Favourite Exploitation Actors

Sicilian born actor/writer/director was very popular with European audiences, but largely unknown to the west apart from his portrayal of the villainous SPECTRE agent "Emilio Largo" in the spectacular James Bond film Thunderball (1965). However, due to his heavy accent, Celi's voice was dubbed by Robert Rietty. Two years later Celi popped up in the appalling James Bond spoof Operation Kid Brother (1967) starring Neil Connery brother of Sean Connery.

Additional to his many film appearances in Italian productions, Celi spent many years on stage in South America to very positive reviews, and directed three films made in South America, Caiçara (1950), Tico-Tico no fuba (1952)_ and L'Alibi (1969)_.

He passed away on February 19th 1986 from a heart attack.

Prolific, versatile, and ubiquitous character actor Aldo Sambrell was featured in over 140 international motion pictures in a remarkably long, varied, and illustrious career that spanned four and a half decades. Swarthy and burly, usually sporting a thick mustache, and often projecting an air of quiet oily menace, Sambrell was frequently cast in colorful supporting parts as hateful villains and lethal gunslingers in numerous Italian spaghetti Westerns. Sambrell was born Alfredo Sanchez Brell on February 23, 1931 in Madrid, Spain. His family fled Spain because of the Spanish Civil War and he was raised in Mexico. While in Mexico Aldo played professional soccer in the Mexican leagues in Pueblo and Monterrey. After beginning his career in the entertainment industry as a singer, Sambrell eventually returned to Spain and made his film debut in an uncredited bit role as a Jewish rebel in the biblical epic King of Kings (1961). Aldo appeared in his first spaghetti western in 1963. Sambrell was perhaps best known for his gritty portrayals of scruffy bandit gang members in Sergio Leone's classic spaghetti westerns A Fistful of Dollars (1964), For a Few Dollars More (1965), The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966) and C'era una volta questo pazzo, pazzo, pazzo West (1973). Sambrell gave a memorably chilling performance as ruthless bandit gang leader Mervyn Duncan in Navajo Joe (1966). He had a rare lead role as voodoo priest Gatenebo in the laughably lousy horror clunker Voodoo Black Exorcist (1974). Among the many directors Aldo worked for are David Lean, Richard Fleischer, John Milius, Sergio Corbucci, Umberto Lenzi, León Klimovsky, Jess Franco, Richard Lester, Jackie Chan, Charlton Heston, Matt Cimber and Enzo G. Castellari. Moreover, Sambrell also wrote, produced and directed a few films. He was married to actress Cándida López. His last film role was as an aging actor in the poignant short Río seco (2006). Aldo died at age 79 on July 10, 2010 in Alicante, Spain after suffering a series of strokes.

Ann Smyrner was born on 3 November 1934 in Frederiksberg, Denmark. She was an actress, known for Reptilicus (1961), Kommissar X - Drei gelbe Katzen (1966) and Holiday in St. Tropez (1964). She died on 29 August 2016 in Benalmadena, Andalusia, Spain.

Anna Gaël was born on 27 September 1943 in Budapest, Hungary. She was an actress, known for Nana (1970), The Love Factor (1969) and Mademoiselle de la Ferté (1965). She was married to Alexander Thynne and Gilbert Pineau. She died on 17 September 2022 in Paris, Île-de-France, France.

Barbara Goldbach was born to Howard and Marjorie Goldbach in Queens, New York. Her father was a policeman. She met her first husband Augusto Gregorini in New York while she worked as a model and he was visiting from Italy for business tourism in 1966. Barbara followed him to Italy to be with him and they married in 1968. They had two children, Francesca Gregorini and Gianni Gregorini. During Gianni's birth, he had the umbilical cord wrapped around his neck, nearly choking him, and was diagnosed with cerebral palsy, although a later operation improved his condition.

