Mamie Van Doren was an American actress, singer, and model who became a prominent figure in Hollywood during the 1950s and 1960s. She was born Joan Lucille Olander on Feb. 6, 1931, in Rowena, South Dakota, to parents of Swedish and German descent. Her family moved to California when she was just a child, and she grew up in the San Fernando Valley.
Van Doren’s striking looks and voluptuous figure caught the attention of Hollywood producers and agents at a young age, allowing her to join later the league of platinum-blonde studio starlets such as Marilyn Monroe and Jayne Mansfield. She began modeling for pin-up magazines and appearing in minor roles in films, including “Teacher’s Pet” with Clark Gable and Doris Day and “The Big Operator” with Mickey Rooney. Her first major film role was in the 1957 film “Untamed Youth,” in which she played a rebellious teenager sent to a work farm.
Van Doren quickly became known as one of Hollywood’s most glamorous and controversial stars. She often played femme fatales, using her sexuality to captivate audiences. Her films included “Born Reckless,” “The Beat Generation,” “Girls Town” and “The Private Lives of Adam and Eve.”
Van Doren’s personal life was marked by failed relationships and scandals. She was married several times and had numerous affairs with high-profile men, including Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley. Van Doren continued to work in Hollywood throughout the 1960s and 1970s, although her popularity waned as the era of the “sexploitation” film came to an end. She appeared in a variety of low-budget films and made occasional television appearances.
After having her first son, she moved away from Hollywood and lived a quieter life. In 2023, she celebrated turning 92 alongside her two favorite men and shared the moments with her fans.
Van Doren became a beloved figure in Hollywood and a symbol of the glamour and excess of the 1950s and 1960s. She was discovered by business magnate Howard Hughes after winning the Miss Palm Springs title at 16, who recognized her inherent appeal and helped her launch her cinematic career. Looking back on her start, Van Doren told Fox News she was simply “born” with the appeal and added:
“I certainly opened a lot of doors during a postwar time when things were very conservative. I was way ahead of my time. I didn’t know what the women’s movement was, but I was there living it.”
She said making her mark as a blonde bombshell wasn’t entirely of her own volition. “I didn’t have much of a choice. Marilyn, I liked very much. I got along with her fine. … But I went along with it because I really didn’t have much of a choice. And it was all men that ran everything. … I just managed to get it done and it seemed like I was able to do it. A lot of girls couldn’t,” she told Fox News.
Much had also been made of her romantic dalliances. She told Closer while her former suitor Sinatra was a “good soul,” she “always thought he was too old for me!” She also found a spark with television personality Johnny Carson, whom she found very “down-to-earth.” As for Presley? “That was a one-nighter,” she said. However, Van Doren cited Clark Gable as her favorite among all the famous men surrounding her. “He was the king of all kings!” she gushed. “I shared his arms with Carole Lombard, Vivien Leigh and Jean Harlow – along with his lips and little mustache. That lives in my mind all the time.”
Van Doren had married four times before meeting the man who would become her forever love, Thomas Dixon, whom she has been married to since 1979. Van Doren had one son, Perry Ray Anthony, with her second husband, musician Ray Anthony. After her son’s birth in 1959, Van Doren decided Hollywood wasn’t the best environment for her child and hightailed it.
“I got away from all the bad stuff that was going on. This was around the ’60s when I left. There were a lot of drugs. Marilyn died. Jayne died. A lot of my contemporaries were gone. I just thought it was time to leave Hollywood. It just wasn’t agreeing with me. And I had a son. I wanted to give him a better life than Hollywood,” she told Fox News.
Although her career began to taper by the ’70s, she wasn’t too fazed by it.
“Can you imagine? I’ve been here almost 100 years?!” she told Bust in 2021 and added, “How you treat your age depends on your attitude… life doesn’t even start until 40.”
These days, Van Doren is happily enjoying life with her beloved husband, who is 17 years her junior. On her birthday in 2023, she shared a heartwarming picture of the two of them together celebrating at a restaurant, with the pair staring lovingly into each other’s eyes. “Thomas my hubby of almost 50 years. How did he put up with me? Sometimes I wasn’t the perfect wife,” she captioned the post. She also shared a picture of her with her son, looking almost half her age while her son smiled from behind her. It’s clear she feels blessed in life, as she told Closer:
“It surprises me that I’ve lived this long. I’m grateful for every morning I wake up.”
What do you think of Van Doren’s rich and colorful Hollywood life in the ’50s and ’60s? Is she among your favorite actresses from that era? Let us know, and be sure to pass this along to friends and family who’d love to know more about her.
