B-movie actress and ‘50s pinup girl
Jeanne Carmen, 77, a 1950s pinup girl and B-movie actress, died Thursday of lymphoma at her Irvine home, her son, Brandon James, told the Associated Press.
Born Aug. 4, 1930, in Paragould, Ark., Carmen picked cotton with her family before running away at 13.
The small-town girl with measurements of 36-26-36 was still a teenager when she arrived in New York and began dancing in burlesque shows.
She later went into modeling, gaining a measure of success with a series of cheesecake shots in men’s magazines.
One gig turned into a new career as a trick golfer.
On tour with golfer Jack Redmond, she would perform stunts such as hitting a ball out of a man’s mouth.
Carmen made her way to Hollywood, where she appeared in low-budget ‘50s movies, including “The Monster of Piedras Blancas.”
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