In 1975, Barbara and Augusto Gregorini separated when she moved to Los Angeles, California. The couple separated in 1978, sharing custody of their two children. Barbara met Ringo Starr on the set of the comedy Caveman (1981), and they became a couple during the filming. Ringo and Barbara were on a holiday in December 1980 when her daughter called to inform them that John Lennon had been shot. Ringo and Barbara went to New York City to console Yoko Ono and Sean Lennon. Ringo and Barbara married on April 27, 1981.

Her acting career began in Italy, where she played Nausicaa in Odissea (1968), a television adaptation of Homer's epic poem "The Odyssey", directed by Franco Rossi and produced by Dino De Laurentiis. Bach co-starred with two other "Bond Girls", Claudine Auger and Barbara Bouchet in the mystery Black Belly of the Tarantula (1971) and had small roles in other Italian films. In 1977, she played Russian secret agent Anya Amasova in the James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me (1977). The following year, she appeared in the war film Force 10 from Navarone (1978), which also starred Robert Shaw and Harrison Ford.

Stunningly beautiful and charismatic blonde Barbara Bouchet was born Barbel Goutscherola on August 15th, 1943 in Liberec, Czechoslovakia, known as Reichenberg, during the German occupation. Her father, Fritz, was a war photographer.

Her family was forced to leave the country when Barbara was a little girl and her name was changed to Barbara Gutscher. They got separated, but ended up getting together again. They migrated in December 1956 and settled in San Francisco, California, where Barbara attended the prestigious Galileo High School, a polytechnic school with commercial and industrial branches. Bouchet speaks English, German and Italian with equal fluency. In an interview to Shock Cinema (Number 44), Barbara Bouchet says her name had been changed again to Bouchet at the start of her career, because it sounded like her German name.

Barbara was inspired to be a screen actress after seeing the work of German actress Christine Kaufmann in Der schweigende Engel (1954) ("The Silent Angel").

In 1959, her father submitted a photo of her to the "Miss Gidget" beauty contest, and she won. The contest was held by the local television station KPIX-TV, based on the character of what has been considered the first "beach party movie" in Hollywood history, Gidget (1959). The prize included a date with James Darren the famous star of that movie, and a screen test. The screen test never materialized.

Barbara was featured as a dancer on the teen-targeted rock'n'roll TV show, The KPIX Dance Party, from 1959 to 1962.

Bouchet began a career of teen model that led to her extensive magazine cover model (35 covers). In October 1983, at age 40, Bouchet did a nude pictorial for the Italian edition of "Penthouse" magazine.

Barbara acted in TV commercials. She made her film debut with an uncredited bit part in the comedy What a Way to Go! (1964). Bouchet soon became known for openly flaunting her spectacularly curvaceous figure in several pictures: clad in alluring silk harem robes in John Goldfarb, Please Come Home! (1965), cavorting nude on the beaches of Pearl Harbor in the World War II epic In Harm's Way (1965), and wearing a bikini for the bulk of her screen time in Agent for H.A.R.M. (1966). She also portrayed "Ursula" in Bob Fosse's outstanding musical Sweet Charity (1969), made for a nicely sultry "Miss Moneypenny" in the tongue-in-cheek 007 outing Casino Royale (1967), and had guest spots on such TV series as The Virginian (1962), Star Trek (1966), Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1964), and The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1964).

In 1970, fed-up with being typecast as a mindless sexpot in Hollywood fare, she moved to Italy. She soon became one of Italy's top actresses, carving out a fruitful niche for herself in sex comedies, giallo murder mysteries and gritty crime thrillers. Among her most memorable roles in these Italian features are the brazen spoiled rich lady "Patrizia" in Lucio Fulci's disturbing Don't Torture a Duckling (1972) ("Don't Torture A Duckling"), prostitute "Francine" in The French Sex Murders (1972) ("The French Sex Murders"), modeling agency choreographer "Kitty" in The Red Queen Kills Seven Times (1972) ("Red Queen Kills 7 Times"), saucy love interest "Scilla" in the splendidly sleazy The Mean Machine (1973), and enticing stripper "Anny" in Death Rage (1976) ("Death Rage"). Bouchet had an unforgettably steamy lesbian love scene with Rosalba Neri in Amuck! (1972) ("Amuck"). Barbara Bouchet appeared alongside fellow Bond girls Barbara Bach and Claudine Auger in Black Belly of the Tarantula (1971) ("The Black Belly of the Tarantula"). Barbara Bouchet continues to act in both films and TV shows, alike, made in Italy. Barbara popped up in a small role (as the wife of giallo star David Hemmings) in Martin Scorsese's Gangs of New York (2002).

