Connie Stevens is a legendary American actress and singer famous for her roles in Hawaiian Eye, Scorchy, Susan Blade, Parrish, Grease 2, Wendy and Me, Way… Way, Out, and Palm Springs Weekend.
Stevens began her career in the entertainment industry in 1957 by making her film debut in Young and Dangerous. The same year, she released her first music album, Concetta.
Stevens was born in Coney Island in 1938 and was destined for the music industry as both her parents were musicians. The actress took her last name as Stevens as her father’s artist name was Teddy Stevens.
The Blonde beauty has always been praised for her multitalented performing skills, and she remained in the industry for over thirty years.
After her parents’ divorce, the Sixteen Reasons star moved to Los Angeles with her father and officially began her career as an actor and singer.
“Stevens was soon ‘discovered’ and suddenly was under contract with Warner Brothers for the late 1950s television show 77 Sunset Strip.”
As reported by the Daily Mail, “She and co-actor Edd Byrnes released a single in 1959 that they sang on the show, which resulted in her first gold record – Kookie, Kookie, Lend me Your Comb!”
“Stevens never looked back. Her sex kitten career was suddenly soaring, and she was playing gigs coast to coast.”
The I Couldn’t Say No singer married for the first time in 1963 – she tied the knot with the Posse actor James Stacy but the marriage only lasted three years.
Stacy turned out to be a problematic person with mental issues. According to some old reports, he cut off Connie’s hair and burnt her childhood photographs when she was asleep.
After calling it off in 1966, Stevens met the American singer Eddie Fisher and the two hit it off.
According to their daughter, actress Joely Fisher’s memoir: Growing Up Fisher: Musings, Memories, and Misadventures – her father wasn’t anxious to get married to her mom, but he did after she became pregnant with his second child.
“He had divorced America’s sweetheart, actress Debbie Reynolds to marry Elizabeth Taylor, just three and a half hours later in 1959 – after becoming close when Liz’s husband Mike Todd died in an airplane crash the year before. With the divorce, he also ran out on his baby daughter by Debbie, actress Carrie Fisher – Daily Mail.
The Wish You Were Here singer married Connie in 1967, but he couldn’t prove himself as a good father and divorced her in 1969.
In her memoir, the Ellen actress described her father’s addiction and wrote that she was exposed to drugs as a little child.
“I had a baby’s eye view of my own father tying off, prepping a needle, and injecting drugs into his veins. The doctor described his mystery concoction of the best speed as a unique ‘energy formula’ and after shooting up, he was hooked.”
The Inspector Gadget star also noted that her mother, Stevens, was also taking drugs like her father, and they suppressed her appetite.
“So I bore witness to my mom’s reliance on a pharmacopeia of beauties through her life,” she wrote in her book.
The 55-year-old actress and singer (like her mom) added that after two failed marriages, Connie decided to stay single; however, she still dated different men, including Elvis, Bill Medley, and Neil Armstrong.
“My mom never ended up with greatness. These serious relationships she had after my dad, well, none of the men were ever as successful as my mother. She didn’t want to lose that upper hand,” wrote Joely.
In the 1980s, the blockbuster screen legend invested herself in experimenting with beauty products and signed a rewarding deal at the Home Shopping Network.
“For a while, it was great, and she was buying more real estate – a home in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Mexico, a New York apartment.” Joely wrote.
Today Connie Stevens is 84 years old and lives in Los Angeles.
In October 2020, she was spotted in a rare public appearance while running errands in LA.
“The 82-year-old proved she’s as lively as ever and displayed her good sense of humor while out and about in Los Angeles last Tuesday,” Daily Mail reported.
“The reclusive New York-born actress and singer, who played the role of ‘Cricket’ Blake in the hit TV series Hawaiian Eye, kicked up one foot to the side and balanced herself by holding onto her walker, which was decorated with two American flags.”
What are your thoughts on Connie Stevens’ story? Let us know in the comments.
Source: Daily Mail
Connie had the 1960 hit’s 16 we should have made number one on Billboard All across North America is it was her signature song in Las Vegas when she appeared at the casino shows During the 1970s Las Vegas circuit
By the way the song Connie sang was called 16 reasons from 1960 And it made number 3 on the Billboard chart.
I was a lucky guy to see Connie in her lounge act In Las Vegas one year with the Lettermen ,she was Superstar!