Jeanne Carmen Dead at 77

1950’s pinup and actress, Jeanne Carmen, died at 77 of lymphoma Thursday.

When she was 13, “little country girl” ran away from home in Paragould Arkansas where she picked cotton with her family.  Once she reached New York she immediately got a job as a dancer in “Burlesque,” a Broadway show with Burt Lahr.

She then went on to modeling, slowly gaining her reputation with shots such as her cheesecake series.  She also toured with Jack Redmond where she did tricks like hitting a ball out of a man’s mouth.  She claims that she hustled golfers with the Las Vegas mobster Johnny Roselli.

Moving into Orange County in 1978 and still in her 20’s, Carmen began doing work in films, “Guns Don’t Argue” and “The Monster of Piedras Blancas.”

It has been said that Carmen had intimate connections with celebrities such as Frank Sinatra.