Dolores Fuller

Last updated

Dolores Fuller
Dolores Fuller in Jail Bait (1954).png
Fuller in Jail Bait (1954)
Born
Dolores Agnes Eble

March 10, 1923
DiedMay 9, 2011(2011-05-09) (aged 88)
Other namesSherry Caine
Occupations
  • Actress
  • songwriter
Years active1934, 1952–2000
Spouse(s)
Donald Kenneth Fuller
(m. 1941;div. 1955)
; 2 children
Philip Chamberlin
(m. 1988)

Dolores Agnes Fuller ( née Eble, later Chamberlin; March 10, 1923 – May 9, 2011 [1] ) was an American actress and songwriter known as the one-time girlfriend of the low-budget film director Ed Wood. She played the protagonist's girlfriend in Glen or Glenda , co-starred in Wood's Jail Bait , and had a minor role in his Bride of the Monster . After she broke up with Wood in 1955, she relocated to New York and had a very successful career there as a songwriter. Elvis Presley recorded a number of her songs written for his films.

Contents

Film career

Her first screen appearance was at the age of 10, when she appeared briefly in Frank Capra's It Happened One Night . According to Fuller, [2] the female lead in Bride of the Monster was written for her but Wood gave it to Loretta King instead.

In August 1954, Fuller was cast in Wood's The Vampire's Tomb, intended to star Bela Lugosi. Frank Yaconelli was named as her co-star and 'comic killer'. The film was never made. She ended up making an appearance in Bride of the Monster (1956), also with Lugosi. [3] Fuller hosted a benefit for Lugosi which preceded the showing of Bride of the Atom (early working title of Bride of the Monster) on May 11, 1955. A cocktail party was held at the Gardens Restaurant at 4311 Magnolia Avenue in Burbank, California. Vampira attended and was escorted by Paul Marco. A single screening of the film was presented at the Hollywood Paramount. [4]

According to Fuller, as quoted in Wood biography Nightmare of Ecstasy (1992), she first met Ed Wood when she attended a casting call with a friend for a movie he was supposed to direct called Behind Locked Doors (which he did not go on to direct); it has also been stated that they met in a restaurant. [5]

She became his girlfriend shortly thereafter and began acting in his films. Her movie career included a bit part in It Happened One Night (1934) and roles in Outlaw Women (1952), Glen or Glenda (1953), Body Beautiful (1953), The Blue Gardenia (1953), Count the Hours (1953), Mesa of Lost Women (1953), College Capers (1954), Jail Bait (1954), The Raid (1954), This Is My Love (1954), The Opposite Sex (1956), and many years later appearances in The Ironbound Vampire (1997) and Dimensions in Fear (1998).

Television performer and songwriter

Fuller had already had earlier experience on television in Queen for a Day and The Dinah Shore Show .

She also appeared on an episode of It's a Great Life as "the blonde in the mink coat."

Fuller's ability as a songwriter manifested itself through the intervention of her friend, producer Hal Wallis; Fuller had wanted to get an acting role in the Elvis Presley movie Blue Hawaii , which Wallis was producing, but instead he put her in touch with Hill & Range, the publisher that provided Presley with songs. Fuller went into a collaborative partnership with composer Ben Weisman and co-wrote one song, "Rock-A-Hula Baby", for the film. Over time, this led to Presley recording a dozen of her songs, including "I Got Lucky" and "Spinout", primarily for his film soundtracks, though he also recorded "Cindy, Cindy" for his 1971 album Love Letters From Elvis . Fuller's music was also recorded by Nat 'King' Cole, Peggy Lee, and other leading talents of the time. [6] Toward the end of her life, Dolores helped edit and score a short western film Ed Wood had begun, but never completed, in the 1940s called Crossroads of Laredo [7]

Private life

Dolores married Donald Fuller in 1941, with whom she had two children. At the time she met Ed Wood, she was in the process of divorcing her husband (they finally divorced in 1955). She and Wood shared an apartment together for several years. Wood biographer Rudolph Grey quotes Fuller as saying of the period before her success,

