker in Attack of the Giant Leeches. During the same period, she also made a number of appearances on TV shows,^[4] including an episode of One Step Beyond entitled "The Aerialist" which aired on April 28, 1959.

She appeared as the Playboy Playmate of the Month in the July 1959 issue.^[6] Her centerfold was photographed by Russ Meyer. She also appeared in several other men's magazines. Her film roles began to decrease around this time. She did play some small parts in films from 1962 onward, including a small role in Hud (1963). Her last role was in Evil Spirits, a 1991 horror film.

Vickers was also a singer, and, in the 1990s, she released a jazz tribute to her parents on CD called A Tribute to Charlie and Maria. In 2005 she visited Canada for the first time to appear at the Toronto Classic Movie Festival. She appears with interviewer Tom Weaver on the audio commentary track of the 2007 DVD release of Attack of the 50 Foot Woman. She had been writing her autobiography before her death.

Personal life

In 1953, Vickers married Don Prell, but they were divorced by 1957. Her second marriage was in 1959 to Leonard Burns, but they were divorced in 1961. Her third marriage was to Tom Howland from 1967-69. Vickers had no children. She never remarried after Howland, but had a long-term relationship with actor Jim Hutton.^[7]

Death

Vickers was last seen alive in 2010. She had withdrawn from her extended family, and her mummified body was discovered on April 27, 2011, in her Benedict Canyon, Los Angeles, home at 10021 Westwanda Drive by actress and neighbor Susan Savage. The date of her death is unknown, but forensic scientists concluded that she may have been dead for as long as a year before the discovery of her body.^[3] There were no signs of foul play, and after an autopsy the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner ruled the cause of death to be heart failure resulting from coronary artery disease. Her remains were cremated.^[8]

See also

• List of people in Playboy 1953–1959

References

External links

• Yvette Vickers at Playboy Online
• People Magazine Story on the Tragic Death of Yvette Vickers
• Hollywood Tragedy: A Tribute to Yvette Vickers
• Yvette Vickers at the Internet Movie Database
• Los Angeles Times Obituary for Yvette Vickers
• Yvette Vickers at Find a Grave