Mamie Van Doren

Mamie Van Doren (; born Joan Lucille Olander; February 6, 1931) she is one of the "Three M's", a group formed by Marilyn Monroe and Jayne Mansfield, who were contemporaries. In 1953, Van Doren, then named Joan Lucille Olander, signed a seven-year contract with Universal, which hoped that she would be their version of Monroe. She starred in teen dramas, exploitation, musical, comedy, and rock and roll films, among other genres, many of which have gone on to become cult classics. She was one of the leading sex symbols in the 1950s.

Van Doren was born and raised in Rowena, South Dakota, but her parents moved to Sioux City, Iowa, and eventually to Los Angeles in 1942 before she married Jack Newman. In 1949, at the age of eighteen, she won Miss Palm Springs and Miss Eight Ball. As Miss Eight Ball, she was discovered by film producer Howard Hughes, who put her in the RKO films His Kind of Woman (1951), Two Tickets to Broadway (1951), and Jet Pilot (1957) in minor roles. In 1950 she was dating the heavyweight boxer Jack Dempsey, over thirty-five years her senior, in New York City and was engaged to him. However, she left him to go back to Los Angeles. On January 20, 1953, Van Doren signed a contract with Universal, who wanted her to be Universal's equivalent of Monroe. While at Universal, Van Doren changed her name to Mamie Van Doren, the "Mamie" from then–First Lady Mamie Eisenhower and the "Van Doren" from Universal's telling Van Doren she was more Dutch than Swedish.

During her time at Universal, Van Doren starred in movies such as The Second Greatest Sex (1955), Running Wild (1955), and The All American (1953). Outside of Universal she starred in Untamed Youth (1957), Teacher's Pet (1958), High School Confidential (1958), Born Reckless (1958), The Beat Generation (1959), and Sex Kittens Go To College (1960). She starred on television shows such as What's My Line?, The Jack Benny Program, and The Bob Cummings Show. After Universal failed to renew her contract in 1959, Van Doren struggled to find work as a free agent. She starred in many B movies, such as Voyage to the Planet of Prehistoric Women (1968), In 1998, she created her website, describing herself as “the first authentic kitten on Cyberspace".

Early life

Van Doren was born Joan Lucille Olander on February 6, 1931, in Rowena, South Dakota, a small community about nine miles (14 km) from Sioux Falls. She was the only child of Warner Carl Olander (1908–1992) and Lucille Harriet Bennett (1912–1995), who had met through a Swedish Lutheran congregation in the Rowena area and married in August 1930. Her mother named her Joan after actress Joan Crawford, whom she admired. Van Doren later described her ancestry as predominantly Swedish, with Irish and German branches on her mother's side; her maternal grandmother was born in Gothenburg, Sweden. She recalled her grandmother, whom she called "Dah", as the dominant figure in the household and her grandfather, "Pa", as the relative who regularly took her into town. These accounts come primarily from Van Doren's memoir and later biographical interviews and should therefore be understood as recollections rather than independently documented medical records.

In 1939, Van Doren's parents began establishing a home in Sioux City, and in May 1942 the family moved to Los Angeles, where her father sought better employment opportunities during the wartime economy. The move brought Van Doren, then eleven, into the environment of the American film industry. She later recalled becoming fascinated by performers including Clark Gable, Carole Lombard, Spencer Tracy, Fred Astaire, Katharine Hepburn, Jean Harlow, Mae West and Ginger Rogers. In her autobiography, she described the movies as presenting both glamour and the promise of romantic fulfillment, and recalled that they helped inspire her ambition to become a Hollywood actress. During her adolescence she became increasingly interested in the entertainment business. She later recalled an incident in which a man exposed himself to her while she was riding in a car; she wrote that the experience temporarily contributed to a distrust of men. The incident is described in her 1964 memoir My Naughty, Naughty Life! and has not been independently corroborated.

At about thirteen, Van Doren persuaded the management of the Hollywood Pantages Theatre to employ her as an usherette. The job gave her an opportunity to watch films regularly and brought her into closer contact with Hollywood's theatrical environment.

Van Doren's first exposure to television came while she was still a teenager. She obtained a small part on a local television program associated with impresario Nils Granlund, who was known professionally as N. T. G. Granlund reportedly remarked on her resemblance to Jean Harlow. Contemporary reporting on the memoir likewise describes Van Doren's account of a close friendship with Short, although the details remain primarily based on Van Doren's recollections.