Barbara married producer Luigi Borghese in 1976. They had two sons: Alessandro Borgese (b. 1974), a chef hosting a show on the Italian cable TV; and Massimiliano Borghese (b. 1989), a bartender. During the shooting of Diamond Connection (1984) in Istanbul, there was mention of a separation in the Turkish language "New World Video & Magazine" of September 1984, but the divorce happened much later.

In 1985, Bouchet started her own production company, opened her own health club in Rome, and launched her own line of fitness books and videos.

[based on woodyanders]

Barbara Leigh was born on 16 November 1946 in Ringgold, Georgia, USA. She is an actress, known for Terminal Island (1973), The Incredible Hulk (1977) and Pretty Maids All in a Row (1971). She was previously married to Joe Lewis.

The most beautiful star of the greatest horror masterpiece of Italian film, Black Sunday (1960): Barbara Steele was born on December 29, 1937 in Birkenhead, Cheshire, England. Barbara is loved by her fans for her talent, intelligence, and a dark mysterious beauty that is unique; her face epitomizes either sweet innocence, or malign evil (she is wonderful to watch either way). At first, Barbara studied to become a painter. In 1957, she joined an acting repertory company. Her feature acting debut was in the British comedy Bachelor of Hearts (1958). At age 21, this strikingly lovely lady, with the hauntingly beautiful face, large eyes, sensuous lips and long dark hair got her breakout role by starring in Black Sunday (1960), the quintessential Italian film about witchcraft (it was the directorial debut for cinematographer Mario Bava; with his background, it was exquisitely photographed and atmospheric).

We got to see Barbara, but did not hear her; her voice was dubbed by another actress for international audiences. After its American success, AIP brought Barbara to America, to star in Roger Corman's The Pit and the Pendulum (1961); (though the film was shot entirely in English, again Barbara's own voice was not used). By now, Barbara was typecast by American audiences as a horror star. In 1962, she answered an open-casting call and won a role in Federico Fellini's 8½ (1963); she only had a small role, but it was memorable. Reportedly, Fellini wanted to use her more in the film, but she was contracted to leave Rome to start work on her next horror movie, The Horrible Dr. Hichcock (1962). Being a slow and meticulous director, Fellini's 8½ (1963) was not released until 1963. (Later, when Barbara was cast in lesser roles in lesser movies, she would tell the directors: "I've worked with some of the best directors in the world. I've worked with Fellini!")

More horror movies followed, such as The Ghost (1963), Castle of Blood (1964), An Angel for Satan (1966) and others; this success lead to her being typecast in the horror genre, where she more often than not appeared in Italian movies with a dubbed voice. The nadir was appearing in The Crimson Cult (1968), which was mainly eye candy, with scantily-clad women in a cult. Unfortunately, Barbara got sick of being typecast in horror movies. One of the screen's greatest horror stars, she said in an interview: "I never want to climb out of another freakin' coffin again!" This was sad news for her legion of horror fans; it was also a false-step for Barbara as far as a career move. Back in America, she met screenwriter James Poe; they got married, and remained together for many years.

James Poe wrote an excellent role for Barbara in They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969). The role ended up going to Susannah York, and Barbara wouldn't act in movies again for five years. Barbara returned to movies in Caged Heat (1974); she was miscast: a few years before, Barbara would have been one of the beautiful inmates, not the wheelchair-bound warden, but her performance won positive reviews. In 1977, she appeared in a film by Roger Corman, based on the true story of a mentally ill woman, I Never Promised You a Rose Garden (1977). Unfortunately, her scenes wound up on the cutting room floor. Barbara appeared in Pretty Baby (1978), but she was in the background the whole time, and her talents were mostly wasted. Barbara would appear in two more unmemorable movies. She and James Poe got divorced in 1978, he died two years later.

