Joi Lansing

Joi's early film career included bit parts in more than a dozen movies, such as Neptune's Daughter, Singin' In The Rain, and The French Line. Her big break came in 1955 when she was cast as a "dumb blonde" on The Bob Cummings Show, a hit that ran for four years. The press dubbed her "The Marilyn Monroe of Television" thanks to her platinum hair and voluptuous figure. In 1956, she had a leading role in the crime drama Hot Shots and later appeared in Queen Of Outer Space and The Atomic Submarine. Orson Welles gave her a small role in his 1958 drama Touch Of Evil. Despite her sex symbol status, she claimed to be a devout Mormon and said she didn't smoke or drink alcohol.

Her personal life included brief romances with Mickey Rooney and George Raft, and marriages to Jerry Safron, Lance Fuller, and Stanley Todd. A serious romance with Frank Sinatra, her costar in A Hole In The Head, also made headlines. In the 1960s, she began performing in nightclubs and recorded an album, while making guest appearances on TV shows like The Beverly Hillbillies, Petticoat Junction, and The Adventures Of Ozzie And Harriet. In 1969, while making the horror film Bigfoot, she met twenty-year-old Alexis Hunter, and the two began a passionate affair. Joi was diagnosed with breast cancer and had surgery, but also suffered from severe anemia. There were rumors that her cancer had been caused by silicone breast injections. She died on August 7, 1972, at age 43, with Alexis at her side. She was buried at Pierce Brothers Cemetery in Santa Paula, California.