Tina Louise

Birthday: 1934-02-11
Birthplace: New York City, New York, USA
Gender: Female
Owned By: Unowned

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Tina Louise (born February 11, 1934) is an American actress best known for playing movie star Ginger Grant in the CBS television situation comedy Gilligan's Island. She began her career on stage during the mid-1950s, before landing her breakthrough role in 1958 drama film God's Little Acre for which she received Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year.

Louise had starring roles in a number of Hollywood movies, including The Trap, The Hangman, Day of the Outlaw, and For Those Who Think Young. Louise later returned to film, appearing in The Wrecking Crew, The Happy Ending, and The Stepford Wives (1975).

Tina Blacker was born in New York City. By the time she was four years of age, her parents had divorced.

An only child, she was raised by her mother, Sylvia Horn (née Myers) Blacker (1916–2011), a fashion model. Tina's father, Joseph Blacker, was a candy store owner in Brooklyn and later an accountant. The name "Louise" was allegedly added during her senior year in high school when she mentioned to her drama teacher that she was the only girl in the class without a middle name. He selected the name "Louise" and it stuck. She attended Miami University in Ohio.

At the early age of just two years, Tina got her first role, after being seen in an ad for her father's candy store. She played numerous roles until she decided it was best to focus on school work. By the age of 17, Louise began studying acting, singing and dancing. She studied acting under Sanford Meisner at the prestigious Neighborhood Playhouse in Manhattan. During her early acting years, she was offered modeling jobs, including as a rising starlet, who along with Jayne Mansfield, was a product advocate in the 1958 Frederick's of Hollywood catalog, and appeared on the cover of several pinup magazines such as Adam, Sir! and Modern Man. Her later pictorials for Playboy (May 1958; April 1959) were arranged by Columbia Pictures studio in an effort to further promote the young actress.

Louise with Gene Barry from the television series Burke's Law (1964).

Her acting debut came in 1952 in the Bette Davis musical revue Two's Company,[4] followed by roles in other Broadway productions, such as John Murray Anderson's Almanac, The Fifth Season, and Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? She appeared in such early live television dramas as Studio One, Producers' Showcase, and Appointment with Adventure. In 1957, she appeared on Broadway in the hit musical Li'l Abner. Her album, It's Time for Tina, was released that year, with songs such as "Embraceable You" and "I'm in the Mood for Love".

Louise made her Hollywood film debut in 1958 in God's Little Acre. That same year, the National Art Council named her the "World's Most Beautiful Redhead." The next year she starred in Day of the Outlaw, with Robert Ryan. She became an in-demand leading lady for major stars like Robert Taylor and Richard Widmark, often playing somber roles quite unlike the glamorous pinup photographs and Playboy pictorials she had become famous for in the late 1950s. ] In 1962, she guest-starred on the sitcom The Real McCoys, portraying a country girl from West Virginia in an episode titled "Grandpa Pygmalion". Two years later, prior to the development of Gilligan's Island, she appeared with Bob Denver in the beach party film For Those Who Think Young. CLR

Credits

Year Title Character
2019-01-10 Tapestry Rose
2014-11-21 Late Phases Clarissa
1998-08-13 Welcome to Woop Woop Bella
1991-08-18 Johnny Suede Mrs. Fontaine
1988-05-03 Dixie Lanes Violet
1987-07-10 O.C. and Stiggs Florence Beaugereaux
1985-10-10 Evils of the Night Cora
1984-09-10 Hell Riders Claire Delaney
1984-01-10 Dog Day Noémie Blue
1981-11-30 Advice to the Lovelorn Diane Marsh
1980-12-04 The Day the Women Got Even Mary Jo Alfieri
1979-12-03 Friendships, Secrets and Lies Joan Holmes
1978-03-03 Mean Dog Blues Donna Lacey
1977-02-25 SST: Death Flight Mae
1976-11-05 Nightmare in Badham County Greer
1976-10-29 Look What's Happened to Rosemary's Baby Marjean Dorn
1975-09-26 Death Scream Hilda Murray
1975-02-12 The Stepford Wives Charmaine Wimpiris
1973-02-27 Call to Danger
1970-10-06 But I Don't Want to Get Married! Miss Spencer
1969-12-21 The Happy Ending Helen Bricker
1969-10-10 The Good Guys and the Bad Guys Carmel
1969-07-07 How to Commit Marriage Laverne Baker
1968-12-30 The Wrecking Crew Lola Medina
1967-08-06 Il fischio al naso dottoressa Immer Mehr
1964-09-01 Fanfare for a Death Scene Coola Hana
1964-06-01 For Those Who Think Young Topaz McQueen
1961-07-09 Armored Command Alexandra Bastegar
1961-02-02 Viva l'Italia! French Journalist
1960-08-24 The Warrior Empress Sappho
1960-03-17 Siege of Syracuse Diana / Artemide / Lucrezia
1959-07-01 Day of the Outlaw Helen Crane
1959-06-17 The Hangman Selah Jennison
1959-01-28 The Trap Linda Anderson
1958-09-23 God's Little Acre Griselda Walden, Ty Ty's daughter-in-law