One of the great question marks in 1970's American cinema for me is how Barbara Leigh did not become a major star. Easily one of the most beautiful and charismatic women of the period her career was unfortunately made up of mostly supporting roles in smaller and sometimes forgettable films.
One of the major disappointments in Barbara Leigh's career was the unmade Hammer production VAMPIREllA, a part Leigh was born to play. Highlights of Leigh's career include VELVET VAMPIRE directors Stephanie Rothman's STUDENT NURSES and TERMINAL ISLAND, a small role opposite Steve Mcqueen in Sam Peckinpah's underrated JUNIOR BONNER, as Rock Hudson's wife in Roger Vadim's PRETTY MAIDS ALL IN A ROW and opposite Fred Williamson in BOSS MAN.
Leigh was also a wonderful model and her Native American themed Playboy appearance is one of the magazine's most memorable of the seventies.
Highly recommended is Leigh's autobiography entitled THE KING, MCQUEEN and THE LOVE MACHINE. Here she provides a compulsively readable book accounting her love affairs with Elvis Presley, Steve Mcqueen and James Aubrey as well as a fine account of a life in film that is filled with as much hope and disappointment as 300 or so pages can hold.
Leigh remains an extremely beautiful woman who has a fine website at http://www.barbaraleigh.com/
Here you can find many photos and info on how to get her book.
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