Sandra Giles, born Lelia Bernice Giles, (July 24, 1932 – December 25, 2016) was an American actress and model. She was best known for her film debut role in '' Daddy-O'' in 1958.

Biography

Giles was raised in Hooker, Oklahoma, but moved to Los Angeles with her mother, who had recently divorced. (Other sources say that she came from San Antonio, Texas, or that she was "born in Oklahoma and brought up in San Antonio, Tex.") Later described by ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'' and other critics as a " blond bombshell", Giles was discovered by a press agent while working at

Canter's Canter's Deli is a Jewish-style delicatessen, opened in 1931 in Boyle Heights, and later moved to the Fairfax District of Los Angeles, California, near the border of West Hollywood. It has been frequented by many movie stars and celebrities. ...

delicatessen A delicatessen or deli is a grocery that sells a selection of fine, exotic, or foreign prepared foods. Delicatessens originated in Germany (contemporary spelling: ) during the 18th century and spread to the United States in the mid-19th centur ...

, which began her career as an actress and model. She later studied dramatics at

Los Angeles City College Los Angeles City College (LACC) is a public community college in East Hollywood, California. A part of the Los Angeles Community College District, it is located on Vermont Avenue south of Santa Monica Boulevard on the former campus of the U ...

. Giles made her film debut in 1958's '' Daddy-O'', starring alongside

Dick Contino Richard Joseph "Dick" Contino (January 17, 1930 – April 19, 2017) was an American accordionist and singer. Early life Contino was born in Fresno, California. He was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Peter Contino, and he attended Fresno High School. H ...

. In the film, her character, Jana Ryan, beat Contino's character in a

drag race Drag racing is a type of motor racing in which automobiles or motorcycles compete, usually two at a time, to be first to cross a set finish line. The race follows a short, straight course from a standing start over a measured distance, mos ...

. She went on to appear in three more films in 1958 alone – ''

The Matchmaker ''The Matchmaker'' is a 1954 Broadway play by Thornton Wilder, a rewritten version of his 1938 play '' The Merchant of Yonkers''. History The play has a long and colorful history. John Oxenford's 1835 one-act farce ''A Day Well Spent'' ha ...

'', '' A Lust to Kill'', and '' Lost, Lonely and Vicious''
in which she showed herself quite the dancer
Also in 1958, Giles made a memorable arrival at the

film premiere A premiere, also spelled première, (from , ) is the debut (first public presentation) of a work, i.e. play, film, dance Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic ...

of ''

Teacher's Pet A teacher's pet is a student who is viewed most favorably by their teacher in a school. They can be viewed unsympathetically by other students due to jealousy or envy in certain situations. The phenomenon is extensively acknowledged by the public ...

'', starring

Clark Gable William Clark Gable (February 1, 1901November 16, 1960) was an American actor often referred to as the "King of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood". He appeared in more than 60 Film, motion pictures across a variety of Film genre, genres dur ...

, by arriving in a furry pink

Cadillac Cadillac Motor Car Division, or simply Cadillac (), is the luxury vehicle division (business), division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM). Its major markets are the United States, Canada and China; Cadillac models are ...

convertible. Her appearance brought her career considerable publicity, including a two–page article and spread in ''

Life Magazine ''Life'' (stylized as ''LIFE'') is an American magazine launched in 1883 as a weekly publication. In 1972, it transitioned to publishing "special" issues before running as a monthly from 1978 to 2000. Since then, ''Life'' has irregularly publi ...

'', titled "The Blond From Hooker – How to Become a Movie Star", in which she was photographed in a bubble bath. Her other film roles included Black Spurs in 1965, '' Flareup'' in 1969, and '' Black Gunn'' in 1972, as well as appearing in one-off episodes of television series ranging from ''

Columbo ''Columbo'' is an American crime drama television series starring Peter Falk as Columbo (character), Lieutenant Columbo, a homicide detective with the Los Angeles Police Department. After two pilot episodes in 1968 and 1971, the show originall ...

'' to ''

The Odd Couple Odd Couple may refer to: Neil Simon play and its adaptations * ''The Odd Couple'' (play), a 1965 stage play by Neil Simon ** ''The Odd Couple'' (film), a 1968 film based on the play *** ''The Odd Couple'' (1970 TV series), a 1970–1975 televis ...

