Mamie Van Doren is one of the many Hollywood stars who find the footlights a more satisfactory setting in which to sparkle. These photos of her before and during her new night-club act, plus four shots for which she posed exclusively for Playboy, herald the onset of a renewed career for a girl whose life had seemed to be leveling off at an unsatisfactory plateau. Mamie Van Doren of the movies was a strikingly stunning lass who had been married to, and divorced from, band leader Ray Anthony while her career slogged along through such inauspicious roles as a waitress in All-American, a harem girl in Yankee Pasha and that nadir of prominence: a part in one of the many Francis films, where all acting plays second fiddle to the antics of a talking mule. Despite this lethal limbo in which she existed, Mamie was outstanding enough to be noticed and known by name to the movie-going public, though – typical of the fate of many a bosomy blonde starlet – she was inevitably compared with Jayne Mansfield or Marilyn Monroe, then dismissed from film producers' minds as just another good-looking chick. In an industry constantly seeking new faces, her already established looks had become a liability.
Mamie was far from satisfied with a renown based strictly on physical assets. She decided to make herself vulnerable and perform in a medium where retakes are impossible: night clubs. In front of a live audience, she knew, only talent counts; a beautiful body and lovely face are secondary considerations. As these photos illustrate, Miss Van Doren does not quite believe in entirely hiding her attributes, though. Her act, neatly blending philharmonics with physiognomy, is easily the best of all possible whirls Mamie could take at live show business. Of the rehearsals, she says, "There were songs to learn, dance steps to learn, costumes to be designed ... !" Nevertheless, she did accomplish all, and soon sang and danced her way through songs like Let's Do It, I Cain't Say No and a rousing rendition of Making Whoopee for her finale. Mamie admits to "a strong Swedish descent," has platinum-blonde hair and dark-brown eyes, and her well-distributed 110 pounds stand at five feet, four inches. "The more a girl displays her physical charms," says Mamie, "the less trouble it is to keep a husband." In these photos, Miss Van Doren seems to be singularly untroubled by anything at all.