Barbara appeared in the independent film The Silent Scream (1979). Maybe because her ex-husband was now dead, or because her acting career was going nowhere, Barbara retired from acting for a decade. However, she had a great deal of success as a producer. She was an associate producer for the miniseries The Winds of War (1983), and produced War and Remembrance (1988), for which she got an Emmy Award. Her horror fans were delighted when Barbara showed up again, this time on television in Dark Shadows (1991), a revival of the beloved 1960s supernatural soap opera. And she has developed a relative fondness along with a sense of ironic humor about her horror queen status, which was evident in her appearance in Clive Barker's documentary A-Z of Horror (1997).

Brigitte Lahaie was born on October 12, 1955 in Tourcoing, Nord, France. Her father was a banker and her mother was an accountant. Brigitte also has two brothers and a sister. Lahaie moved with her sister to Paris, France in 1975 and worked in a shoe store prior to getting her first film job through a newspaper advert. Brigitte began performing in explicit hardcore movies in 1976 just a year following the legalization of hardcore pornography in France. After establishing herself as a star attraction in adult fare, Brigitte played a small role in the horror picture The Grapes of Death (1978) for cult cinema director Jean Rollin. Lahaie went on to tackle a lead role in Fascination (1979) for Rollin. Moreover, in the early 1980's Brigitte decided to stop doing porn and made a concentrated effort to appear in more traditional mainstream films under the alias Brigitte Simonin. (She has small parts in such mainstream movies as Diva (1981) and Henry & June (1990).) In addition, Lahaie published an autobiography in 1987, recorded and released a pop single, and even did a successful one-woman stage show about her life and career before going on to become the hostess of her own daily talk radio show that largely centers on issues concerning sexuality and relationships. Brigitte was inducted into the XRCO Hall of Fame as a Film Pioneer in 2014.

Brigitte Skay, also known as Brigitte Johanna Riedle, emerged in the entertainment world as a captivating German actress whose allure and talent shone in the vibrant European cinema of the 1960s and 1970s. Hailing from Mannheim, Germany, she stepped into the spotlight with a natural charisma that landed her roles in cult classics like The Love Factor (1969), where she played Lachesis, and Isabella, Duchess of the Devils (1969), portraying the fierce Isabelle de Frissac. Her performance in Mario Bava's A Bay of Blood (1971) as Louise cemented her status in the Italian exploitation genre, showcasing her knack for intense, memorable characters. Skay's career spanned over 40 credits, including gritty roles in films like Blackmail (1974) and San Babila: 8 P.M. (1976), reflecting her versatility across drama, horror, and thriller. Beyond the screen, her striking presence hinted at modeling work, though details remain scarce. She thrived in Italian-West German co-productions, carving a niche in the era's bold, boundary-pushing films. Skay's life, marked by a quiet retreat from the industry, ended in Weinheim, Germany, in 2012, leaving behind a legacy of fearless performances that still resonate with fans of cult cinema.

Candy Darling was born on 24 November 1944 in Long Island, New York, USA. She was an actress, known for Women in Revolt (1971), The Death of Maria Malibran (1972) and Flesh (1968). She died on 21 March 1974 in New York City, New York, USA.

Leggy, brunette-maned pin-up actress Caroline Munro was born in Windsor, Berkshire, England, and lived in Rottingdean near Brighton where she attended a Roman Catholic convent school. By chance, her mother and a photographer entered her picture in a "Face of the Year" competition for the British newspaper The Evening News and won. This led to modeling chores, her first job being for Vogue Magazine at age 17. She moved to London to pursue top modeling jobs and became a major cover girl for fashion and television commercials while there.

