Celeste Yarnall
Celeste Jeanne Yarnall (July 26, 1944 – October 7, 2018) was an American actress primarily of the 1960s and 1970s. She started her career on television before moving to feature film roles.
Celeste Yarnall | |
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Yarnall in 1967 | |
Born | Celeste Jeanne Yarnall July 26, 1944 Long Beach, California, U.S. |
Died | October 7, 2018 74) | (aged
Resting place | Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale) |
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 1962–2018 |
Spouse(s) | |
Children | 1 |
Website | CelesteYarnall.com |
Career
A native of Long Beach, California, Yarnall was discovered by Ozzie Nelson and his son Ricky[2] in 1962 and appeared on their show The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet. She was named Miss Rheingold 1964[3] (the last person to hold that title)[2] while modeling and appearing in TV commercials. She made her film debut in The Nutty Professor (1963) and, after appearing at the 1967 Cannes Film Festival, was spotted by producer Harry Alan Towers, who scouted her to appear as the central character in his film Eve. She also appeared as a "Scream Queen" who is terrorized by a headless monster in the horror film Beast of Blood (1971).
Yarnall was known for her role as Yeoman Martha Landon in the Star Trek: The Original Series episode "The Apple" (1967), a series she would return to in Star Trek: Of Gods and Men (2006). She was cast in a small role opposite Elvis Presley in Live a Little, Love a Little (1968), as a party-goer wearing a glittery silver mini-dress and briefly a white fur coat, who captures Presley's attention and prompts him to sing "A Little Less Conversation". After she attended the Cannes Film Festival in 1968, the National Association of Theatre Owners named her "Most Promising New Star" for 1968, and the Foreign Press Corps named her "Most Photogenic Beauty of the Year".[2] In 1971, she starred as the titular vampire in Stephanie Rothman's low-budget film The Velvet Vampire, of which Dave Kehr of the Chicago Reader said, "Given the genre (horror) and the budget (extremely low), it may seem perverse to say that Stephanie Rothman's 1971 film is among the best women's films ever made, but so it is." [4]
Personal life
Yarnall was married to Sheldon Silverstein from 1964 until 1970, with Silverstein, she had her only child, a daughter, Camilla Yarnall (born 1970), and to Robert Colman from 1979 until 1990.[5] On July 2, 2010, she married British artist Nazim Nazim in Ventura, California.
Later years and death
When her acting career diminished, Yarnall began to work in real estate. Despite warnings about limited opportunities for success, she earned a six-figure income in her first year with a real-estate firm. By 1982, she owned Celeste Yarnall & Associates, which a syndicated columnist described as "one of L.A.'s top office real-estate firms."[6]
In 1998, Yarnall achieved a doctorate in nutrition, following which she taught nutrition at Pacific Western University. She also became a breeder of Tonkinese cats and wrote two books: Natural Dog Care: A Complete Guide to Holistic Care for Dogs and Natural Cat Care: A Complete Guide to Holistic Care for Cats.[5]
Yarnall died in Westlake Village, California on October 7, 2018, aged 74, from ovarian cancer which she had been diagnosed with in 2014.[7][8][9][10]
Filmography
Film | |||
---|---|---|---|
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
1963 | The Nutty Professor | College Student | Uncredited |
1963 | A New Kind of Love | Uncredited | |
1963 | Under the Yum Yum Tree | College Girl | Uncredited |
1966 | Around the World Under the Sea | Secretary | |
1968 | Eve | Eve | |
1968 | Live a Little, Love a Little | Ellen | |
1969 | Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice | Susan | |
1970 | Beast of Blood | Myra J. Russell | |
1971 | The Velvet Vampire | Diane LeFanu | |
1972 | The Mechanic | The Mark's Girl | |
1973 | Scorpio | Helen Thomas | |
1987 | Fatal Beauty | Laura | |
1990 | Shattered Dreams | Madge | |
1990 | Funny About Love | Madge | |
1991 | Driving Me Crazy | Volvo Boss | |
1991 | Driving Me Crazy | Beverly Hills Shopper | |
1993 | Born Yesterday | Mrs. Hedges | |
1993 | Midnight Kiss | Sheila | |
2003 | Shrink Rap | Gloria | |
2007 | The Two Sisters | Nurse Louise Brennan | |
2012 | Elvis Found Alive | Celeste Yarnall | |
2018 | Unbelievable!!!!! | ||
Television | |||
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
1962 | The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet | Girl | Episode: "Rick and the Maid of Honor" |
1962-1963 | My Three Sons | Ginny Stewart | 2 episodes |
1966 | The Man from U.N.C.L.E. | Andrea Fouchet | Episode: "The Monks of St. Thomas Affair" |
1966 | Bewitched | Student Nurse | Episode: "And Then There Were Three" |
1967 | Star Trek: The Original Series | Yeoman Martha Landon | Episode: "The Apple" |
1968 | It Takes a Thief | Ilsa | Episode: "Locked in the Cradle of the Keep" |
1968 | Hogan's Heroes | Nanny / Wilhelmina | 2 episodes |
1968 | Land of the Giants | Marna Whelan | Episode: "The Golden Cage" |
1968 | Bonanza | Katie Kelly | Episode: "Queen High" |
1969 | Mannix | Tawny | Season 3-Episode 01: "Eagles Sometimes Can’t Fly" |
1971 | Columbo | Gloria | Episode: "Ransom for a Dead Man" |
2007 | Star Trek: Of Gods and Men | Special Wedding Guest |
References
- "Celeste Yarnall". glamourgirlsofthesilverscreen.com.
- "Celeste Yarnall parlayed 'photogenic beauty' into career as 1960s love interest and cult star". National Post. October 23, 2018. Archived from the original on December 24, 2018. Retrieved December 24, 2018.
- "Tapped". Daily News. New York, New York City. December 20, 1963. p. 14. Retrieved December 24, 2018.
- Kehr, Dave. "The Velvet Vampire". Chicago Reader.
- "Celeste Yarnall, 74". Classic Images (522): 48. December 2018.
- Kleiner, Dick (October 1, 1982). "Starlet Finds Niche". Journal Gazette. Illinois, Mattoon. Newspaper Enterprise Association. p. 24. Retrieved December 24, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
- Evans, Greg (October 9, 2018). "Celeste Yarnall Dies: 'Star Trek' Actress & Elvis Co-Star Was 74". Deadline. Retrieved October 9, 2018.
- "Celeste Yarnall's Cancer Battle -- In Her Own Words". StarTrek.com. Retrieved October 9, 2018.
- "Remembering TOS Guest Star, Celeste Yarnall, 1944-2018". Startrek.com. Retrieved October 10, 2018.
- "Celeste Yarnall, Alluring Actress of the 1960s, Dies at 74". Hollywoodreporter.com. Retrieved October 10, 2018.
External links
- Official website
- Celeste Yarnall on IMDb
- Celeste Yarnall at AllMovie
- Celeste Yarnall at Find a Grave
- Celeste Yarnall at Memory Alpha (a Star Trek wiki)