Pamela Tiffin

Dark-haired 60s cult pop icon Pamela Tiffin debuted in Summer and Smoke (1961) and was a scene-stealing comedienne opposite James Cagney in Billy Wilder’s One, Two, Three (1961) before becoming the queen of teenage drive-in movies in State Fair (1963), Come Fly with Me (1963), For Those Who Think Young (1964), The Lively Set (1964) and The Pleasure Seekers (1964).
After landing a sexy adult role opposite Paul Newman in Harper (1966), she went blonde and ran away to Italy to star in such films as Kiss the Other Sheik (1968), The Fifth Cord (1971) and Deaf Smith & Johnny Ears (1973). This thoroughly researched career retrospective pays tribute to the talented Tiffin, hailed by Cagney for her “remarkable flair for comedy,” and addresses why she did not achieve superstardom. Interviews with co-stars, including Franco Nero, and film historians offer a behind-the-scenes look at her most popular films.

Tom Lisanti is the award-winning author of multiple books about 1960s and 1970s film and television history. He has appeared as a cohost on Turner Classic Movies and has written for Cinema Retro, Films of the Golden Age, Cinema of the ’70s, and Scary Monsters.

Tom Lisanti
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 280
Bibliographic Info: 66 photos, filmography, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2015
pISBN: 978-0-7864-9661-7
eISBN: 978-1-4766-2016-9
Imprint: McFarland

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments v
Preface 1
1. In the Beginning 5
2. A Career Is Launched
Summer and Smoke 9
3. Poof, She’s a Star
One, Two, Three 21
4. It’s a Grand Night for Singing … Well, Maybe Not
State Fair 36
5. Soaring Into the Wild Blue Yonder
Come Fly with Me 48
6. No, Films Is Where She’d Rather Stay
The Fugitive (TV), Three on an Island (TV pilot) 61
7. For Those Who Think Pamela
For Those Who Think Young 67
8. Start Your Engines
The Lively Set 79
9. It’s a ­Starlet-Eat-Starlet World
The Pleasure Seekers 87
10. Where’s Pamela?
The Hallelujah Trail 106
11. Jiggling the Diving Board
Harper 115
12. Blondes Do Have More Fun
Oggi, domani, dopodomani Delitto quasi perfecto (The Almost Perfect Murder) 127
13. Broadway Baby
Dinner at Eight (stage play) 137
14. Marcello Mastroianni: Take Two
Kiss the Other Sheik 147
15. Arrivederci, Hollywood! 152
16. Pamela, Italian Style
I Protagonisti (The Protagonists); Straziami, ma di baci saziami (Kill Me with Kisses); L’Archangelo (The Archangel) 157
17. In This Corner … Lana Turner
The Survivors (TV) 171
18. Back in the U.S.A.
Viva Max; Uncle Vanya (stage play) 177
19. The Godfather It Ain’t
Cosi di Cosa Nostra (The Godson) 191
20. Pamela Bares Some Skin
Il vichingo venuto dal Sud (The Blonde in the Blue Movie) 196
21. Giallo Time
Giornata nera per l’Ariete (The Fifth Cord) 204
22. Tiffin Makes Three
Los Amigos (Deaf Smith & Johnny Ears) 212
23. Questo è tutto gente!
E se per caso una mattina…; Amore mio, uccidimi! (Kill Me, My Love!); La signora è stata violentata! (The Lady Has Been Raped); Brigitte, Laura, Ursula, Monica, Raquel, Litz, Florinda, Barbara, Claudia, e Sofia le chiamo tutte … anima mia 223
24. Life After Moviemaking 230
Credits 237
Pamela Tiffin as Herself 249
Chapter Notes 255
Bibliography 261
Index 267

“Lisanti does an excellent job chronicling the career of Pamela Tiffin…5 stars”—Examiner.