Debra Paget
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Debra Paget (b. August 19, 1933) is an American actress and entertainer who made a name for herself in the 1950s and early 1960s in a variety of feature films including Cecil B. DeMille's epic The Ten Commandments and Love Me Tender, the film début of Elvis Presley.
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[edit] Early life and career
Debra Paget was born in Denver, Colorado to show-business parents. Her birth name was Debralee Griffin; she later took the stage name of Paget from two of her ancestors, Lord and Lady Paget of England. The family moved from Denver to Los Angeles in the 1930s to be close to the developing film industry. Her mother, actress Margaret Griffin, was determined that Debra and her siblings would also make their careers in show business. This ambition was realized: Paget's sisters Judith ("Teala Loring") and Lezlie ("Lisa Gaye"), and her brother Frank ("Ruell Shayne") all entered the business as either cast or crew.[1]
Paget had her first professional job at age 8,[1] and acquired some stage experience at 13 when she acted in a 1946 production of Shakespeare's The Merry Wives of Windsor.[2] In the period 1950-1956 she also took part in six original radio plays for Family Theater.[3] During those same years, she read parts in four episodes of Lux Radio Theater, sharing the microphone with such actors as Burt Lancaster, Tyrone Power, Cesar Romero, Ronald Colman, and Robert Stack. The latter set included dramatizations of two of her feature films.[4]
Paget's first notable film role was as "Tina Riconti" in Cry of the City, a 1948 crime drama directed by Robert Siodmak. Fresh out of high school in 1949, she acted in three other films before being signed by 20th Century-Fox.[5]
Her first vehicle under Fox was 1950's Broken Arrow, a film that James Stewart credits with reviving his acting career after World War II. (Stewart had served in the Air Force reserve, rising to the rank of Major General.) Paget played an Indian maiden who gives up her life to save Stewart's character. A box office success, the film was good for her career too. She went on to starring roles in a variety of films, appearing along with such durable actors as James Stewart, Richard Basehart, Michael Rennie, Cornel Wilde, Raymond Massey, Vincent Price, Charleton Heston, Yul Brynner, Anthony Quinn, Edward G. Robinson, Elvis Presley, Joseph Cotten, Robert Wagner and Donald Crisp.
[edit] Selected film roles
[edit] Belles on their Toes
Released in 1950, Cheaper by the Dozen is based on the real-life story of efficiency expert Frank Gilbreth and his large family. Belles on Their Toes is the 1952 sequel starring Robert Arthur, Jeanne Crain and Myrna Loy. Paget replaced Patti Bailey as "Martha Gilbreth", the third oldest daughter, in the well-regarded comedy.
[edit] House of Strangers
In this film from early in her career, Paget plays "Maria Domenico", a largely decorative role. Directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, the 1948 film noir classic stars Edward G. Robinson, Susan Hayward, and Richard Conte as the chief members of the turbulent Monetti family. (The film is also known as East Side Story.)
[edit] Princess of the Nile
Set in A.D. 1249, this 1954 film stars Paget in dual roles as Shalimar, an Egyptian princess striving to rid her country of its Bedouin conquerors, and as Taura the dancing girl. Via a secret underground canal, the regal princess swims to the seedy establishment in town where, as the fiery Taura, she plies her terpsichorean wares—and is a cunning spy against the forces of evil, as personified by Michael Rennie, who plays the Bedouin bad guy. The Technicolor production also features Jeffrey Hunter, Michael Ansara, Jack Elam, and Lee van Cleef. It is typical action-adventure fare, notable chiefly for Taura's energetic dance numbers, which the Hays Office, following its prohibition of suggestive dancing, reportedly trimmed.
[edit] White Feather
A sympathetic portrayal of Native Americans distinguishes this 1955 film from most others of its period. It shares that quality with Paget's earlier Broken Arrow. It tells the story of the peace mission from the US cavalry to the Cheyenne Indians in Wyoming during the 1870s. Here she plays "Appearing Day", the daughter of a chief. Like Paget's character in Broken Arrow, Appearing Day falls in love with a white cavalry officer, played by Robert Wagner; unlike in the earlier film, she does not die, but weds her paramour. Jeffrey Hunter and Hugh O'Brian play Indian braves.
