The Tragic Story Of Yvette Vickers!
The life of a Hollywood sex symbol can be difficult: it’s a hard transition from Hollywood starlet to life out of the spotlight, and for some, it’s an impossible transition to make…
Meet Sex Kitten Yvette Vickers!
Young starlet Yvette Vickers had it all in 1950’s Hollywood: beauty, sex appeal, and a bawdy view on life…she was poised to become one of Hollywood’s newest sex kittens!
Two things cemented Vicki’s stardom….The first being a classic cult film that rode the wave of 50’s sci-fi:
“Attack Of The 50-Ft. Woman!”
This is one of the most entertaining films of the 50’s, a huge hit that made Vickers a household name.
Here is the very entertaining trailer for “Attack Of The 50-Ft. Woman”:
Cue The Sexual Revolution!
The following year, Vickers posed for a new and scandalous magazine – Playboy! You have to remember that, in the late 50’s, nude photographs in magazines like Playboy were shocking, but at the end of the 50’s, America was ready to be jolted out of complacency, and a sex kitten like Vickers was just what the country needed!
Her 1959 Playboy pictorial was photographed by legendary filmmaker Russ Meyer!
Vickers became a cult icon, and in the 60’s she acted in several more films, and then became a common face for decades at conventions and film festivals, where she signed autographs and lived life as a “former” sex symbol.
A Death In Beverly Hills!
It is here where the story turns tragic: for decades, friends and neighbors in Beverly Hills saw Vickers changing.
People magazine ran a great story about Vickers. Here are some highlights:
“She was bright and intelligent, but she became very paranoid about people stalking her and talking about her behind her back,” her longtime friend Boyd Magers, 70, of Western Clippings magazine tells PEOPLE. “She lost her looks. She became very overweight.”
She also became “delusional” after she was no longer being invited to film festivals that tended to be “an ego boost for a lot of actors and actresses who have been forgotten from Hollywood,” says Magers.
Vickers lived off Benedict Canyon in Beverly Hills. One day in May 2011, neighbors noticed mail that was stacked up. Yvette’s small two-story house in Beverly Hills had fallen into disrepair. As People magazine states, “a fruit picker held up part of the house’s framing. A door had a panel broken, mended with duct tape. Rusty shade umbrellas hung out on the tiny upstairs balcony. The shingles on the home’s roof were pulling apart.”
A Shocking Discovery!
A neighbor went into the house to look for Vickers, and instead discovered her mummified corpse! Police think she may have been dead for almost a year…she was 82 years old when she died….
The People article goes into more details, and can be found online, but the saddest part of this story is that a beautiful Actress slowly drifted into obscurity…as People reported:
“Some of my neighbors – myself included – have been given a bad wrap for not checking on Yvette,” says neighbor Rick Trent. “We are not inconsiderate people. Yvette was a recluse by her choice.”
Stardom is elusive, and staying in the spotlight for decades is almost impossible in Hollywood…some just can’t handle life after fame…whatever led to Vickers’ death, the stories note that life after Hollywood was more and more difficult for her…
It is also, unfortunately, a story that isn’t unique. I have written about other sex symbols in Hollywood who met a tragic ending:
Jayne Mansfield was one of Hollywood’s most famous sex kittens, but she also met a tragic end. You can read that story here:
Some sex symbols, however, manage to navigate that difficult path from stardom – one such example is the legendary Mamie Van Doren!
Mamie Van Doren
Screen Legend Mamie Van Doren launches Mamietage Wine
held at Eleven Restaurant – Arrivals
West Hollywood, California – 14.11.07
Credit: (Mandatory): Dimitri Halkidis / WENN
This sex symbol is still going strong, with active social media and celebrity appearances…read all about this amazing woman by clicking on my story here:
https://johnrieber.com/2015/07/07/mamie-van-doren-legendary-hollywood-sex-kitten-untamed-sex-symbol/
RIP Yvette Vickers…
Categories: Action Films, Art, Books / Media, Cult Movies, Exploitation films, Great Films, Hollywood, Horror films, Los Angeles, Memoirs, Movies, Obscure Movies, Talent/Celebrities, Uncategorized
johnrieber 
Terrific blog, John. Very enlightening. “Hollywood” can be enticing from the outside looking in, but then there are the tragic endings.
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Steve, thanks as always for the comments!
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fascinating read John!
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Hi John—- hope you’re well. Think of you and Alex often. Maybe all the story needs is a documentaryformat and gravitas-filled voice. Great title. Thanks for reaching out. Steve (writing a book myself. Pretty happy with.) Steve.
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