Paula Prentiss | |
|---|---|
 Prentiss in 1963 | |
| Born | Paula Ragusa (1938-03-04)March 4, 1938 (age 87) San Antonio, Texas, U.S. |
| Education | Lamar High School |
| Alma mater | Northwestern University |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1960–present |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Relatives | Ann Prentiss (sister) |
Paula Prentiss (néeRagusa; born March 4, 1938)[1] is an American actress. She is best known for her film roles inWhere the Boys Are (1960),Man's Favorite Sport? (1964),What's New Pussycat? (1965),Catch-22 (1970),The Parallax View (1974), andThe Stepford Wives (1975).[2]
From 1967 to 1968, Prentiss co-starred with her husbandRichard Benjamin in the CBS sitcomHe & She, for which she received a nomination forPrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series.
Prentiss was born Paula Ragusa inSan Antonio,Texas, the elder daughter of Paulene (née Gardner) and Thomas J. Ragusa, a social sciences professor at San Antonio'sUniversity of the Incarnate Word.[1] Her father was ofSicilian descent,[1] and Prentiss was raisedRoman Catholic.[3] She had a younger sister,Ann Prentiss, who was also an actress.[1]
Before high school, Paula, who grew to 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m), was always the tallest person in class.[4][5][6][7] She attendedLamar High School inHouston.[8] In 1958, while studying drama atNorthwestern University, she met future husbandRichard Benjamin, who impressed her with his sophistication and height (he was taller than she was). While attending Northwestern she was discovered byMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer and was offered a film contract.[6][9]
Prentiss leapt to fame playing the role of Tuggle inWhere the Boys Are (1960).[10][11] Her co-star wasJim Hutton.[12] The film was a hit and response to Prentiss and Hutton was very favorable, soMGM decided to reteam them in three more comedies, promoting them as a newWilliam Powell andMyrna Loy:The Honeymoon Machine (1961) withSteve McQueen,Bachelor in Paradise (1961) withBob Hope, andThe Horizontal Lieutenant (1962).[13][14] They were the two tallest male and female contract players atMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer.[15][16]
Hutton and Prentiss were also meant to be inFollow the Boys (1963), aWhere the Boys Are-style comedy, but he dropped out, and so Prentiss' co-star becameRuss Tamblyn.
Howard Hawks cast her as the female lead oppositeRock Hudson inMan's Favorite Sport? (1964) at Universal, her first film outside MGM. Hawks would later say: "Paula Prentiss was good, but she couldn't remember what she was doing from one shot to the next. Her shots never matched."[17]
Prentiss appeared on stage in a production ofAs You Like It in 1963 at theNew York Shakespeare Festival inCentral Park.
She had notable roles inThe World of Henry Orient (1964) andIn Harm's Way (1965) and made a cameo as herself inLooking for Love (1964). She also had a strong supporting role inWhat's New Pussycat? (1965) withPeter Sellers. However, on the set of that film she had a nervous breakdown. "One day during shooting," she toldPeople in 1976, "I just climbed up the ropes to the catwalk and started walking the beams. Very loudly and clearly I called down to everyone on the set, 'I'm going to jump.' A French technician grabbed me, and there I was, hanging by one arm." She was hospitalized for nine months.[18] Ironically, her character in the film, a neurotic exotic dancer, threatens to kill herself due to unrequited love for the main character.
For one season (1967–1968), Prentiss co-starred with her husband, Richard Benjamin, in the CBS sitcomHe & She.[14] For her role, Prentiss was nominated for anEmmy Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Comedy.
In 1969 she appearedOff-Broadway in the double production,Arf andThe Great Airplane Snatch, directed by Benjamin.
Prentiss returned to films as Nurse Duckett in the film adaptation ofJoseph Heller's novelCatch-22 (1970). She had the female lead inMove (1970) withElliott Gould andBorn to Win (1971) withGeorge Segal. She was one of the leads inLast of the Red Hot Lovers withAlan Arkin. Next, Prentiss was in themade-for-television film,The Couple Takes a Wife (1972).[19]
She was the female lead inCrazy Joe (1974) and had a small but pivotal part inThe Parallax View (1974) withWarren Beatty.[20] She was second lead inThe Stepford Wives (1975), alongsideKatharine Ross.[21]
In 1976, Prentiss and Benjamin appeared on Broadway inThe Norman Conquests. After that, they traveled to Australia to makeNo Room to Run (1977).