[edit] Seven Angry Men
This 1955 historical drama stars Raymond Massey reprising his role in Santa Fe Trail as the abolitionist John Brown. Jeffrey Hunter portrays Owen, Brown's eldest son. Paget is "Elizabeth Clark", Owen's love interest. Although the performances of all three actors are generally praised, reviews of the film are mixed.[6][7]
[edit] The Haunted Palace
Vincent Price stars in this 1963 horror film, which was Debra Paget's last feature film. Lon Chaney, Jr. also makes one of his last screen appearances. Roger Corman directs. Though it is billed as based on the work of Edgar Allan Poe, and was filmed in the middle of Corman's "Poe cycle", the film actually owes much more to the writing of H. P. Lovecraft. Paget is "Ann Ward", one of the residents of the New England village menaced by Price when his spirit returns to possess the body of a visiting descendant and seek revenge on the descendants of those who burned him at the stake.[8]
[edit] Leaving the studio system
The Hollywood studio system dominated American feature film production in the first half of the 20th century. Under it, an actor would sign an exclusive contracts to make films for a major studio, such as Fox. An actor would be slated for a specific number of films and could count on appearing with some of the top stars of the day in films produced with at least reasonable competence. Thus, actors just starting out could be sure of getting experience and exposure.
It was a system that worked well, at first, for Paget; she had beauty and talent, and her early Fox films did well, so the studio bolstered her film career. However, by the mid-'50s it was clear to Fox executives that she could not carry a film on her own. Also, in 1955 she broke the exclusivity clause of her contract: White Feather was not a Fox film. The studio dropped her contract; 1957's The River's Edge was the last film she made for Fox.
After that, Paget's career began to decline. She was typically cast in "exotic" roles such as South Sea Island maidens or middle-eastern harem girls. She travelled to Germany in 1959 to join the cast of Fritz Lang's two-film adventure saga (called in America Journey to the Lost City) in a role that recalled her Shalimar/Taura of Princess of the Nile. Like the Egyptian epic, "Lost City" is remembered chiefly for her energetic dance scenes. She acted in a pair of films shot in Italy. Her final feature film was The Haunted Palace, a 1963 horror film directed by Roger Corman for American International Pictures.
Paget had done television work, both comedy and drama, throughout her career. Her last performance in this medium was in a December 1965 episode of Burke's Law. She retired from entertainment in 1965, after marrying a wealthy Chinese-American oil executive.
Paget turned to Christianity. She hosted her own show, An Interlude with Debra Paget on the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN), a Christian network, in the early 90's, and also was involved in Praise the Lord. She comes out of retirement occasionally to appear on TBN as a guest.[1] Currently, she lives in or near Houston, Texas, where her sisters Meg and Lezlie Gae (stage name: Lisa Gaye) also reside.
[edit] Marriages and other relationships
In 1958, Paget was married for four months to actor and singer David Street; the marriage was annulled. She married Budd Boetticher, a prominent director, in 1960. They separated after 22 days, and their divorce became official in 1961. (In his later years, Boetticher ascribed the failure of his marriage to Paget to the daunting difficulties he encountered when he went to Mexico to make a film about the life of his friend, legendary bullfighter Carlos Arruza.)[9][10] Paget left the entertainment field in 1964 after marrying Louis C. Kung, a Chinese-American nephew of Madame Chiang Kai-Shek who was successful in the oil industry. This third marriage produced a son, Greg. Kung and Paget were divorced in 1980.
Paget was involved with Elvis Presley, her co-star in Love Me Tender. She claimed in a 1997 interview that he had wanted to marry her.[2] She reportedly also kept company with Howard Hughes.[2]
