Stella Stevens talks about Elvis.

[presley31]

DH: When you got the part for "Girls, Girls, Girls", how did you feel?

SS:Well I felt good, until i read the script, and I remember throwing it across the room calling it a piece of S**t.So I didnt want to do it because I played the girl that he dumped for another girl.Also I was a singer, and I said, well if I can sing in it, but they wouldnt allow me to sing,they got Marni Nixon to dub my voice.So i have never seen the film and I never will

DH: You've never watched Girls Girls Girls?.

SS: No,Then the studio said, well if I do the film, my next film will be with Montgomery Clift, but he was too ill, so I got to work with Bobby Darin in"Too Late Blues".

DH: As a teenager, growing up in Memphis in the 50's, do you remember Elvis starting out?

SS:I remember hearing his music at a drive-in diner in Memphis called "The Jungle Garden", where they would bring you your food on a tray and you would sit in your car and eat it.I remember "Thats All Right" and "Blue Moon Of Kentucky" , he was great, an instant hit.

DH: Did you ever see Elvis in concert in the 50's or 70's?. SS: I never did.You see Elvis didnt like me.He took it into his heart that I didnt want to do the movie, and im sure people that were angry with me said stuff that was not very nice about me to him. DH:How did you rate him as an actor?

SS: He wasnt an actor.He was a wonderful performer and singer, but he wasnt an actor, and that made me think, do I want to make this picture with him? I was looking to work with great actors.

DH:How did you feel about his entourage, the guys that hung around him?

SS:I was grown-up at an early age.I had a baby at 16, divorced at 17, went back to high school at 18 and i wanted to be a writer. I was encouraging Elvis to do better films and learn to be a better actor, because he was pretty good, there was nothing wrong with his acting. he was just not known as a great actor.He was quite natural at what he did.I,ve seen other films he was in. Anyway, I got a telephone call from Red West, who told me Elvis said to call and see if you wanted to hang out.I said, hang out? Im used to going out to dinner in the evening, do you mean go to dinner? and he said "Ah, Well we'll get a pizza or something", and i said"I dont think so", mainly, because Elvis should have called me himself.They were just a group of boys having fun, but I was a grown up woman by then, or life had made me one.I had nothing against Elvis, I thought he was hugely talented. I kept saying to him you should go for some great parts , instead of junk like this.There was a script of "Dark Of The Moon".I told him he could play the 'witchboy' and I could have played Barbara Allen against him in that.

DH: How did you feel when you heard Elvis had died?.

SS: I felt very sad that the glory of this beautiful man had come to such a pitiful end.But he caused his own death.I wish someone could have talked to him, but those boys he had around him, cajoled him and let him do whatever he wanted, and that was fine, because he was the King.

2005/12/11 Sean Ryan / Ep.Gold.Com.

[Dino78]

Thank you for posting this. There are some unknown facts for me in it, f.e. child and divorce quite early... .
I like her. She shows respect for Elvis, even when she's speaking as an actor about Elvis' ability to act.
She didn't like Girls!Girls!Girls!. OK it's her opinion, so what. But I think her part in the first Matt Helm movie "The Silencers" wasn't that much better.

[presley31]

Your welcome.

[KPM]

Stella Stevens has never said much positive about Elvis in any of the interviews I have seen her do. She was a method trained actress and she never really got into the kinds of roles "she thought she should have"
But for her to complain "Girls Girls Girls" was not up to her standards is funny.
If you look through her list of credits she made many movies much worse than GGG:
"Bikini Hotel"
"Invisible Mom"
"Subliminal Seduction"
and my personal favorite-"The Granny" and these are just a few of the many low budget b-movies she has made.
Evidently somewhere along the way she lowered her standards.

[Brian]

Stella Stevens has never said much positive about Elvis in any of the interviews I have seen her do. She was a method trained actress and she never really got into the kinds of roles "she thought she should have"
But for her to complain "Girls Girls Girls" was not up to her standards is funny.
If you look through her list of credits she made many movies much worse than GGG:
"Bikini Hotel"
"Invisible Mom"
"Subliminal Seduction"
and my personal favorite-"The Granny" and these are just a few of the many low budget b-movies she has made.
Evidently somewhere along the way she lowered her standards.

Hi Ken

Stella Stevens has a huge Ego. I agree with you that it's funny she complains about Girls but other movies she's made have been far worse than that even though she has been in some good films in her career like the Poseidon Adventure, I've heard the reason she and Elvis didn't get along was because Elvis wasn't interested in her romantically and she was offended by that.

[ehollier]

She sounds like a real peach...

[Jungleroom76]

SS: He wasnt an actor.He was a wonderful performer and singer, but he wasnt an actor, and that made me think, do I want to make this picture with him? I was looking to work with great actors.

Although I haven't seen any of Stella's other movies, I must say that based on her performance in GIRLS! GIRLS! GIRLS!, SHE wasn't much of an actress!!!

Thanks for posting this Jen!!!

TCB!
Mike

[shelley.m.]

Stella Stevens has never said much positive about Elvis in any of the interviews I have seen her do. She was a method trained actress and she never really got into the kinds of roles "she thought she should have"
But for her to complain "Girls Girls Girls" was not up to her standards is funny.
If you look through her list of credits she made many movies much worse than GGG:
"Bikini Hotel"
"Invisible Mom"
"Subliminal Seduction"
and my personal favorite-"The Granny" and these are just a few of the many low budget b-movies she has made.
Evidently somewhere along the way she lowered her standards.

All I can say,is well said. I've seen Stella Stevens in a few movies and really never cared for her acting.

[TotallyInsane]

This woman has herself confused with someone else! She was a nobody that nobody noticed!!! Would someone please tell her???

[Diane]

I don't think Stella had any valid reason for putting Elvis' acting abilities down as she wasn't rated a top actress herself. Maybe there was a personality clash between them on the set but it sounds more like he may have been paying more attention to someone else and put her nose out of joint.

Diane

[riley]

true Diane

[rocknroll]

Uh-oh. Somebody criticized the king. Look out.

[utmom2008]

I don't think Stella had any valid reason for putting Elvis' acting abilities down as she wasn't rated a top actress herself.

Diane

Very true Diane. I don't think anyone ever got her confused with Meryl Streep.

[ehollier]

Very true Diane. I don't think anyone ever got her confused with Meryl Streep.

Like I said in my earlier post.....she's a real peach....

[babydove]

stella stevens has room to talk about standards and great movies as she did some porn films.

[Jungleroom76]

stella stevens has room to talk about standards and great movies as she did some porn films.

As Ace Ventura would say...

Oh rea-ea-ea-ea-ea-eally!!!!

Well that certainly lends credibility to her critique of Elvis' acting ability, doesn't it???

TCB!
Mike

[ehollier]

stella stevens has room to talk about standards and great movies as she did some porn films.

I think her resume' also includes posing for Playboy before she was cast for Girls! Girls! Girls!

[TotallyInsane]

We're not surprised though, are we?

[ehollier]

We're not surprised though, are we?

I'm not, but I can't speak for the others here. Apparently, you and I feel the same way!!

[franny]

I don't think Stella had any valid reason for putting Elvis' acting abilities down as she wasn't rated a top actress herself. Maybe there was a personality clash between them on the set but it sounds more like he may have been paying more attention to someone else and put her nose out of joint.

Diane

So true, Diane. She wasn't a top rated actress and it surprises me that she has never seen Girls!Girls!Girls!

franny