00:00There's never a dull moment on the set when Jerry Lewis is making a film.
00:11Stella Stevens, Jerry's leading lady, gives him a knowing wink.
00:14She became a really, really, really good comedian.
00:18Why do I look like an enemy agent?
00:21I was very new in Hollywood.
00:23Stella was thrust into the final years of the golden age of Hollywood.
00:27Estelle's early maturity on screen may have reflected her own turbulent private life.
00:34There was a man at the front door ringing the doorbell and I said, who is that?
00:38He said, that's your daddy.
00:39Their son Andrew was caught between two worlds.
00:42The casting couch was very real.
00:45There was an entire town full of early day Harvey Weinstein.
00:48There were many attempted rapes if I would have meetings with people without having a chaperone with me or something.
00:55She sparks incendiary reactions in an all-male world.
01:00Seems like I was always with older men.
01:02Of course Sidney Korshack was one of the most powerful men in Hollywood.
01:07If there was ever any problem, Korshack stepped in and fixed things.
01:12And he had the Chicago mob behind his words.
01:16I'm sure that Stella was quite aware that to get close to Sidney Korshack was a dangerous thing.
01:23People grow and they grow apart.
01:25We didn't see each other or speak for over four years after that.
01:29Happy New Year!
01:30Poseidon Adventure.
01:32We thought, oh, that'll give her a boost.
01:35Everybody kept saying, one picture is all you need and that'll put you over the top.
01:38But that's not true.
01:40If the idea of being an actress is to work, she worked.
01:46She worked a lot.
01:47Now when they hire me, it's just gravy on a wonderful career I already have.
01:53So I may not be as successful financially as some people and I may not have as much power as some people,
01:58but I have a lot of happiness.
02:00There's a damn few actresses that can say that they had the career and the impact
02:05and just the consistent good work that Stella Stevens did.
02:10So stand by for the greatest show you're ever gonna see.
02:14But even if it ain't, I know you won't walk out on me.
02:21Yay!
Comments