[edit] Trivia
- During the year after Princess of the Nile was released, the fan mail for Debra Paget received at 20th Century-Fox was topped only by that for Marilyn Monroe and Betty Grable.[11]
- She tried out for the title role in the 1955 TV series Sheena: Queen of the Jungle[12] but lost out to Irish McCalla.[13]
- In 1987, the Motion Picture & Television Fund presented Paget with its Golden Boot Award.[14] This award is presented to actors, writers, directors and stunt crew who "have contributed so much to the development and preservation of the western tradition in film and television."[15]
- Height: 5'2"
[edit] Dramatic presentations
[edit] Feature films
| Year | Title & Director | Paget's Role | IMDB Rat'g |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1948 | Cry of the City (dir. Robert Siodmak) | – "Teena Riconti" | 7.1 |
| 1949 | Mother Is a Freshman (dir. Lloyd Bacon) | – "Linda" (Uncred.) | 7.2 |
| 1949 | It Happens Every Spring (dir. Lloyd Bacon) | – "Alice" (Uncred.) | 7.2 |
| 1949 | House of Strangers (dir. Joseph L. Mankiewicz) | – "Maria Domenico" | 7.2 |
| 1950 | Broken Arrow (dir. Delmer Daves) | – "Sonseeahray" ('Morningstar') | 7.3 |
| 1950 | Fourteen Hours (dir. Henry Hathaway) | – "Ruth" | 7.4 |
| 1951 | Bird of Paradise (dir. Delmer Daves) | – "Kalua" | 5.3 |
| 1951 | Anne of the Indies (dir. Jacques Torneur) | – "Molly LaRochelle" | 6.4 |
| 1952 | Belles on Their Toes (dir. Henry Levin) | – "Martha Gilbreth" | 6.4 |
| 1952 | Les Miserables (dir. Lewis Milestone) | – "Cosette" | 6.8 |
| 1952 | Stars and Stripes Forever (dir. Henry Koster) | – "Lily Becker" | 7.3 |
| 1954 | Prince Valiant (dir. Henry Hathaway) | – "Ilene" | 6.0 |
| 1954 | Princess of the Nile (dir. Harmon Jones) | – "Princess Shalimar/Taura" | 5.5 |
| 1954 | Demetrius and the Gladiators (dir. Delmer Daves) | – "Lucia" | 6.4 |
| 1954 | The Gambler from Natchez (dir. Henry Levin) | – "Melanie Barbee" | 6.7 |
| 1955 | White Feather (dir. Robert D. Webb) | – "Appearing Day" | 6.0 |
| 1955 | Seven Angry Men (dir. Charles Marquis Warren) | – "Elizabeth Clark" | 6.5 |
| 1956 | The Last Hunt (dir. Richard Brooks) | – "Indian girl" | 7.0 |
| 1956 | The Ten Commandments (dir. Cecil B. DeMille) | – "Lilia" | 7.8 |
| 1956 | Love Me Tender (dir. Robert D. Webb) | – "Cathy Reno" | 5.7 |
| 1957 | The River's Edge (dir. Allan Dwan) | – "Margaret Cameron" (unmarried "Margaret Fowler") | 6.0 |
| 1957 | Omar Khayyam (dir. William Dieterle) | – "Sharain" | 5.3 |
| 1958 | From the Earth to the Moon (dir. Byron Haskin) | – "Virginia Nicholl" | 5.2 |
| 1959 | Journey to the Lost City (dir. Fritz Lang) aka Tiger of Bengal |
– "Seetha" | 6.7 |
| 1959 | Der Tiger von Eschnapur (dir. Fritz Lang) | – "Seetha" | 6.5 |
| 1959 | The Indian Tomb (dir. Fritz Lang) aka Das Indische Grabmal |
– "Seetha" | 6.7 |
| 1960 | Il Sepolchro dei Re (dir. Fernando Cherchio) aka Cleopatra's Daughter |
– "Seetha" | 4.9 |
| 1960 | Why Must I Die? (dir. Roy Del Ruth) | – "Dottie Manson" | 4.4 |
| 1961 | Most Dangerous Man Alive (dir. Allan Dwan) | – "Linda Marlow" | 5.7 |
| 1961 | I Masnadieri (dir. Mario Bonnard) aka "Rome, 1585"; aka "The Mercenaries" |
– "Esmeralda" | NR |
| 1962 | Tales of Terror (dir. Roger Corman) | – "Helene Valdemar" (segment "The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar") | 6.5 |
| 1962 | The Haunted Palace (dir. Roger Corman) | – "Ann Ward" | 6.4 |
[edit] TV Appearances
- THE COLGATE COMEDY HOUR (Season 5, Episode 9) – Herself
Original Air Date: 28 November 1954 - THE COLGATE COMEDY HOUR (Season 5, Episode 20) – Herself
Original Air Date: 13 March 1955 - The 20th Century-Fox Hour: "Gun in His Hand" (dir. Lewis Allen) – "Mary Conners"
4 April 1956 (Season 1, Episode 13) - The Milton Berle Show on June 5, 1956 (as herself, in a skit with Elvis Presley)[11]
- CLIMAX!: "The Man Who Lost His Head" – "Maria"
Original Air Date: 26 July 1956 (Season 2, Episode 40) - CLIMAX!: "Carnival at Midnight" – "Natalie"