''.

Avco Embassy & ''The Steagle''

In his 1974 book about making the movie '' The Steagle'', ''Final Cut: The Making and Breaking of a Picture'', writer-director Paul Sylbert wrote that he was pressured by Avco Embassy into casting Giles (whom he gave the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...

"Sally Wyles") in a major supporting role, even though she was totally inadequate for the part, lacking acting talent. Sylbert wrote that the production of the picture was made contingent on her being cast in the part, as it turned out she was the mistress of a top executive at

Avco Avco Corporation is a subsidiary of Textron, which operates Textron Systems Corporation and Lycoming. History The Aviation Corporation was formed on March 2, 1929, to prevent a takeover of CAM-24 airmail service operator Embry-Riddle Compa ...

, the conglomerate that acquired

Joseph E. Levine Joseph Edward Levine (September 9, 1905 – July 31, 1987) was an American film distributor, financier and producer. At the time of his death, it was said he was involved in one or another capacity with 497 films. Levine was responsible for the ...

Embassy Pictures Embassy Pictures Corporation (also and later known as Avco Embassy Pictures as well as Embassy Films Associates) was an American independent film production and distribution company, which was active from 1942 to 1986. Embassy was responsible ...

in 1967. Facing cancellation of ''The Steagle'', he did cast her, with no intention of using her. Sylbert rescheduled the shooting of Giles' scenes to the latter part of the picture, then used another actress in the part. In his book, he writes that the film being taken away from him during the editing/preview process and being brutally recut was partially due to the producers' anger over him double-crossing them over Giles.

Personal life

She dated tennis player

Bobby Riggs Robert Larimore Riggs (February 25, 1918 – October 25, 1995) was an American tennis champion who was the world No. 1 amateur in 1939 and world No. 1 professional in 1946 and 1947. He played his first professional tennis match on December ...

during the 1970s and appeared with him in a guest spot on ''

''. She was close friends with fellow actresses Vikki Dougan, Pat Sheehan, Juli Reding, Sondra Scott, and Cathy Crosby. She was married two times and had a daughter, singer Sandra Piller.

Death

Giles died in Los Angeles from complications of

bullous pemphigoid Bullous pemphigoid (a type of pemphigoid) is an autoimmune pruritic skin disease that typically occurs in people aged over 60, that may involve the formation of blisters ( bullae) in the space between the epidermal and dermal skin layers. It is ...

, an autoimmune disease affecting the skin, on December 25, 2016, at the age of 84.

Filmography

Films

*1958: '' Lost, Lonely and Vicious'' as Darlene *1958: '' Daddy-O'' as Jana Ryan *1958: ''

'' as Older Beauty *1959: '' A Lust to Kill'' as Belle *1963: ''

It Happened at the World's Fair ''It Happened at the World's Fair'' is a 1963 American musical film, musical comedy film starring Elvis Presley as a Aerial application, crop-dusting pilot. It was filmed in Seattle, Washington, site of the Century 21 Exposition. The governor of ...

'' as Lily (uncredited cameo) *1965: '' Black Spurs'' as Sadie's girl *1967: ''Border Lust'' *1969: '' Flareup'' as Nikki *1972: '' Black Gunn'' as Prostitute *1973: '' The Mad Bomber'' as Checkout Girl

Television

*1973: The Odd Couple *1978: '' Are You in the House Alone?'' as Hostess *1979: '' Crisis in Mid-Air'' as Darlene *1981: ''

Crazy Times "Crazy Times" is a song recorded and performed by Jars of Clay. The song was a writing collaboration between the band members Dan Haseltine and Stephen Mason with songwriters Mark Hudson and Greg Wells. It was the first single from their secon ...

'' as Esther *1990: ''Columbo: Murder in Malibu'' as Sixth Woman

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Giles, Sandra 1932 births 2016 deaths American film actresses American television actresses American stage actresses Female models from California Actresses from Los Angeles People from Texas County, Oklahoma Female models from Oklahoma Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale) 21st-century American women