By the late 1940s, Van Doren was combining entertainment work with appearances in beauty contests. In the summer of 1949, at age eighteen, she entered the Miss Palm Springs competition at the Montecito Hotel in Palm Springs, California, and won the title. She was subsequently selected as the Los Angeles Press Club's beauty queen, receiving the title "Miss Eight Ball".

Her success at Palm Springs also brought her to the attention of film producer Howard Hughes, marking the beginning of the transition from Joan Olander, an aspiring young performer, to the actress who would later be known professionally as Mamie Van Doren. Van Doren said that he was controlling when they dated. She said in a 2005 interview that Hughes took her to a spot on Vermont Avenue for a braless photoshoot in a white sweater. Van Doren would often meet Howard Hughes at the Garden of Allah Hotel. Her line of dialogue consisted of one word, "Look!". Van Doren had a small role in Footlight Varieties (1951) as the girl in the theater in the final scene of the film. Van Doren appeared uncredited in Two Tickets to Broadway (1951). The film starred Tony Martin and former co-star Janet Leigh.

In her memoir, Van Doren tells of her relationship with Charles Fischetti, an American mobster and the cousin of Al Capone, whom she met in Las Vegas who often sent money to Van Doren from Chicago. He died of a heart attack in 1951.

Danielle Cory, an RKO worker and friend of Van Doren, suggested that Van Doren work on stage for the play Billion Dollar Baby, which began her stage career as a showgirl. The show was held at the Proser Cafe Theatre, near Jack Dempsey's restaurant. Cory additionally suggested that Van Doren should audition for Alberto Vargas to be one of the "Vargas Girls" in Esquire. Dempsey got engaged to Van Doren, then decided to move back to Hollywood because she thought it would be better for her career.

At the request of Sammy Fain, Van Doren met songwriter Jimmy McHugh. Van Doren also went to many of McHugh's parties, attended by Darryl F. Zanuck, Louis B. Mayer, and Buddy Adler. This allowed Van Doren to have a screen test for Paramount Pictures. Universal had intended for Van Doren to be their "answer to Marilyn Monroe." However, unlike other Marilyn Monroe lookalikes, Van Doren did not portray the "dumb blonde" role in films.

In January 1953 Van Doren took college courses from professors at University of California while training to be an actress at Universal. She also took lessons for horseback riding, diction, scene study, and ballet. According to Van Doren herself, she had an encounter with Joan Crawford, who "drunkenly tried to flirt with Rock [Hudson]." Midway through the event, Van Doren had a conversation with Monroe while doing her lipstick. In her autobiography, Van Doren describes engaging in sexual activity with Hudson at her parents' house after the event had ended.

1953–1960: Rise to prominence Van Doren's first major role was in The All American (1953), a college football film directed by Jesse Hibbs. The film centers on a college quarterback whose life takes a turn after his parents die in a car accident. Van Doren later said that Hibbs encouraged her to fondle him and often put her hand at his groin during rehearsals. The film also starred Tony Curtis, Lori Nelson, and Richard Long. In The All American, Van Doren played Susie Ward, an ambitious waitress initially looking to find a wealthy spouse near a university. Due to good reviews from Universal-International executives, Van Doren was sent on tour to promote the film.

Van Doren's second major film was the 1954 film Yankee Pasha. The film was based on Edison Marshall's 1947 novel of the same name, which Universal had recently purchased. Yankee Pasha revolves around a man who sails the ocean, played by Jeff Chandler, to find his true love, a woman forced into slavery, portrayed by Rhonda Fleming. The eight-week shooting schedule exhausted Van Doren, resulting in weight loss. Van Doren has said that she was attracted to Joseph Pevney, director of Yankee Pasha. She had a relationship with him, and Van Doren said that she embraced Pevney in his office. Universal also let Van Doren go to the 1954 premiere of The Glenn Miller Story with Conrad "Nicky" Hilton Jr., son of Conrad Hilton. Van Doren later entered into a relationship with him. Van Doren has recounted that Conrad Hilton disapproved of her being in a relationship with Nicky Hilton.

