Nancy Kovack
A
key cult American actress of the sixties, tall Nancy Kovack was mainly
unforgettable in the imagination of guys my age for the role of Medea
in the awesome action/fantasy picture Jason and the Argonauts.
Oddly, her screen time is more limited than we remember now in this
production,
but nobody questions that her sexy dance number is a highlight (which
is not bad, as she was competing for our attention with monsters and
creatures
animated by the legendary Ray Harryhausen). To top it all, it has been
said that Nancy’s vocal performance was overdubbed by soon to
be
Bondgirl Honor Blackman, maybe for
the need of a more classy British accent? I just love these period movies
where everyone talks Shakespearian…
Nevertheless,
Nancy Kovack was instantly recognizable on television and movie screens,
mainly for her unbelievable cheekbones and smouldering gaze. She didn’t
seem to have a problem rubbing shoulders with Tarzan, Batman, the Three
Stooges, Vincent Price, Dean Martin, Captain Kirk or Elvis Presley, all
great cultural icons, as I’m sure you can agree. So what was it
about Nancy Kovack? Her characters’ solid determination? Or just
her fabulous figure? For some reason, Nancy confessed in never wanting
to be a major movie star, preferring supporting roles. But her 15-year
career contains many gems and surprises.
On March 11, 1935, was born Nancy in Flint, Michigan. Yes, the same Flint, Michigan, made popular by another prominent child of the city, Michael Moore, in his film documentaries. Our girl was a brainy student type, as it was reported that she enroled at the University of Michigan at age 15 to eventually graduate around 19! She took the time to be a radio deejay and to win a lot of beauty contest titles (at least eight) by the age of 20.
At
some point in the late ‘50s, Nancy was invited to a wedding
that was taking place in New York City. She was "discovered"
and became a Glea Girl for The Jackie Gleason Show, which began
a professional television career. She moved to The Dave Garroway Show,
The Today Show and Beat the Clock. After some stage
work, she was approached in 1959 by Columbia for a contract. The same
year, she had her first real TV role in The United States Steel Hour
program. The next year was the beginning of her movie career, as she was
cast in Strangers When We Meet, a Kirk Douglas melodrama,
playing a booze-loving suburbanite.
The rest of Nancy’s resume is a mix of movie and television credits. She had a starring role in 1962’s The Wild Westerners, alongside James Philbrook, and was mainly seen on TV as a prize girl on the game show Number Please. But 1963 was a pivotal point, as Nancy took part in two projects that are still fondly remembered to this day. The first was a co-starring role in Diary of a Madman, a Vincent Price horror thriller. With the zany character name Odette Mallotte DuClasse, Nancy’s beauty was ravishing, even if the movie was a third-rate attempt to cash in on Roger Corman’s Edgar Allan Poe series. See it for Nancy wearing thight Victorian dresses! And watch out for her bust! Yes, her bust! (you’ll understand…)
Than
came the already mentioned Jason and the Argonauts,
which was filmed in Italy in the fall of 1961. Released in the summer
of 1963
(because of the many months the special effects took to be shot), it
was not the success anticipated, mainly because the Hercules series
had recently ran out of breath. A shame, because Ray Harryhausen still
considers it
his favorite movie project, with his usual top-notch Dynamation effects.
Young fans around the world were equally impressed by Nancy Kovack’s
physique, generously displayed in a powerful erotic dance sequence,
as
she played the High Priestess Medea. We would have loved to
see more of her, though. Nancy was successful in creating an heroine
that
could be a match for those portrayed by fellow Siren Chelo
Alonso for sword and sandal adventures. Oddly, Nancy seemed uncomfortable
recalling this scene in more recent interviews.
In 1964, Nancy played in an episode of The Alfred Hitchcock Hour and also took part in an adventure for Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea. She was given a Golden Laurel nomination for Top New Face. The next year, she took the part of Annie Oakley in the Three Stooges’ western comedy The Outlaws Is Coming, alongside Adam West, with whom she would guest-star in an episode of Batman the following year. Nancy worked in other high-profiles TV series such as Perry Mason, Twelve O'Clock High, I Dream of Jeannie, I Spy, Family Affair, Get Smart, Hawaii Five-O and The Man from U.N.C.L.E. She displayed of fine flair for comedy in Bewitched, enjoying a semi-regular role as Sheila Summers, former girlfriend of Darrin Stephens. In 1966, Nancy could be seen in The Silencers, a Matt Helm movie starring Dean Martin, as she’s killed after a striptease. Other cuties involved are Cyd Charisse, Stella Stevens and Daliah Lavi. The Helm series was, of course, spoofing the James Bond craze. At least, that’s what we all hoped.
The
same year, the shadow of 007 was hanging over another Nancy Kovack project,
Tarzan and the Valley of Gold, where the jungle hero
displayed some Bondian traits in his exploits. But Nancy has a blonde?
Naaaah! She also met Elvis, the eternal King of Rock’n’Roll,
for the musical Frankie and Johnny, playing Nellie
Bly. Actually, 1966 was our actress’ busiest year. Things began
to slow down a bit soon after, but Star Trek fans could still
appreciate her in the episode A Private Little War, as Nona.
Yes, this is the famous episode displaying the Mugato or Gumato
or whatever that ape-like white-furred creature’s name was. This
dude ruled! And Miss Kovack was insanely beautiful in that fetching warrior-witch
outfit.
In 1969, Nancy took part in a last movie project, the sci-fi drama Marooned. She took part in a Mannix episode, The Girl Who Came in with the Tide, for which she was nominated for an Emmy award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Single Performance for her role as Bret Nicols. Maybe for good luck or for being just grateful, she co-starred in Mannix two other times. Another big honor came her way when she said ‘yes’ to a marriage proposal coming from famed orchestra conductor Zubin Mehta. They were united on July 19, 1969. She subsequently popped a couple of times on TV, credited as Nancy Mehta, and was last seen on a Bronk episode in 1976. The couple had two children. Mehta became the music director for the New York Philharmonic. And Nancy preferred to dedicate herself to family life.
Of course, Mehta
eventually worked with Pavarotti and Domingo. In 1998 the couple moved
to Germany, where hubby became Music Director of the Bavarian State Opera.
Also, Nancy lost some money to Susan McDougal, a player in the Whitewater
scandal. By her own admission, Nancy Kovack refused to play the Hollywood
game, be it casting couch or swingers scene, despite playing seductive
and/or sexy roles. She never became a major movie star and this suited
her fine. But she’s a star in a book called Cult Sirens and this
here chapter is warmly dedicated to her.
