Megan Timothy

Last updated
Megan Timothy
Born
Megan D'Ewes Timothy

(1943-06-21) June 21, 1943 (age 80)
Masvingo, Southern Rhodesia
Occupation Actresssingerauthor
Years active1967–1971

Megan D'Ewes Timothy (born June 21, 1943) [1] is a Rhodesian-American actress, singer, and writer.

Contents

Background

The daughter of an architect, [2] Timothy was born in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) in 1943. At the age of 16, she began working for the Victoria Times and later pursued a career as a horse trainer.

In 1964, at the age of 21, Timothy relocated to California. [3] [4] [5] She initially worked as a switchboard operator [6] and later as a waitress at the Playboy Club. [3] She was dismissed from her position at Playboy due to an incident where she unintentionally caused a fire on a patron's beard while trying to light his cigarette and then attempted to extinguish it by throwing water in his face. [4] Following her departure from Playboy, Timothy embarked on a career as an actor and screenwriter. [7]

During the mid-1970s, Timothy acquired La Maida House, a bed and breakfast in North Hollywood, Los Angeles. [8] She successfully operated the establishment until the 1990s. [9] In 1999, Timothy decided to undertake a solo bicycle journey spanning approximately 12,000 miles. She sold her North Hollywood home, car, and several possessions in preparation for the journey. Her travels took her across Western Europe and parts of Africa. [4] In 2003, Timothy experienced a brain aneurysm that resulted in the loss of her ability to speak. [5] Her book Let Me Die Laughing!: Waking from The Nightmare of a Brain Explosion chronicles her injury and the subsequent journey to recovery.

Film career

In 1967, Timothy made her debut with a credited film role in the Russ Meyer film Good Morning... and Goodbye! . [10] The following year she appeared in Hell's Chosen Few, her first of three films directed by David L. Hewitt. [11] Her second collaboration with Hewitt was The Mighty Gorga in which she portrayed April Adams, a trapper on a mission to locate a 50-foot gorilla. [12] Timothy's final film with Hewitt was The Girls from Thunder Strip [13] which centered around three bootlegging sisters who confront a gang of bikers.

Filmography

Film list
TitleRoleDirectorYearNotes #
Good Morning... and Goodbye! Lottie Russ Meyer 1967
Hells Chosen Few David L. Hewitt 1968
The Mighty Gorga April AdamsDavid L. Hewitt19692nd lead role
Charro! Bit Part Charles Marquis Warren 1969Uncredited
The Girls from Thunder Strip JesseDavid L. Hewitt1970
The Female Bunch "Pug" Al Adamson
John 'Bud' Cardos
1970 [14] [15] [16]
ChickenDocumentary [17]

Music

During the 1960s, Timothy showcased her folk music talents at various coffee houses and also participated in a USO tour to entertain troops in Vietnam. [4] In February 1967, she had a regular performance schedule at the Rainbow Room in Nashville, Tennessee. [18]

Around 2010, several years after experiencing a stroke, Timothy decided to receive vocal coaching. She received guidance from Michael Rivers. Despite facing challenges due to her brain injury, [19] Timothy released her first CD album four years later. In 2014, she unveiled the album "As I Wander: Songs of Christmas," which featured the vocals of Dan Cobb, the singer-guitarist/producer Rivers, and cellist Marlene Moore. [20]

Recordings

Stroke

After the passing of her mother and the loss of her belongings in a fire, [21] Timothy experienced a stroke in September 2003, at the age of 63. The stroke was a result of an arteriovenous malformation and led to severe aphasia, [22] rendering her unable to speak. With no family or financial means to support herself, she became a ward of the state and was temporarily housed in a rehabilitation facility for two weeks. Although the facility was described as a mental hospital in the September/October edition of Stroke Connection magazine, Timothy's friends intervened and secured her release. [23] Prior to the stroke, Timothy did not have medical coverage, but she later became enrolled in a California Medicaid program. [24] A documentary titled "Chicken," which chronicled her stroke and journey, was screened at the Fontaine Auditorium of Samuel Merritt University in Oakland on August 4, 2010. [25]

Publications

List
TitlePublisherISBNYearNotes #
Let Me Die Laughing!: Waking from The Nightmare of a Brain ExplosionCrone House Publishing 9781932905069 2006
12,000 Miles For Hope's SakeCrone House Publishing 9781932905113 2009

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References

  1. RhodieMusic (2015-03-16). "MEGAN TIMOTHY". Rhodie Music. Retrieved 2023-11-19.
  2. The Tennessean Sunday, March 19, 1967 Page 5 Club Singer Defends Native Rhodesia, Rips British
  3. 1 2 The Southern Herald April 6, 2006 Page 1 Author's Ride of Meaning by Coyette Stuart
  4. 1 2 3 4 Chicago Tribune May 19, 1999 Wild Ride Overseas, Solo Adventurer Is Turning 60 On Biking Odyssey - By Carol Bidwell, Los Angeles Daily News
  5. 1 2 Hildalgo County Herald Friday March 107, 2006 Author treks across nation promoting literacy
  6. Wild Beyond Belief!: Interviews with Exploitation Filmmakers of the 1960s and 1970s By Brian Albright Page 202 - 204 The Girl From Thunder Strip, Megan Timothy
  7. The Times News Sunday, April 23, 2006 2E Timothy signing at Accent on Books
  8. The Indianapolis Star September 17, 1986 Page 34 - Bed and Breakfast
  9. Los Angeles Times July 03, 1992 DISCOVERY : All the Comforts of Home - Cindy LaFavre Yorks
  10. Russ Meyer--The Life and Films by David K. Frasier Page 97
  11. Wild Beyond Belief!: Interviews with Exploitation Filmmakers of the 1960s and 1970s By Brian Albright Page 202 - 204 - The Girl From Thunder Strip, Megan Timothy
  12. A Year of Fear: A Day-by-Day Guide to 366 Horror Films By Bryan Senn Page 189 - May 16. The Mighty Gorga
  13. The Grindhouse Database The Girls from Thunder Strip
  14. Imdb Megan Timothy
  15. Rotten Tomatoes The Female Bunch
  16. Cinema Montreal The Female Bunch
  17. The Examiner July 28, 2010 - Stroke awareness and special outreach event with Megan Timothy - By Laurel Zien
  18. The Tennessean Sunday, February 26, 1967 Page 151 At The Rainbow
  19. Sequim Gazette Nov 24, 2014 Rediscovering her voice by Alana Linderoth
  20. Peninsula Daily News November 09. 2014 Singer-writer tells of surviving brain injury; will fete CD release in Port Angeles today By Diane Urbani de la Paz
  21. Virginia Grantier, "In search of confidence", Bismarck Tribune August 12, 2006.
  22. Rob Ollikainen, "Author coming to Port Angeles to speak about brain injuries", Peninsula Daily News March 20, 2011.
  23. Jon Caswell, "Let Me Die Laughing" Stroke Connection, September/October 2007, p. 20, Cover Story.
  24. Long Term Rehabilitation for Stroke and TBI: Building a Community By Beverly Greer ACUTE REHABILITATION--WHO DOES WHAT?, Vocational Therapists ...
  25. Laurel Zien, Stroke awareness and special outreach event with Megan Timothy], The Examiner July 28, 2010.