Stella Stevens was desperate for a paycheck when she contacted Playboy.
The actress, who was groomed to be the next Marilyn Monroe before making her own mark during the final years of Hollywood's Golden Age, died in 2023 at the age of 84.
She is now the subject of a new documentary by her son Andrew Stevens, “Stella Stevens: The Last Star.” Featuring commentary by Quentin Tarantino and Vivica A. Fox, among others.
Stella Stevens, 'Mad Professor' actress and Elvis Presley star, dies at 84
Stella Stevens by the pool, circa 1965. The actress and Playboy magazine star died in 2023 at the age of 84. (Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images)
In the film, viewers learn how Stevens, who had a young son to feed, accepted an offer To pose naked for the magazine. She cemented her role as an on-screen siren, but it came at a price.
“She was alone in Hollywood, barely 18 (and) broke with no source of income,” Andrew told Fox News Digital.
“A photographer and his wife came up to her and said, 'We're shooting for a magazine called Playboy, and we'll pay you $5,000 if you do the styling.'” “It was a job, I needed a job, I had a child to support, I was single and living in Los Angeles and I didn’t know anyone, so I took the job,” Stella said.
Andrew Stevens explores his late mother's life and legacy in a new documentary, Stella Stevens: The Last Star. (Courtesy of Andrew Stevens)
Before removing his clothes, Stevens was discovered in a department store in Memphis. She was flown to Hollywood for a screen test and then signed a three-year contract with 20th Century Fox. While Stevens shot three films in six months, she was turned away from the studio due to a technical issue with her business card.
Hugh Hefner died in 2017 at the age of 91. (Dan Taves/Getty Images)
Despite the $5,000 offer, Stevens said Playboy founder Hugh Hefner told her after the sexy photo shoot that he would only pay her half. In order to earn the rest, she had to work as a hostess in one of his clubs.
She was quoted as saying: 'I told him to pay it, and I'm not going to do it,'” Andrew said.
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Stella Stevens had some stern words for Playboy founder Hugh Hefner. (Screen Archive/Getty Images)
Stevens signed a new contract with Paramount. She scored a co-starring role in the film “Li'l Abner” as Appassionata Von Climax. She was determined to restore her photographs before they were printed.
“She called Hugh Hefner and said, 'I've got this big Hollywood movie now… Please don't post the pictures. I'll buy them back from you,'” Andrew said. “He said, 'Oh no, you have a contract. We use them.' So Playboy took advantage of Li'l Abner, set in a mythical place called Dogpatch, and called her photo “Dogpatch Playmate.”
WATCH: 1960s star Stella Stevens tried to buy back Playboy photos from Hugh Hefner: Jr
“The irony is that after being dropped from 20th Century Fox, she won a Golden Globe for Best Newcomer of the Year in 1960 when Marilyn also won a Golden Globe for Best Actress,” Andrew said. “And Marilyn won for the studio that just dropped my mother's contract.”
Stella Stevens is set to be the next Marilyn Monroe. (RDB/ullstein image via Getty Images)
Andrew said Stevens felt that being a sex symbol was a “double-edged sword”.
“On the one hand, she appreciated that she was getting more attention in the Hollywood community,” he explained. “Everyone wanted to meet her… (but) the old Hollywood studio system at the time was a male-dominated, misogynistic society. The casting couch was very real. As (film critic) Leonard Maltin is quoted as saying (in the film), 'There was An entire city.” Run by Harvey Weinstein early in the day.
“Stella Stephens: The Last Starlet” recently premiered at the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival. (Courtesy of Andrew Stevens)
“In some ways, (being a sex symbol) gave her a career boost,” Andrew said. “But on the other hand, she was quoted as saying that doing anything decent or legitimate after that was killing. People didn't take her seriously because of this sexist title that was given to her. So, dramatic roles with heft and meat weren't as much. Coming up as more From that Kind of trivial roles after Marilyn Monroe.”
“She called Hugh Hefner and said, 'I have this big Hollywood movie now… Please don't post the pictures.' I'll buy them back from you.' And he said, 'Oh no, you have a contract, we use them.'