Decorative bit parts came her way in such films as Casino Royale (1967) and Where's Jack? (1969). One of her many gorgeous photo ads earned her a screen test and a one-year contract at Paramount where she won the role of Richard Widmark's daughter in the comedy/western A Talent for Loving (1973). She first met husband/actor Judd Hamilton filming this movie but they later divorced. Also in 1969, she became the commercial poster girl for "Lamb's Navy Rum", a gig that lasted ten years. She had no lines as Vincent Price's dead wife in The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971) and Dr. Phibes Rises Again (1972) which, in turn, led to a Hammer Studios contract and such low-budget spine-tinglers as Dracula A.D. 1972 (1972) and Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter (1974). More noticeable roles came outside the studio as the slave girl/love interest in The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1973), the princess in At the Earth's Core (1976), and a lethal Bond girl in the top-notch The Spy Who Loved Me (1977). Her voluptuous looks sustained her for a bit longer but the quality of her roles did not improve with higher visibility. Later '70s and '80s roles included the lower-grade Starcrash (1978), Maniac (1980), and Slaughter High (1986), the last-mentioned written and directed by second husband George Dugdale, whom she married in 1990. He died in 2020.

Following her marriage, she was less seen. The septuagenarian continued to perform sporadically on camera, primarily in England and often in the horror genre. Subsequent lead and supporting movie roles have included Heaven's a Drag (1994), Domestic Strangers (1996), Flesh for the Beast (2003), Vampyres (2015), Cute Little Buggers (2017), and House of the Gorgon (2019), which also featured her daughter Georgina Dugdale.

Charles Napier was born in the tiny community of Mt. Union, near Scottsville, Allen County, Kentucky, to Linus Pitts Napier, a tobacco farmer and postman, and his wife, Sara, on April 12, 1936. He attended public school in Scottsville. After graduating high school, he enlisted in the Army in 1954. He rose to the rank of E-5 (Sgt.) while serving as company clerk with Company A 511th Airborne Infantry, 11th Airborne Division. He was a lively character actor who usually played edgy military types and menacing bad guys. His film debut was in Russ Meyer's Cherry, Harry & Raquel! (1969).

Napier went on appearing in other Meyer movies, including the homicidal Harry Sledge in Supervixens (1975) and also became a regular playing smaller roles for Jonathan Demme. His memorable portrayals of tough guys included the scheming intelligence officer in Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985) and the short-tempered front man in The Blues Brothers (1980).

If you remember those sword and sandal spectacles that became the rage of Italian cinema during the late 1950s and early 1960s, then you will certainly recall this torrid brunet bombshell. Invariably cast as the ambitiously evil queen or undulating dancer/temptress whose soul mission was to entrance the film's hero, Chelo Alonso's "peplum princess" prime would be surprisingly brief but her memorable moves and over-the-top histrionics were reason enough to place her on the international sex symbol pedestal and earn her cult status. While her acting contributions would certainly attract no awards, she did earn the honor of becoming "Italian Cinema's Female Discovery" early in the game.

The darkly stunning Alonso was born Isabel Apolonia García Hernández in Central Lugareño, Camagüey, Cuba, on April 10, 1933, to a Cuban father and Mexican mother. Attracted to dancing, she began performing seriously in Havana at age 17, and soon earned notoriety at Cuba's National Theatre for her sensual, exotic style. She took her trade to Paris in 1957 and became the toast of the Folies Bergère as an up-and-coming Josephine Baker. Billed as the "Cuban H-Bomb", she combined her native Afro-Cuban rhythms with a seductive belly-dancing style that encouraged wolf whistles wherever she toured, which would eventually include Puerto Rico, Haiti and even the United States.

It wasn't long before she slithered her way into Neopolitan action films. Bodybuilder Steve Reeves had just muscled his way into films with his mythological hero Hercules and a new genre was born, with the exotic Chelo soon proving herself a fiery fit. She first attracted attention with the film Sign of the Gladiator (1959) [Sign of the Gladiator] where her erotically-charged dance segment stole the thunder right from under the movie's top-billed sex star, Swedish siren Anita Ekberg.

