Tuesday, May 4, 2010

ACTRESS DOROTHY PROVINE DIES AT 75

Dorothy Provine, who starred alongside Milton Berle and Ethel Merman in "It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World," died April 25 of emphysema near Bremerton, Wash. She was 75.
Provine more than held her own as the only character disinterested in the hidden treasure in the star-studded 1963 comedy directed by Stanley Kramer. Or as Variety's review put it, "The comic competition is so keen that it is impossible to single out any one participant as outstanding."

Born in Deadwood., S.D., the leggy blonde studied theater at the U. of Washington. According to legend, three days after landing in Hollywood, Provine got the part of the bank robber in 1958's "The Bonnie Parker Story."

After a series of forgettable roles, she migrated to TV as flapper Pinky Pinkam in the Alphabet's "The Roaring '20s" from 1960-62. She also appeared on such shows as "77 Sunset Strip," "Hawaiian Eye," "Sugarfoot," "Wagon Train" and "Mike Hammer."

Other laffers she appeared in include "Good Neighbor Sam" opposite Jack Lemmon, "The Great Race," "That Darn Cat!" and "Never a Dull Moment" in 1968.

The following year she married helmer Robert Day and left showbiz.

"She was so beautiful," Day told the Associated Press.

Besides her husband of 43 years, survivors include a son, and two sisters

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