Suzanne Pleshette and Jerry Lewis
Suzanne Pleshette
and Jerry Lewis
S * T * A * R * R * I * N * G
Jerry Lewis
Marie McDonald
Sessue Hayakawa
Barton MacLane
Nobu Atsumi McCarthy
Robert Kazuyoshi Hirano
Ryuzo Demura
Year:
1958
Character Name: Sgt. Betty Pearson, stewardess
Costumes: Edith Head
Music: Walter Scharf
Producer: Jerry Lewis
Director/Screenwriter: Frank Tashlin
Studio: Paramount
This was Pleshette's film debut. She was about 21 years old.
Pleshette explains how she got the role: "Someone who had seen me in [the Broadway play COMPULSION] told Jerry Lewis about me. He takes great chances on talent. I went in for an interview. He purposely provoked me, because that's what he wanted on the screen. He said, 'You've sure got a big mouth; that big mouth just got you in a picture.'"
When Lewis signed her to the picture, he also put her under personal contract. But by the time she had completed the movie, she was offered another Broadway opportunity. "I didn't know what to do," she recalls. "I went to see Jerry, and he talked to me for three hours. For the first hour and a half, he told me that I would be making a terrible mistake if I left Hollywood. The second hour and a half, he told me the best thing for me to do would be to go to Broadway. Then at the end of the three hours, he asked me what I wanted to do. I told him I wanted to go to New York, and he took out my contract and tore it in pieces right there in front of me and asked, 'Friends?' 'Friends!' I said, and he's been a dear friend ever since."
Pleshette's First Words Spoken in a Feature Film (to Marie McDonald's character): "Miss Livingston? I'm Sergeant Pearson. On behalf of Major Ridgley in charge of the entertainment tour and on behalf of the United States Department of Defense, I'd like to welcome you. I hope we can make your trip as pleasant and comfortable as possible." (Pleshette tends to make ANYBODY's trip very pleasant and very comfortable.)
Suzanne Pleshette's Feature Films
The Secret Career of Suzanne Pleshette
TV Movies - TV Series - TV Guest Star
Theatre - Video - Miscellaneous - The Visual