He [Ed Wood] begged me to marry him. I loved him in a way, but I couldn't handle the transvestism. I'm a very normal person. It's hard for me to deviate! I wanted a man that was all man. After we broke up, he would stand outside my home in Burbank and cry. "Let me in, I love you!" What good would I have done if I had married him? We would have starved together. I bettered myself. I had to uplift myself. [8]

She has also been quoted as saying that "His dressing up didn't bother me—we all have our little queer habits" and giving Wood's drinking as the reason for their breakup. [5]

Dolores remarried in 1988 at age 65, to Philip Chamberlin, and they remained married until her death in 2011. Fuller's autobiography, A Fuller Life: Hollywood, Ed Wood and Me, co-authored by Winnipeg writer Stone Wallace and her husband Philip Chamberlin, was published in 2008. [5]

Portrayal in Ed Wood

Fuller was portrayed by Sarah Jessica Parker in Tim Burton's 1994 Wood biographical film Ed Wood , a portrayal of which she disapproved due to the fact that she was depicted smoking in the film, while Fuller said she herself was a lifelong non-smoker. [9] She also complained that she was only portrayed as "sort of as an actress" and did not feel she was given credit for her other accomplishments and contributions towards Wood's career. [10] However, she stated that she liked the film overall, praising Johnny Depp's performance in the title role.

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
1934 It Happened One Night Minor roleUncredited
1952 Outlaw Women One of Uncle Barney's GirlsUncredited
Alternative title: Boot Hill Mamas
1953 Glen or Glenda Barbara
Girls in the Night Beauty Contestant for Miss Third AvenueAlternative title: Life After Dark
The Blue Gardenia Woman at barUncredited
Count the Hours ReporterUncredited
Alternative title: Every Minute Counts
Mesa of Lost Women Blonde "Watcher in the Woods"Alternative title: Lost Women
The Body Beautiful JuneCredited as Sherry Caine
The Moonlighter Miss BuckwalterUncredited
1954 Jail Bait Marilyn GregorAlternative title: Hidden Face
Playgirl GirlUncredited
The Raid
This Is My Love
1955 Bride of the Monster Margie cameo
Alternative title: Bride of the Atom
1956 The Opposite Sex Bit RoleUncredited
1997The Ironbound VampireTheresa PowellDirect-to-video release
1998Dimensions in FearTV Station OwnerAlternative titles: City in Terror
Dimension in Fear
2000The Corpse Grinders 2Patricia GrantDirect-to-video release

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
1955 The Great Gildersleeve Miss Carroll1 episode
It's a Great LifeGirl
1956 Adventures of Superman Lorraine

Discography

Songs recorded by Elvis Presley with lyrics by Dolores Fuller:

According to AllMusic, other songs co-written by her include "I'll Touch a Star" by Terry Stafford, "Lost Summer Love" by Shelley Fabares and "Someone to Tell It To" by Nat King Cole. [11]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bela Lugosi</span> Hungarian-American actor (1882–1956)

Béla Ferenc Dezső Blaskó, known professionally as Bela Lugosi, was a Hungarian–American actor, best remembered for portraying Count Dracula in the 1931 horror classic Dracula, Ygor in Son of Frankenstein (1939) and his roles in many other horror films from 1931 through 1956.

<i>Bride of the Monster</i> 1955 American science fiction horror film by Ed Wood

Bride of the Monster is a 1955 American science fiction horror film, co-written, produced and directed by Edward D. Wood Jr., and starring Bela Lugosi and Tor Johnson with a supporting cast featuring Tony McCoy and Loretta King.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ed Wood</span> American screenwriter, director, producer, actor, author, and film editor

Edward Davis Wood Jr. was an American filmmaker, actor, and pulp novel author.

