Welcome to Sixtiescinema.com the home of
author Tom Lisanti's groovy books on 60's starlets and B-movies. Here
you'll find interesting info and gossip on beach bunnies, surfer dudes,
biker babes, Elvis girls, and spy chicks. Read catty
comments from the starlets direct from
Tom's informative, well-illustrated books. Peruse his
favorite DVDs, publications, and web
sites. Check out his Blog
for current gossip and comments on his favorite and not-so favorite 60's
actresses and actors. Purchase his books directly from
Amazon.com.
In 1964 writer Terry Southern met actress Gail Gerber
whose stage name was Gail Gilmore on the set of The Loved One.
He was enjoying his success from co-writing the risqué novel Candy
and the movie comedy Dr. Strangelove, and she had just co-starred
with Elvis Presley in Girl Happy. Despite the fact that
they were both married, there was an instant connection and they stayed
a couple until his death over thirty years later.
In her memoir, Gail recalls what life was like with “the hippest
guy on the planet” as they traveled from LA to New York to Europe and
back again. She reveals what went on behind the scenes of her movies
including The Girls on the Beach and Village of the Giants
and Southern’s movies including The Cincinnati Kid, Barbarella,
Casino Royale, The Magic Christian, and Easy Rider.
And she relives the “highs” hanging out with The Rolling Stones,
Peter Sellers, and Anita Pallenberg in Swinging ‘60s
London to the lows barely scraping by on a Berkshires farm during the
‘70s & ‘80s as the talented satirist, now abusing drugs and alcohol and
in debt to the IRS, found himself scrambling to support two households
by writing spec screenplays with friends and wannabe movie producers.
Through the decades an eclectic array of people passed through
Terry and Gail’s lives together including George Plimpton,
Stanley Kubrick, Lenny Bruce, Rip Torn, Geraldine
Page, Tina Aumont, Tony Richardson, Roger Vadim,
Jane Fonda, William Burroughs, Jean Genet, Joy
Harmon, Aron Kincaid, Ringo Starr, Norman Mailer,
Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, Stella Adler,
Michael Parks, Harry Nillson, George Segal, Amy
Wright, Whoopi Goldberg, Ilene Kristen, and Perry
Richardson. A few friends even have contributed anecdotes to Gail’s
memoir including producer Si Litvinoff, musician/composer
David Amram, actress/writer Angelica Page Torn, and author
Darius James.
My
newest book pays homage to 75 glamorous gals of
Swinging Sixties Hollywood including Carol
Wayne, Edy Williams, Inga Neilsen, Thordis
Brandt, Jo Collins, Phyllis Davis, Melodie
Johnson, Marianna Hill, Michele Carey, Lisa
Seagram, Dolly Read, Mary Hughes, Victoria
Carroll, and June Wilkinson. As with Raquel
Welch, the Glamour Girl of the decade, these
“decorative actresses” as they were labeled,
began their careers cast in minor movie and TV
roles. Coming from the pages of Playboy,
stages of Las Vegas, runways of beauty pageants,
or the modeling world, directors were more
interested in their beauty, cleavage or shapely
derrieres then their acting talent. They could
be found shaking their bikini-clad booties on
the sands of Malibu; aiding secret agents Matt
Helm or Derek Flint; baring their cleavage for
director Russ Meyer in his next bosom-obsessed
opus; or literally towering over Barbra
Streisand as showgirls in Funny Girl. On
television they played many a male fantasy
figure come to life on such shows as Batman,
The Man from U.N.C.L.E., The Wild Wild West,
Bewitched, The Monkees, The Beverly Hillbillies,
Hogan’s Heroes, Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In,
and many more.
