Meet Actress Jill Banner…
If you don’t recognize this star, it’s because her movie roles were overshadowed by her personal life…but if you saw her screen debut, you’d never forget it!
“I caught a big fat bug right in my spider web and now the spider gets to give the bug a big sting. Sting! Sting! Sting! Sting! Sting!”
Here is a “True Hollywood Tragedy”: I work in entertainment and have always been fascinated by the industry’s past, including cautionary tales of the industry…here is an Actress who made her debut in one of the craziest cult films ever, and ended up on the arm of Marlon Brando!
This ultra-rare photo shows Banner with Brando, and here is the fascinating story that brought them together….it all began with this cult classic:
Spider Baby or, The Maddest Story Ever Told!
This is one crazy cult gem! First, check out the trailer:
Legendary Exploitation Director Jack Hill made his moviemaking debut in 1967 with this tale of a strange trio of kids being raised by their uncle, iconic Hollywood horror star Lon Chaney Jr!
Character Actor Sid Haig also stars in the movie, which is a black-and-white horror film revolving around Chaney’s attempt to keep these problematic kids away from society…there’s a reason for it, of course…
Elizabeth: “Spiders don’t eat other spiders.”
Virginia: “Cannibal spiders do.”
You see, Jill Banner plays Virginia, who likes to keep pet spiders – she also has fun with her own spider web…as one of her guests found out the hard way…
Her sister Elizabeth has her own issues – and together, these two sisters don’t mess around!
“Spider Baby” was shot in 12 days in August 1964 on a $60,000 budget. Lon Chaney Jr. was paid a flat fee of $2500 for his performance, each of the other actors were paid $100 a day – yes, this is low budget filmmaking at its best!
Actress Jill Banner Made her movie debut in the film – at age 17! Many years later, Director Jack Hill was told that the actress was so embarrassed by acting in the film that she never told anyone that she had done it!
The film was made in 1964, but didn’t get released until 1967 – by that time, Banner would be seen in DEADLIER THAN THE MALE (1966) and THE PRESIDENT’S ANALYST (1967) with James Coburn.
Jill also worked in a variety of TV shows at the time, but it was when she got involved with an iconic Actor that her life took a turn…
The “Marlon Brando” Connection!
After working steadily in the business, Banner moved to New Mexico in the 70’s but returned to Hollywood – and was linked to Marlon Brando!
Here is what I found online:
According to Charles Higham`s 1987 book, “Brando, the Unauthorized Biography”, the fiftyish Brando and 20-something actress met while filming “Candy” and became a couple.
In Marlon Brando’s own 1994 autobiography, “Songs My Mother Taught Me”, he apparently discusses their relationship, but disguises certain details of her life and refers to her by the name “Weonna”.
Working With Brando…
Brando and Banner were together for years, and when she was 36 years old, she was living with him and working on a screenplay with the Actor.
A “True Hollywood Tragedy…”
Then, tragedy struck. As noted on the great IMDB.com website:
“On August 7, 1982, she was driving on the Ventura Freeway, between the Tujunga and Laurel Canyon Blvd. off-ramps, when her car was hit by a truck whose driver was drunk. Not wearing a seat belt, she was ejected from the car and hit her head on the center divider. She went into a coma, and died at a local hospital…”
A truly awful and shocking end to her life…
Banner had a short career, but she is mesmerizing on film, and we sadly won’t know where she would have gone in the industry…in researching this “True Hollywood Mystery”, I have come across a number of stars who died before their time. The Jayne Mansfield story also has a tragic end.
Mansfield was a huge star in the 50’s and 60’s, who knew how to play the Hollywood game.
On June 29, 1967, Mansfield and her Attorney Sam Brody were driving home from a nightclub performance in Mississippi when they crashed into a semi-truck, instantly killing both of them. Jayne Mansfield was only 34 years old at the time of her death…
You can see more of her story here:
And one of Hollywood’s most promising young stars of the 70’s was Jan-Michael Vincent…
He starred in several smash hits in the 70’s, like “White Line Fever”, “The Mechanic” and more…but he became a “True Hollywood Tragedy”…see the story here:
And here’s the true story of a murdered mobster – and a movie star!
See it here:
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Categories: 70's Cinema, Cult Movies, Film Fight Club, Hollywood, Horror films, Independent Cinema, Movies, Obscure Movies, Pop Culture, Talent/Celebrities, True Hollywood Mystery
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