From there Chelo, with her volcanic temperament, highly distinctive cheekbones and wild mane of dark hair, went on to charm a number of "ab"normally fit muscleman co-stars, including Reeves, Gordon Mitchell and Mark Forest in such obviously-titled adventure films as The Pirate and the Slave Girl (1959); Goliath and the Barbarians (1959); Son of Samson (1960); Terror of the Red Mask (1960); The Huns (1960); and Morgan the Pirate (1960); and Desert War (1962), which was produced by Aldo Pomilia.

She had already met Pomilia in 1960 while both were working on the "Morgan the Pirate" production. They married a year later and she bore him son Aldino in 1962. While visiting Aldo in Spain, where he was the production supervisor of Clint Eastwood's star-making western The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966), she made a brief uncredited mute cameo. Pomilia then executive-produced her an auspicious comeback, playing opposite her countryman, Havana-born Tomas Milian in the cult western Run, Man, Run (1968), as Dolores, which is arguably the best film role of her career. Chelo then made a brief appearance in a variation of that previous role, also called Dolores, in another cult western, the bizarre Night of the Serpent (1969), after which she abandoned the film scene and focused on Italian TV.

After the death of her husband in 1986, Alonso moved to Tuscany, Italy, where she found several interests to keep her busy, including breeding cats and operating a hotel/restaurant. She died at age 85 in Italy in 2019.

Gorgeous and voluptuous brunette beauty Britt Christina Marinette Lindberg was born on December 6, 1950, in Gothenburg, Sweden, to a working-class family, with one sister and two brothers.

When she was a teenager, she lived in the isle of Hisingen, At high-school, she studied Latin and planned on being an archaeologist. Before graduation, with her lustrous long brown hair, doe eyes, sweetly comely face and full, ripe, well-endowed figure, Christina quickly became a popular pin-up girl. She did some modeling in bathing suits for several newspapers, and in 1970 she started doing nude pictorials in men's magazines such as "FIB-Aktuellt", "Penthouse" (Penthouse Pet of the Month in the June 1970 issue), "Playboy", "Lui", Oui" and "Mayfair." Also in 1970, she recorded a two-sided 45 rpm vinyl single with her face on the cover, for the FIB-Aktuellt label.

Christina's film debut was a starring role as the naive, virginal, yet enticing, 16-year-old Inga in Maid in Sweden (1971). She went on to both minor and major roles as tantalizing sexpots in racy exploitation fare as Dog Days (1970), The Depraved (1971), Campus Swingers (1972), The Swinging Co-eds (1972), Secrets of Sweet Sixteen (1973) and Anita (1973).

Christina Lindberg is especially memorable as British spy and gambler Christina, in the Japanese crime pink movie Sex & Fury (1973). She appeared in two soft-core flicks for acclaimed adult picture writer-director Joseph W. Sarno: the lackluster Swedish Wildcats (1972) and the gloriously bizarre Young Playthings (1972). Her most enduring cult cinema fame stems from her outstanding performance as Frigga, a much abused and traumatized one-eyed mute junkie prostitute, who exacts a harsh retribution on her tormentors in the brutal and controversial revenge opus Thriller: A Cruel Picture (1973).

In the early 1970s, she was the onetime girlfriend of Swedish king King Carl XVI Gustaf.

Her acting career began to falter in the mid 1970s because of her refusal to do hardcore sex scenes. Christina studied journalism in the late 1970s and subsequently wrote articles for various men's magazines. Lindberg returned to movies in 2000, in a cameo of her Frigga character in the over-the-top parody Sex, Lies and Video Violence (2000).

Christina is an animal rights activist, an environmentalist, and a vegetarian. She owns two Siamese cats and is a keen mushroom picker, and shared her knowledge in 1993 in a a 20-minute short, "Christina's Mushroom School".

Christina Lindberg lives in Stockholm, Sweden. She's the owner and editor-in-chief of the aviation magazine "Flygrevyn," which she took over following her fiancee Bo Sehlberg's death in 2004.

