- Lana Morris, Trouble in Store, 1953. A star (singer) at eleven, Pet fought the UK’s Rank Organisation (and her father) to act her age (21) and refused being yet another comic’s innocent girlfriend (in Norman Wisdom’s debut). She was suspended until doing much the same with The Gay Dog. Then, Rank dropped her and she only had her father to fight.
- Suzanna Leigh, Paradise, Hawaiian Style, 1965. One blonde Brit for another as Petula backed away from more Elvis Presley crap. Suzanne refused to co-star with him again the following year in Easy Come, Easy Go – the reason, she said,, was his manager, “Colonel” Tom Parker. He’d anticipated that Paradise would equal the triumph of his boy’s 1960 Blue Hawaii. Hah! But what did he know about movies, agreeing, for example, to three Presley pix in the same year! For Elvis, Paradise meant meeting Tom Jones on-set… and The Beatles at his Bel Air home.
- Vanessa Redgrave, Camelot, 1966.
For his last hurrah after 45 years running Warner Bros, head bro Jack L Warner – having learned his lesson the hard way by ruining My Fair Lady – wanted the original Broadway stars to reprise their 1960 roles of King Arthur and Guenevere. Richard Burton was not keen (or not for the money on offer). Nor was Julie Andrews, certainly not after the way Jack Warner dumped her from My Fair Lady (even though that led to her Mary Poppins Oscar). ). “OK, we’ll take Liz, as well,” said Warner. And why not their mate, Peter O’Toole, as Lancelot. However, Elizabeth Taylor was not going where Burton was not going… Julie refused to work with Burton’s replacement, Richard Harris. They had not got on during Hawaii – which is where he first heard about the film and started pushing to be the king. Top candidates to succeed Julie were Julie Christie, Petula Clark, Marianne Faithfull, Audrey Hepburn(part of her My Fair Lady deal), Liza Minnelli, Elizabeth Taylor Jan Waters. Jack Warner separately considered the way cheaper Ann-Margret, Polly Bergen, Cher, Mitzi Gaynor and Shirley Jones. Vanessa and Franco Nero (as Lancelot) were lovers on and off the screen. They finally wed in 2006. - Patty Duke, The Valley of the Dolls, 1967.
- Nancy Sinatra, Speedway, 1968. Pet would have been a more believable IRS agent. Fortunately for her, Elvis decided to repay Old Blue Eyes for his Welcome Home TV show. Sure enough, Nancy’s fame went South, too.
- Jacqueline Bisset, Airport, 1969. Dean Martin did his best to win Clark as his girl. Bisset, however, was the flavour of the hour. This was her fifth LA film in succession since Frank Sinatra OKed her to replace his wife, Mia Farrow, in The Detective in 1967.
- Carol Lynley, The Poseidon Adventure, 1972. A case of hey, Nonnie… No! “At midnight on New Year’s Eve, the S.S. Poseidon, en route from New York to Athens, met with disaster…” The UK singer survived by passing Nonnie Parry to Lynley – who did not get on with her screen lover, Red Buttons, at all. Being, poor kid, 23 years younger!
Birth year: Death year: Other name: Usual occupation: SingerCasting Calls: 7