Vikki Dougan
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Vikki Dougan (born Edith Tooker, January 1, 1929) is an American former model and actress.


Early years

Vikki Dougan was born Edith Tooker in Brooklyn, New York on January 1, 1929.Vikki Dougan at Glamour Girls of the Silver Screen
/ref> Her mother was a librarian and her father was an insurance salesman. Her father left the family when Dougan was six months old. Dougan began modelling at age eleven. She had a successful career in modelling before gaining her first movie role in ''
Back from Eternity ''Back from Eternity'' is a 1956 American Drama (film and television), drama film about a planeload of people stranded in the South American jungle and subsequently menaced by Headhunting, headhunters. The film stars Robert Ryan, Rod Steiger, An ...
'' (1956) as an uncredited showgirl. She gained small parts in another nine movies. Dougan won multiple beauty pageants, including the Miss Coney Island pageant and the eighth annual New York Skate Queen contest. She began modelling as a teenager, changing her name to Vikki after the actress Vicki Lester and Dougan after her mother’s maiden name.


Career

In 1956, publicity-man Milton Weiss had the idea of promoting Vikki using a backless dress to garner publicity. The idea was to gain a contrast with the fashion for models and actresses with large bosoms, such as
Jayne Mansfield Jayne Mansfield (born Vera Jayne Palmer; April 19, 1933 – June 29, 1967) was an American actress, ''Playboy'' Playmate, and sex symbol of the 1950s and early 1960s. She was known for her numerous publicity stunts and open personal life. He ...
. In 1953, photographer Ralph Crane photographed Dougan for ''Life'' magazine, and their October 26 edition featured Dougan on the cover. In June 1957, Dougan appeared in ''
Playboy ''Playboy'' (stylized in all caps) is an American men's Lifestyle journalism, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, available both online and in print. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, funded in part by a $ ...
'' magazine (Vol. 4, Issue 6). Dougan featured again in the December 1962 issue, under the section "Playboy's Other Girlfriends". In 1961, her backless dresses and "callipygian cleft" were celebrated in the song "Vikki Dougan" by
The Limeliters The Limeliters are an American folk music group, formed in July 1959 by Lou Gottlieb (bass violin/bass), Alex Hassilev (banjo/baritone), and Glenn Yarbrough (guitar/tenor). The group was active from 1959 until 1965, and then after a hiatus ...
in their album '' The Slightly Fabulous Limeliters''. In January 1964, ''
Cavalier The term ''Cavalier'' () was first used by Roundheads as a term of abuse for the wealthier royalist supporters of Charles I of England and his son Charles II of England, Charles II during the English Civil War, the Interregnum (England), Int ...
'' magazine featured twelve nude photographs of Vikki Dougan in a pictorial entitled "The Back is Back". Dougan brought a lawsuit against the magazine, stating that the magazine did not have permission to publish them. The photographs had been posed for ''Playboy'' but Dougan had subsequently declined to let ''Playboy'' publish the photographs.


Personal life

Dougan married William Symons, owner of a photo studio, in 1946. They divorced in 1950, the same year their daughter Deirdre was born. Throughout the 1950s, she dated a string of prominent men, including
Barry Goldwater Barry Morris Goldwater (January 2, 1909 – May 29, 1998) was an American politician and major general in the United States Air Force, Air Force Reserve who served as a United States senator from 1953 to 1965 and 1969 to 1987, and was the Re ...
,
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,
Henry Fonda Henry Jaynes Fonda (May 16, 1905 – August 12, 1982) was an American actor whose career spanned five decades on Broadway theatre, Broadway and in Hollywood. On screen and stage, he often portrayed characters who embodied an everyman image. Bo ...
,
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and
Glenn Ford Gwyllyn Samuel Newton Ford (May 1, 1916 – August 30, 2006), known as Glenn Ford, was a Canadian-born American actor. He was most prominent during Classical Hollywood cinema, Hollywood's Golden Age as one of the biggest box-office draws of th ...
. In 1960, Dougan married Jim R. Sweeney, an ex-football player from
Texas Christian University Texas Christian University (TCU) is a private university, private research university in Fort Worth, Texas, United States. It was established in 1873 by brothers Addison Clark, Addison and Randolph Clark as the AddRan Male & Female College. It i ...
. They had a daughter, Tiffany. This marriage, like her first, was short lived. She was lifelong friends with Sandra Giles and Gloria Pall. She lives in Beverly Hills, California. She regularly attends the Los Angeles Jewish Film Festival and recently did interviews with ''Hollywood Exclusive'', ''The New York Times'', and ''
Classic Images ''Classic Images'' is a monthly American mail-subscription newspaper in tabloid format, founded in 1962 by film collector Samuel K. Rubin, dedicated to film and television of the "Golden Age". Its offices are located in Muscatine, Iowa, and it i ...
''.


See also

* List of people in Playboy 1953-1959


References


External links

*
Kitch-slapped "Looking back at Vikki 'the back' Dougan - A biography"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dougan, Vikki 1929 births Age controversies Glamour models Living people 1950s Playboy Playmates