<i>Glen or Glenda</i> 1953 film

Glen or Glenda is a 1953 American exploitation film directed, written by and starring Ed Wood, and featuring Wood's then-girlfriend Dolores Fuller and Bela Lugosi. It was produced by George Weiss who also made the exploitation film Test Tube Babies that same year.

<i>The Ed Sullivan Show</i> American television series which ran on CBS from 1948 to 1971

The Ed Sullivan Show was an American television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in September 1971 by the CBS Sunday Night Movie.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Priscilla Presley</span> American actress (born 1945)

Priscilla Ann Presley is an American actress and businesswoman. She is the former wife of American singer Elvis Presley, as well as co-founder and former chairwoman of Elvis Presley Enterprises (EPE), the company that turned Graceland into one of the top tourist attractions in the United States. In her acting career, Presley co-starred with Leslie Nielsen in the three Naked Gun films and played the role of Jenna Wade on the long-running television series Dallas.

<i>Ed Wood</i> (film) 1994 film by Tim Burton

Ed Wood is a 1994 American biographical comedy-drama film directed and produced by Tim Burton and starring Johnny Depp as Ed Wood, the eponymous cult filmmaker. The film concerns the period in Wood's life when he made his best-known films as well as his relationship with actor Bela Lugosi, played by Martin Landau. Sarah Jessica Parker, Patricia Arquette, Jeffrey Jones, Lisa Marie, and Bill Murray are among the supporting cast.

<i>Dracula</i> (1931 English-language film) 1931 film

Dracula is a 1931 American pre-Code supernatural horror film directed and co-produced by Tod Browning from a screenplay written by Garrett Fort and starring Bela Lugosi in the titular role. It is based on the 1924 stage play Dracula by Hamilton Deane and John L. Balderston, which in turn is adapted from the 1897 novel Dracula by Bram Stoker. Lugosi portrays Count Dracula, a vampire who emigrates from Transylvania to England and preys upon the blood of living victims, including a young man's fiancée.

<i>Elvis and Me</i> Book by Priscilla Presley

Elvis and Me is a 1985 biography written by Priscilla Presley with Sandra Harmon. In the book, Priscilla talks about meeting Elvis Presley, their marriage, and the factors and issues that led to the couple's divorce. The book rights were purchased in 1987, and in 1988 it was made into a television movie written by Joyce Eliason, directed by Larry Peerce, and starring Dale Midkiff as Elvis and Susan Walters as Priscilla.

<i>Loving You</i> (1957 film) 1957 film by Hal Kanter, Herbert Baker, Hal B. Wallis

Loving You is a 1957 American musical drama film directed by Hal Kanter and starring Elvis Presley, Lizabeth Scott, and Wendell Corey. The film was Presley's first major starring role, following his debut in a supporting role in the 1956 film Love Me Tender. The film follows a delivery man who is discovered by a music publicist and a country–western musician who wants to promote the talented newcomer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norman Taurog</span> American film director (1899–1981)

Norman Rae Taurog was an American film director and screenwriter. From 1920 to 1968, Taurog directed 180 films. At the age of 32, he received the Academy Award for Best Director for Skippy (1931). He is the second youngest person ever to win the award after Damien Chazelle, who won for La La Land in 2017. He was later nominated for Best Director for the film Boys Town (1938). He directed some of the best-known actors of the twentieth century, including his nephew Jackie Cooper, Spencer Tracy, Mickey Rooney, Judy Garland, Deanna Durbin, Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, Deborah Kerr, Peter Lawford, Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, and Elvis Presley. Taurog directed six Martin and Lewis films, and nine Elvis Presley films, more than any other director.

<i>Spinout</i> (film) 1966 film by Norman Taurog

Spinout is a 1966 American musical comedy film starring Elvis Presley as the lead singer of a band and part-time race car driver. The film was #57 on the year-end list of the top-grossing films of 1966. It was titled California Holiday in the UK.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dolores Hart</span> American Roman Catholic religious sister and former actress

Dolores Hart, O.S.B. is an American Roman Catholic Benedictine nun and former actress. Following her movie debut with Elvis Presley in Loving You (1957), she made 10 films in five years, including Wild Is the Wind (1957), King Creole (1958), and Where the Boys Are (1960).