Original Air Date: 3 January 1957 (Season 3, Episode 12) - Premiere Performance (1957 series) Alternated as host with Jeffrey Hunter
- CIMARRON CITY: "The Beauty and the Sorrow" – "Margaret"
Original Air Date: 7 February 1959 (Season 1, Episode 18) - WAGON TRAIN: "The Marie Dupree Story" – "Marie Dupree"
Original Air Date: 19 March 1958 (Season 1, Episode 25) - WAGON TRAIN: "The Stagecoach Story" – "Angela DeVarga"
Original Air Date: 30 September 1959 (Season 3, Episode 1) - RIVERBOAT: "The Unwilling" – "Lela Candida"
Original Air Date: 11 October 1959 (Season 1, Episode 5) - THE MAN AND THE CHALLENGE: "Invisible Force" – "Liza Dantes"
Original Air Date: 17 October 1959 (Season 1, Episode 6) - THE DUPONT SHOW WITH JUNE ALLYSON: "No Place to Hide" – "Eve Barnes"
Original Air Date: 21 December 1959 (Season 1, Episode 13) - JOHNNY RINGO: "East is East" – "Agnes St. John"
Original Air Date: 7 January 1960 (Season 1, Episode 14) - THE MILLIONAIRE: "Millionaire Mara Robinson" – "Mara Robinson"
Original Air Date: 26 April 1960 (Season 6, Episode 31) - TALES OF WELLS FARGO: "Man of Another Breed" – "Kate Timmons"
Original Air Date: 2 December 1961 (Season 6, Episode 10) - RAWHIDE: "Incident in the Garden of Eden" (1960) – "Laura Ashley"
Original Air Date: 17 June 1960 (Season 2, Episode 31) - RAWHIDE: "The Hostage Child" (1962) – " Estuella Briscoe"
Original Air Date: 9 March 1962 (Season 4, Episode 22) - BURKE'S LAW: "Who Killed Eleanora Davis?" – "Juliet"
Original Air Date: 20 December 1963 (Season 1, Episode 13) - BURKE'S LAW: "Who Killed Wimbledon Hastings?" – "Helen Harper"
Original Air Date: 3 February 1965 (Season 2, Episode 20)
[edit] Radio plays
[edit] Family Theater
- 1950-11-29 "The Clown" – Debra Paget, Stephen Dunn
- 1952-01-23 "The Thinking Machine" – Donald O'Connor, Debra Paget
- 1953-02-11 "The Indispensable Man" – Lisa Gaye, Robert Stack, Debra Paget
- 1953-12-09 "The Legend of High Chin Bob" – Debra Paget, Walter Brennan
- 1955-07-27 "Fairy Tale" – Debra Paget, Jack Haley
- 1956-11-07 "Integrity" – Debra Paget, Cesar Romero
[edit] Lux Radio Theater
- 1951-01-22 "Broken Arrow" – Burt Lancaster, Deborah Paget
- 1952-09-22 "I'll Never Forget You" – Tyrone Power, Debra Paget, Michael Pate
- 1952-12-22 "Les Miserables" – Ronald Colman, Debra Paget, Robert Newton
- 1953-04-20 "Deadline USA" – Dan Dailey, Debra Paget, William Conrad
[edit] Films
 James Stewart and Debra Paget in |
 Jeffrey Hunter as Prince Haidi and Debra Paget as Princess Shalimar/Taura in "Princess of the Nile" (1954) |
 John Derek and Debra Paget in The Ten Commandments (1956) |
 Anthony Quinn, Debra Paget, and Ray Milland in the 20th century fox film The River's Edge (1957) |
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[edit] References
- Family notes by Debra Paget's niece
- A short Yahoo! biography of Paget
- Jerry Haendiges Vintage Radio Logs
- The Debra Paget Collection at Radio of Yesteryear
- Star Pulse biography of Paget
- IMDB users' comments on Seven Angry Men
- New York Times film reviews
- IMDB users' comments on The Haunted Palace
- Ride Lonesome: "The Career of Budd Boetticher"
- Crossing the Line: "Budd Boetticher (1916-2001)"
- The Johnson School alumni newsletter for June, 2005
- Elvis' Women
- IMDB page on Sheena: Queen of the Jungle
- IMDB biography for "Patricia Palmer"
[edit] External links
- Elvis' Women: Debra Paget
- An essay on Paget's lack of "star quality"
- IMDB pages for Debra Paget
- Yahoo! biography of Paget
- Jerry Haendiges Vintage Radio Logs
[edit] See also
- Budd Boetticher and the Westerns of Ranown {sic}
- The Studio System
- The Formation of Twentieth Century-Fox
[edit] Print sources
[edit] Articles
- Wandworth, James, "Ready for love", Motion Picture and Television Magazine (USA), July 1953, Vol. 85, Issue 6, pp. 38-39 & 73-74
- Weaver, Tom, "First Maid in the Moon", Starlog (USA), April 1998, Issue 249, pp. 63-67
- Weaver, Tom, "Working in the B's", Classic Images (USA), September 2002, Issue 327, pp. 65-68
- Kinchlow, Ben, "Praise the Lord", TBN Newsletter (USA), 2001, Vol. 28, Issue 9