Born Mary Eileen "Mimi" Chesterton (nicknamed Mimi by her friends and family) in St. Paul, Minnesota, titian beauty Claudia Jennings was raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In 1966, she moved to Evanston, Illinois, the first suburb north of Chicago just south of the Wisconsin state line, where she graduated high school in 1968.

After joining the Hull House theater company in Chicago, she took a job as a receptionist at the offices of Playboy magazine in September 1968. Photographer Pompeo Posar asked her to test, and with a potential $5,000 check at stake -- enough for a ticket to Hollywood -- she agreed. She eventually appeared as a Playmate in November 1969, and later as 1970 Playmate of the Year. Re-naming herself Claudia Jennings to avoid family embarrassment due to posing in the nude, she became the most perennially popular Playmate of the 1970s, as well as the number one female star of "Drive-In" movies such as The Unholy Rollers (1972) and 'Gator Bait (1973). Her first film role was with the film Jud (1971), a low-budget, socially conscious, independent film about a Vietnam soldier's return home. While the film came and went without much notice, it encouraged Claudia to go into the acting business full time.

From 1970 to 1975, she lived with songwriter/producer Bobby Hart but, after their split, her personal life began to spiral. She began using drugs and soon got a reputation for being unreliable. As her cocaine use began to escalate, her career from this point began to flounder.

One of her last theatrical film roles was a co-starring part in the little-seen Canadian racetrack drama Fast Company (1979). After narrowly missing the role of Kate Jackson's replacement on Charlie's Angels (1976) to Shelley Hack in May 1979, she began a tumultuous relationship with Beverly Hills realtor Stan Herman. Following their split later that summer, Jennings turned her life around and tried to quit drugs and drinking, but sadly died before she could continue performing in better films. On the morning of October 3, 1979, she was at the wheel of her VW convertible in Malibu on the Pacific Coast Highway, and drifted across the center divider, colliding head-on with a pickup truck near the intersection of Topanga Canyon Boulevard. She died a few minutes later before paramedics could arrive and get her to a nearby hospital. She was 29.

Connie Chan was born on 10 December 1947 in Guangzhou, Guangdong, Republic of China. She is an actress and assistant director, known for Kun Lun san sha shou (1967), The Golden Cup, the Wandering Dragon and the Decree to Kill (1966) and Yu nu jian (1969). She was previously married to Jimmy Yeung.

Corinne Cléry was born on 23 March 1950 in Paris, France. She is an actress, known for Moonraker (1979), The Story of O (1975) and Yor: The Hunter from the Future (1983).

Dagmar Lassander was born on 16 June 1943 in Prague, Protectorate Bohemia and Moravia [now Czech Republic]. She is an actress, known for Devil Fish (1984), Hatchet for the Honeymoon (1970) and I racconti fantastici di Edgar Allan Poe (1979).

Diana Lorys was born on 20 October 1940 in Madrid, Spain. She is an actress, known for O.K. Yevtushenko (1967), Proceso a Jesús (1974) and Residencia para espías (1966).

Dominique Boschero was born on 27 April 1937 in Paris, Île-de-France, France. She is an actress, known for Faccia di spia (1975), Full Hearts and Empty Pockets (1964) and Secret Agent Fireball (1965).

American actress and performer Dyanne Thorne began her career in show business as a band vocalist and New York stage actress. Before breaking onto the silver screen, she was popular as a comedic sketch artist/talking foil. Comedy albums, with Allen & Rossi, Vaughn Meader and Loman & Barkley earned her appearances on many T.V variety shows such as "The Tonight Show", "Red Skelton", "Steve Allen", "Merv Griffin", and with Tim Conway at Caesar's Palace Hotel in Las Vegas.

Filmed in New York City, Dyanne Thorne's first major film role was in Norman C. Chaitin's Encounter (1965), which was also an early screen credit for Robert De Niro. Moving to Hollywood to appear on T.V.'s Star Trek (1966), and star as yet another villainess in Crown International's thriller Point of Terror (1971), opened the door to several more movie roles.