Prentiss was inHaving Babies II (1977),Friendships, Secrets and Lies (1979), andTop of the Hill (1980). She had a starring role inThe Black Marble (1980), but it was not widely seen.
She didSaturday the 14th (1981) with her husband and was in directorBilly Wilder's last film,Buddy Buddy (1981), withJack Lemmon andWalter Matthau. She then madePackin' It In (1983) with her husband and did the made-for-television film,M.A.D.D.: Mothers Against Drunk Drivers (1983).
Prentiss guest starred on TV shows likeMurder, She Wrote andBurke's Law.
Except for brief cameo roles, Prentiss had not appeared in afeature film for more than 30 years, until 2016'sI Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House, a horror film directed byOz Perkins. It premiered September 10, 2016 at theToronto International Film Festival.
Prentiss has been married to actor-directorRichard Benjamin since 1961.[22][23] They have two children, son Ross and daughter Prentiss.[1][24]
There is a street named after Prentiss inSan Antonio, Texas.[25]
Filmink magazine argued "we don’t think that there’s any actor who more deserved to become a star – what’s more, this (a) was obvious from her first time, (b) everyone in Hollywood knew it, and (c) many filmmakers and executives tried to make it happen" calling her "the heir toCarole Lombard andKay Kendall, actresses who specialised in eccentric ditzes but were also capable of sensitive dramatic performances."[2]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | Where the Boys Are | Tuggle Carpenter | Laurel Award for Best Female Comedy Performance Nominated—Top Female New Personality |
| 1961 | The Honeymoon Machine | Pam Dunstan | |
| Bachelor in Paradise | Linda Delavane | ||
| 1962 | The Horizontal Lieutenant | Lt. Molly Blue | |
| 1963 | Follow the Boys | Toni Denham | |
| 1964 | Man's Favorite Sport? | Abigail Page | |
| The World of Henry Orient | Stella Dunnworthy | ||
| Looking for Love | Paula Prentiss | ||
| 1965 | In Harm's Way | Beverly McConnell | |
| What's New Pussycat? | Liz Bien | ||
| 1970 | Catch-22 | Nurse Duckett | |
| Move | Dolly Jaffe | ||
| 1971 | Born to Win | Veronica | |
| 1972 | Last of the Red Hot Lovers | Bobbi Michele | |
| 1974 | Crazy Joe | Anne | |
| The Parallax View | Lee Carter | ||
| 1975 | The Stepford Wives | Bobbie Markowe | |
| 1980 | The Black Marble | Sgt. Natalie Zimmerman | |
| 1981 | Saturday the 14th | Mary Hyatt | Nominated—1981Stinkers Bad Movie Award for Worst Supporting Actress |
| Buddy Buddy | Celia Clooney | ||
| 1996 | Mrs. Winterbourne | Nurse Allmeyer | Uncredited |
| 2007 | Hard Four | Sweet Cherrie | |
| 2016 | I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House | Iris Blum |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1963 | 77 Sunset Strip | Model | Uncredited Episode: "The Fumble" |
| 1967–68 | He & She | Paula Hollister | Main role, 26 episodes Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series |
| 1972 | The Couple Takes a Wife | Barbara Hamilton | Television film |
| 1977 | No Room to Run | Terry McKenna | |
| Having Babies II | Trish Canfield | ||
| 1979 | Friendships, Secrets and Lies | Sandy | |
| 1980 | Top of the Hill | Norma Ellsworth Cully | |
| Saturday Night Live | Co-Host (withRichard Benjamin) | Episode: April 5, 1980 Musical Guest:Grateful Dead | |
| 1981 | Mr. and Mrs. Dracula | Sonia Dracula | Unaired pilot |
| 1983 | Packin' It In | Dianne Webber | Television film |
| M.A.D.D.: Mothers Against Drunk Drivers | Lynne Wiley | ||
| 1992 | Murder, She Wrote | Leonora Holt | Episode: "Incident in Lot 7" |
| 1995 | Burke's Law | Carla Martinet | Episode: "Who Killed the Hollywood Headshrinker?" |
