|
|
|
|
| Birth Name(s) : Tina Blacker |
Date of Birth: N/A |
| Status:
Single
|
Partner:
Les Crane (1966-1970) 1 Child |
| Profession:
N/A |
| << Add Tina Louise To Your Favorites |
|
Full Tina Louise Biography
Tina Louise (born February 11, 1934) is an American model, singer, and film and television actress, best known for her portrayal of Ginger Grant on television's Gilligan's Island.
She was born Tina Blacker, an only child, to a Jewish family in New York City. She attended the Miami University in Ohio. She started her career as a model and nightclub singer while she studied at the Actors Studio.
In 1957, she and Julie Newmar made their Broadway debuts in Li'l Abner. Her album It's Time for Tina was also released that year, with songs such as "Embraceable You" and "I'm in the Mood for Love".
She made her Hollywood film debut in 1958 in God's Little Acre. She became an in-demand leading lady for major stars like Robert Taylor and Robert Ryan often playing somber roles quite unlike the glamorous pinup photographs she had become famous for in the late 1950's. Further roles followed, on Broadway and in films in Italy and Hollywood, but they failed to accelerate her career. Among her more notable Italian film credits was the historical epic Viva L'Italia! (1960), directed by Roberto Rossellini, that concerned Garibaldi's efforts to unify the Italian states in 1860.
In 1964 she left the Broadway musical Fade Out - Fade In to portray "movie star" Ginger Grant on the television series Gilligan's Island, after the part was turned down by Jayne Mansfield. Louise finally achieved a level of fame and recognition; however, she was unhappy with the role and worried that it would typecast her. The role did make her a pop icon of the era, and in 2005, an episode of TV Land Top Ten ranked her #2 as television's all-time sex symbol, second only to Heather Locklear.
After the series ended in 1967, she continued to work in films and made numerous guest appearances in various television series. She appeared as a doomed suburban housewife in the original The Stepford Wives (1975), and both the film and her performance were well received. She attempted to shed her comedic image by essaying grittier roles, including a guest appearance as a pathetic heroin addict in a 1974 Kojak episode, as well as a co-starring role as an evil Southern prison guard in the 1976 ABC TV Movie Nightmare in Badham County. Her other TV movies of the period included Look What's Happened to Rosemary's Baby (1976), SST: Death Flight (1977), and Friendships Secrets and Lies (1979).
Louise appeared as a semi-regular character in the prime-time soap opera Dallas and made an appearance on Married... with Children. In 1985, Louise played the second and final Taylor Chapin on the syndicated soap opera Rituals. Later film roles included a co-starring appearance in the Robert Altman comedy O.C. and Stiggs (1987), as well as the independently made satire Johnny Suede (1992) starring Brad Pitt.
She was married for several years to the radio announcer/interviewer Les Crane, with whom she had one daughter, Caprice Crane (born 1974), who became an MTV producer and a novelist. Crane's first novel, Stupid and Contagious, was published in 2006, and was warmly dedicated to her mother. Louise now resides in New York City. Since 1995, she has worked as a volunteer teacher with Learning Leaders, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing tutoring to New York City school children. In 2007, Louise released a children's book entitled "When I Grow Up".
Tina made four record albums, two for Concert Hall, and two for Urania Record (1958 and 1959 respectively). By far the most sought-after of these is the "It's Time For Tina" (Concert Hall 1521). With arrangements by Jim Timmens and Buddy Weed's Orchestra, 12 tracks include Tonight Is The Night and I'm In The Mood For Love. Coleman Hawkins is featured on tenor sax. A version of this album is planned by UK label Harkit Records |
|
|
| Add Tina Louise Biography (SuperUSERS) + |
| Add Tina Louise Review/Comment
|
HQ Tina Louise Pictures (1) | Random Tina Louise Picture
|
| << Back to the Tina Louise Homepage |
|