In 1975, Dyanne married composer, conductor, musician and actor Howard Maurer. She and husband Howard starred in five films together throughout the years. The duo also co-produced and starred in several Las Vegas Strip showroom productions over a span of three decades and their careers took them around the world. Both Dyanne and Howard returned to the screen in 2013 after a 25 year absence to star together in indie horror films House of Forbidden Secrets (2013) and House of the Witchdoctor (2013).

As an actress, Dyanne Thorne was best known for her characterisation of the heinous international dominatrix, soldier of fortune, Ilsa. After her debut as Ilsa in Ilsa: She Wolf of the SS (1975), she reprised the role in sequels Ilsa, Harem Keeper of the Oil Sheiks (1976), Ilsa the Tigress of Siberia (1977) and unofficial entry Ilsa, the Wicked Warden (1977) by director Jesús Franco. Her performance as Ilsa turned the series into a cult favourite amongst horror and exploitation fans, with Ilsa the Tigress of Siberia (1977) earning a special screening at Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival 2018. Following her film career, Dyanne, alongside husband Howard, served as a church ordained, non-denominational minister In Las Vegas. The husband and wife team created "A Scenic Outdoor Wedding" as an alternative to commercial chapel weddings, with couples travelling from across the globe to be married by "Ilsa".

Edwige Fenech was born Edwige Sfenek on December 24, 1948, in Bone, Constantine, France, to a Maltese father and an Italian mother. She began her show-business career as a participant in beauty contests (she won the title of "Miss Mannequin de la Cote d'Azur" at age 16 and even won a Miss France beauty contest) and worked as a photo model prior to making her film debut in the comedy Toutes folles de lui (1967). She appeared in such saucy West German sex farces as Alle Kätzchen naschen gern (1969) and Sexy Susan Sins Again (1968).

With her lustrous and long black hair, lovely and sensuous face, full shapely figure and smoldering screen presence, Edwige soon became a very popular and much sought-after actress in a diverse array of European productions made in Italy, France, Spain and West Germany. She achieved her greatest enduring cult cinema popularity by starring in several superior Italian giallos for director Sergio Martino: The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh (1971), They're Coming to Get You! (1972) and Your Vice Is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key (1972) (she was the onetime girlfriend of Martino's producer brother, Luciano Martino).

Edwige also acted for Martino in a handful of racy Italian sex comedies and the Italian mini-series Delitti privati (1993). Other noted Italian film directors Fenech has worked for are Mario Bava (Five Dolls for an August Moon (1970)), Giuliano Carnimeo (The Case of the Bloody Iris (1972)), Andrea Bianchi (Strip Nude for Your Killer (1975)), Umberto Lenzi (The Biggest Battle (1978)), Steno (Dr. Jekyll Likes Them Hot (1979)), Dino Risi (Sono fotogenico (1980)) and Ruggero Deodato (Phantom of Death (1987)).

She demonstrated her exceptional range and skill as an actress with enjoyably uninhibited performances in such amusingly bawdy Italian comedic romps as Quel gran pezzo della Ubalda tutta nuda e tutta calda (1972) and The School Teacher (1975). Edwige became a television personality in the 1980s and made frequent appearances on an Italian chat show along with fellow giallo goddess Barbara Bouchet. Moreover, Fenech launched her own fashion line and founded her own film production company, Immagine e Cinema S.r.l., with her son Edwin Fenech (she co-produced the 2004 film The Merchant of Venice (2004) as well as various Italian TV mini-series and made-for-TV features).

In the mid-1990s Edwige was engaged to famous Italian industrialist Luca Cordero di Montezemolo. She made a welcome return to acting with a small but funny part as an alluring art class professor in Eli Roth's Hostel: Part II (2007).

Eric Falk is known for Blue Rita (1977), Mad Foxes (1981) and Caged Women (1980).

Erika Blanc was born on 23 July 1942 in Brescia, Lombardy, Italy. She is an actress, known for Sacred Heart (2005), Espionage in Lisbon (1965) and A Man for Emmanuelle (1969). She was previously married to Bruno Gaburro.