Stella Stevens considered “Li'l Abner” her big break. (Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images)
Stevens was determined to be taken seriously as an actress. According to the documentary, Stevens had no desire to appear alongside Elvis Presley in “Girls! Girls! Girls!” 1962.
“The studio was pushing her to do it,” Andrew explained. “At the time, very few actors had any say in what the studio charged them… “I don't want to be the girl that Elvis Presley leaves for another girl,” Stella said, quite frankly. “That's not what I have in mind for my career.”
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Stella Stevens and Elvis Presley in a scene from “Girls! Girls! Girls!”, a movie she hated. (Getty Images)
“It's just finished Film called “Too Late Blues”, “Directed by John Cassavetes and starring Bobby Darin,” Andrew noted. “It was this…dramatic piece. This is the kind of work she was interested in. Not a trivial piece of fluff, even though Elvis movies were very popular at the time. (But) no one took him seriously as an actor, and no “No one takes them seriously.”
“She was having her own struggles trying to be taken seriously after appearing in Playboy.”
Stella Stevens wanted to work with Montgomery Clift, who appeared here with Marilyn Monroe in the 1961 film “The Misfits.” The project never happened. (United Artists/Getty Images)
While Stevens had “a lot of respect” for Presley, she urged the studio not to cast her in the film. Stevens agreed to do so only after promising to play opposite Montgomery Clift in her next film. It never happened.
Stella Stevens was determined to be taken seriously as an actress. She also wanted to mentor. (Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images)
Stevens hated Presley's film and never got to watch it.
There was one person who believed in Stevens' talent, and that was Jerry Lewis. The comedian chose her to play his love interest in the 1963 film “The Nutty Professor.”
“Stella and Jerry Lewis loved each other,” Andrew said. “They had a wonderful collaborative working relationship. When Jerry got the green light to shoot The Nutty Professor at Paramount, he said, 'I want the prettiest girl you have under contract.' And I think he named the role Stella Purdy after Stella, and they had a beautiful relationship.” .
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Jerry Lewis named the character Stella Purdy after the actress. (Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images)
“I have fond memories of knowing Jerry Lewis and being on set and seeing him live,” Andrew recalls. “…I think he was a great mentor to Stella.”
Growing up, Andrew admitted that his relationship with Stevens was complicated.
She dropped out of high school at age 15 to marry Andrew's father, Herman Stevens. The couple divorced in 1956, and she took Andrew to California, where she could pursue an acting career. His father and grandfather later showed up at her house to take him back to Memphis, leading to an ugly custody battle.
Andrew Stevens admitted that his relationship with his famous mother was complicated. (Courtesy of Andrew Stevens)
“The unfortunate thing about both of them is that they were children and had children,” Andrew said of his parents. “My mother was 16 and my father was 18 when I was born.
“My father barely graduated high school. My mother had to drop out of high school to stay home and take care of me. She would go to school at night to get her GED so she could then go to Memphis State University…but no one, honestly, I was Truly equipped to take care of a child.”
Stella Stevens began acting and modeling during her time at Memphis State University. She made her film debut in a minor role in the 1959 Bing Crosby musical “Say One for Me.” (Getty Images)
“…I would always prefer to be in Memphis with my friends and the rest of my family,” Andrew admitted. “I certainly don't begrudge my mother for wanting her own child. But, quite frankly, neither of my parents had the capacity to raise a child.”
Stella Stevens has also worked with Dean Martin in two films. (Columbia Images/Getty Images)
While mother and son had “multiple periods of estrangement,” they bonded on set. She directed the 1989 film “The Ranch,” which starred Andrew. He later directed her in 1991 in The Terror Inside II.
Stevens worked steadily in television in the 1970s and 1980s, appearing in Wonder Woman, Hart to Hart, The Love Boat, and Night Court, to name a few. She kept busy until she could no longer work due to Alzheimer's disease.
To Stevens' dismay, his mother was not included in the annual “In Memoriam” segment of the Academy Awards, nor received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Stella Stevens attends the opening ceremony of the Los Angeles Jewish Film Festival on May 8, 2010. (Amy Graves/WireImage/Getty Images)
“My mother deserves better,” Andrew said. “Although my life with her was turbulent and complicated and not always warm and fuzzy, time and distance gave me a new perspective on the impact she had.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
