Darlene Tompkins (born Darlene Perfect; November 16, 1940 – July 18, 2019) was an American actress.

Biography

Tompkins was born in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

on November 16, 1940. Her parents were divorced when she reached the age of five and she took the surname of her stepfather. Her family performed in plays and

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...

, and she had an early goal to be a

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

actress. At the age of twelve she was mauled by a dog which left her very self-conscious. To help overcome her shyness, she was entered into a beauty contest by her mother. Her subsequent beauty pageant victories attracted some attention and she appeared in commercials. Her first acting role was in ''

Beyond the Time Barrier ''Beyond the Time Barrier'' is a 1960 American science fiction film. It was released in September 1960 on a double bill with ''The Angry Red Planet''.Warren, Bill (1986). "Keep Watching The Skies Volume 2". McFarland & Co., Inc. . Page 730 It star ...

'' (1960). She then co-starred opposite

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

in ''

Blue Hawaii ''Blue Hawaii'' is a 1961 American musical romantic comedy drama film directed by Norman Taurog and starring Elvis Presley. The screenplay by Hal Kanter was nominated by the Writers Guild of America in 1962 in the category of Best Written Amer ...

'' (1961). She had a role in '' My Six Loves'' (1963) and played parts in several television shows. Her career was interrupted by a marriage and the birth of two sons. She tried to resume acting again when the marriage ended in the mid-1970s, but by then she was in her thirties and had difficulty landing roles. After that she worked as a stand-in and stuntwoman and remarried. Tompkins died on July 18, 2019 following complications of a stroke and was taken off life support.

Filmography

References

External links

* 1940 births 2019 deaths 20th-century American actresses Actresses from Chicago Place of death missing 21st-century American women {{US-screen-actor-1940s-stub