Denise Darcel

Denise Darcel was a French vaudevillian actress and singer who from 1948 through 1963 appeared in films in Hollywood and briefly on theatre television and radio Darcels debut on the legitimate stage came in 1950 when she appeared in Pardon Our French premiering October 5th at the Broadway Theatre Her first film appearance of note was in Battleground 1949 She made quite an impression in Tarzan and the Slave Girl 1950 opposite Lex Barker then costarred with Robert Taylor in Westward the Women 1952 and Glenn Ford in Young Man with Ideas 1952 In 1953 she was seen in the swimming musical Dangerous When Wet which starred Esther Williams 1953 Her most important film was Vera Cruz 1954 where she played the female lead opposite Gary Cooper and Burt Lancaster Her last film 1961 was Seven Women from Hell Darcel appeared on various TV shows in the 1950s In 1954 she was hostessMC of Gamble on Love a summer program on the DuMont Television Network Darcel asked questions of married couples who sought to win the grand prize of a mink coat A review in Billboard described her as Gallic to the point of unintelligibility Also in 1954 Colonel Productions produced a pilot of Chez Denise a 30minute comedyintrigue program starring Darcel which apparently did not sell After her film and television career began to wane Darcel aged 41 became a stripper appearing in West Coast theatres in San Francisco Las Vegas Oakland and Los Angeles She retired from stripping after a few years and returned to the cabaret circuit making a few appearances on television In 1991she was cast as Solange La Fitte in the Los Angeles 20th anniversary revival of the musical Follies produced by the Long Beach Civic Light Opera She would later repeat the role of Solange in 1995 for revivals in Houston and Seattle In September 2009 she was honored with the Cinecon Career Achievement Award presented in Hollywood at a banquet held at the Hollywood Renaissance Hotel Prior to the ceremony a new 35mm color print of her 1953 film Flame of Calcutta was screened at the Egyptian Theatre After the screening at the banquet she cheerfully announced to the audience Im back