Van Doren completely ended her relationship with Hilton while shooting Edward Buzzell's Ain't Misbehavin' (1955), with Van Doren starring as "Jackie". In the film, Van Doren was cast as a dumb blonde. Van Doren became annoyed that she kept getting similar roles. On the set, she met Prince Axel of Denmark. Prince Axel was in contact with Van Doren and invited her to several events. Van Doren was just as well known for her provocative roles. She was in prison for Girls Town (1959), which provoked censors with a shower scene where audiences could see Van Doren's naked back. As Eve in The Private Lives of Adam and Eve (1960), she wore only fig leaves, and in other films like The Beautiful Legs of Sabrina (1959), Sex Kittens Go to College (1960), and Vice Raid (1960), audiences understood the nature of the films from the titles.

1959–present: Later career After Universal Studios chose not to renew her contract in 1959, Van Doren became a free agent and struggled to find work. Some of her later movies were foreign and independent productions, which did little to keep her image in the public's eye. Many of the productions were low-budget B movies with some having gained a cult following for their high camp value.

The first of these later films was Sex Kittens Go to College (1960), which co-starred Tuesday Weld and Mijanou Bardot, sister of sultry French actress Brigitte Bardot. Following the completion of the Argentine film The Blonde from Buenos Aires (1961), Van Doren took time off from her career. She came back in The Candidate (1964), soon followed by Freddy in the Wild West, both of which were low-budget films that made little impact. In 1964, Tommy Noonan convinced Van Doren to appear in 3 Nuts in Search of a Bolt. Van Doren had turned down Noonan's previous offer to star opposite Jayne Mansfield in Promises! Promises! and was replaced with Marie McDonald. In 3 Nuts in Search of a Bolt, Mamie did a beer-bath scene but is not seen nude. She posed for Playboy to promote the film.

Van Doren next appeared in The Las Vegas Hillbillys (1966) released by Woolner Brothers. Van Doren's guest appearances on television include Jukebox Jury, What's My Line, The Bob Cummings Show, The Jack Benny Show, Fantasy Island, Burke's Law, Vega$ and L.A. Law. Van Doren also developed a nightclub act and performed in live theater. She performed in stage productions of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and Dames at Sea at the Drury Lane Theater in Chicago as well as appeared in Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? and The Tender Trap at the Arlington Park Theater. In the 1970s, Van Doren performed a nightclub act in Las Vegas.

Van Doren has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7057 Hollywood Boulevard. In 2005, a Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars was dedicated to her.

Since 2025, Mamie Exposed! The Life and Loves of the Last Blonde Bombshell, a documentary about Van Doren's life and career, has been in production.

Other ventures Van Doren was never a Playboy Playmate, but she posed twice for the magazine in 1964 to promote her movie 3 Nuts in Search of a Bolt (1964). By this point in her career, her figure measured 38DD-26-36 (self-described in 1997). She said "I don't even want to say double-D because they're even bigger than that."

In 1964, Van Doren was a guest at the Whisky a Go Go on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood, California when The Beatles were at the club visiting with Jayne Mansfield, and an inebriated George Harrison accidentally threw his drink on her when trying to throw it on some bothersome journalists. During the Vietnam War, she gave tours for U.S. troops in Vietnam for three months in 1968, and again in 1970. In addition to USO shows, she visited hospitals, including the wards of amputees and burn victims.

Van Doren released Playing the Field (1987), her autobiography, which brought much attention and proved to be her biggest media splash in over 25 years. She has consistently denied in interviews ever having breast implants. In 2006, Mamie posed for photographs for Vanity Fair with Pamela Anderson as part of its annual Hollywood issue. The same year, she expressed opposition to the Iraq War. In an interview with Fox News in February 2020, Van Doren announced that she was working on a follow-up to her autobiography. She remarked that "...a lot has happened between 1987 and 2020. So now I'm writing about what it's like getting older and appreciating life a little more as you go along, as well as getting smarter as you get older. There's so much to write about." Van Doren practices Buddhism.

The title of her follow-up book was announced in December 2021 as China & Me: Wind Flapping, Feather Pulling, and Love on the Wing, a memoir about her pet parrot China. Van Doren describes the story as "a look behind the curtain into my everyday life. It's often funny, but, like so many things in life, it has its moments of sadness. Over the decades I've integrated a wild animal into a human household, played matchmaker to find him a mate, and cared for his offspring. I'm blessed to have had China as companion, confessor, and straight man all these years; and he's still with me today." The book was published in September 2022.