Sid Wayne was an American songwriter, lyricist and composer, who wrote a number of well-known songs from the 1950s to the 1980s. Almost every Elvis Presley film contained one or more works written by Wayne and his partner Ben Weisman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Personal relationships of Elvis Presley</span>

Elvis Presley had many close relationships throughout his career. The strongest of all his personal relationships, by far, was that he had with his mother Gladys, as described below.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rock-A-Hula Baby</span> 1961 single by Elvis Presley

"Rock-A-Hula Baby ("Twist" Special)" is a 1961 song recorded by Elvis Presley and performed in the 1961 film Blue Hawaii. The song was also released as a single.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Do the Clam</span> 1965 single by Elvis Presley

"Do the Clam" is a pop song recorded by Elvis Presley for his 1965 feature film Girl Happy. It was written by Sid Wayne, Ben Weisman, and Dolores Fuller.

<i>Spinout</i> (soundtrack) 1966 soundtrack album by Elvis Presley

Spinout is the fourteenth soundtrack album by American singer and musician Elvis Presley, released by RCA Victor in mono and stereo, LPM/LSP 3702, on October 31, 1966. It is the soundtrack to the 1966 film of the same name starring Presley. Recording sessions for the film songs took place at Radio Recorders in Hollywood, California, on February 16 and 17, 1966. The album was augmented with three non-film songs recorded earlier in the year. It peaked at number 18 on the Top Pop Albums chart.

Crossroads of Laredo is a Western film compiled by extant silent footage of the unfinished Streets of Laredo, the first known film project of Ed Wood. It runs 23 minutes in length. Wood was the director, the writer, and one of the actors of the film. The film today includes an added music score by Ben Weisman and added narration by Cliff Stone, but still plays like a silent movie with a sound effects track. The film was not restored, as its myriad scratches and splices are still very evident.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spinout (song)</span> 1966 single by Elvis Presley

"Spinout" is a song first recorded by Elvis Presley as part of the soundtrack for his 1966 motion picture Spinout. In 1966 it was released on a single with "All That I Am", another song from the same movie, on the opposite side. It peaked at number 40 on the Billboard Hot 100 but would continue to sell over 400,000 copies.

References

  1. McLellan, Dennis (May 11, 2011). "Dolores Fuller dies at 88; actress dated director Ed Wood". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved May 11, 2011.
  2. Miller, John M. "Bride of the Monster". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved April 3, 2017.
  3. "Vampire Types Gathering For Movie" (August 2, 1954) Los Angeles Times , p. B9
  4. "Lugosi Benefit Slated Tonight" (May 11, 1955) Los Angeles Times , p. 27
  5. 1 2 3 "Dolores Fuller". The Daily Telegraph . London. May 13, 2011. Retrieved June 3, 2011.
  6. "Dolores Fuller dies at 88; actress dated director Ed Wood". Los Angeles Times. May 11, 2011. Retrieved January 2, 2020.
  7. Craig, Rob (2009), "Selected Short Subjects", Ed Wood, Mad Genius: A Critical Study of the Films, McFarland & Company, ISBN 978-0-7864-5423-5.
  8. Rudolph Grey (1992) Nightmare of Ecstasy: The Life and Art of Edward D. Wood Jr, Feral House, New York ISBN   978-0-92291-504-0
  9. Interview with Dolores Fuller, For Elvis Fans Only, Elvis Australia: Official Elvis Presley Fan Club, July 15, 2006. Retrieved August 27, 2008.
  10. Dolores Fuller on Ed Wood Jr., Being Dissed By Sarah Jessica Parker Interview, retrieved May 12, 2010, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-TAnzid1sQ
  11. Dolores Fuller at AllMusic