In an interview with Closer in January 2021, she reflected on the #MeToo movement, saying 'I've thought a lot about that. There are some things I would question, but I've also always been behind any woman with a problem because I have had plenty of them myself. [In my time] if I wanted to go to bed with someone, I'd go to bed with them, but I never did it for a movie. [A predator] would know that he was in for a fight if he ever came around me. [It would be] nails out, kicking and screaming.'

Van Doren had a website from the late 90s to the early 2010s. Van Doren had a theater section, where she would post various movies. She also showed many nude and semi-nude images taken by Julie Strain. Van Doren started her own blog on which she regularly writes about a very diverse array of topics. As of July 2023 she is still posting to her blog.

Before the divorce was finalized, Van Doren became involved with former heavyweight boxing champion Jack Dempsey. Dempsey, who was more than three decades older than Van Doren, had met her through the boxing and nightclub circuit. The relationship attracted press attention, and the couple became engaged in 1951. Van Doren later recalled that she and Dempsey were able to frequent prominent New York establishments such as the Stork Club, the Copacabana and the 21 Club.

The couple married on August 29, 1955, in Toledo, Ohio. Their only child, Perry Ray Anthony, was born on March 18, 1956. Contemporary music-industry reporting confirmed the birth and identified Ray Anthony as the child's father. Van Doren later said that the pregnancy occurred before the marriage and that the circumstances surrounding her pregnancy affected her relationship with Universal Studios, which was concerned about the public image of its contract actresses.

The marriage subsequently deteriorated. Van Doren filed for divorce in 1958, citing cruelty, while later accounts also described Anthony's frequent absences and the pressures created by their respective careers. The divorce was finalized on March 22, 1961, with Van Doren receiving custody of Perry. Van Doren subsequently described her son as an important influence on her decisions about work and family life. In a 1987 interview, she said that Perry had remained close to her and her fifth husband, Thomas Dixon.

During the early 1960s, Van Doren was also romantically linked with several public figures. Among the more extensively documented relationships was her engagement to Bo Belinsky, a pitcher for the Los Angeles Angels. Belinsky and Van Doren became engaged in April 1963, and their relationship was widely covered by the press. The engagement ended later that year. Belinsky subsequently said that the two remained friends. Contemporary newspaper accounts indicate that the marriage had actually taken place earlier in May 1966, although published reports differed on the exact date.

In Playing the Field, Van Doren gave a considerably more personal account of the marriage. She wrote that she had become pregnant after a relationship with football player Joe Namath and that she married Meyers after telling him that he was the father. She later said that the pregnancy ended in an abortion. These details derive from Van Doren's autobiography and have not been independently established. In keeping with the personal nature of the account, the circumstances surrounding the pregnancy and abortion have generally been reported as Van Doren's own recollection.

The marriage was short-lived. Van Doren later attributed its breakdown to differences in temperament and Meyers' drug use.

Ross McClintock

Van Doren's fourth marriage was to businessman Ross McClintock. The couple married in 1972, during the period when Van Doren was involved in political and entertainment activities. The marriage was extremely brief and was annulled by an Orange County Superior Court judge after 37 days.

McClintock was a businessman and former executive associated with the Fluor Corporation. His 1985 obituary in the Los Angeles Times described his marriage to Van Doren as lasting 37 days and specifically stated that it was annulled rather than simply dissolved by divorce. The marriage became Van Doren's longest-lasting relationship. In later interviews, she described Dixon as her most enduring partner and spoke of their shared interest in animals, particularly birds.

Van Doren's relationship with Dixon also coincided with a shift in her public life. During the 1970s she increasingly concentrated on stage and nightclub appearances and on selective film and television work rather than maintaining the level of studio activity associated with her 1950s career. By the 1980s she was describing herself as selective about professional projects while continuing to perform and record music. 1957 Palm Springs Rodeo Queen 1994 Hollywood Walk of Fame Star - Motion Pictures 2005 Palm Springs Walk of the Stars Golden Palm Star 2025 Cinecon Classic Film Festival Cinecon Legacy Award Bibiliography