There’s a very nice tribute site to the memory of classic Hollywood actress Ann Dvorak, a strong-willed individual that often clashed with movie studio bosses concerning quality movie roles. I’ve always been fascinated by her unique beauty and her acting still seems years ahead of her contemporaries.

She was born in New York City on August 2, 1912, with parents already established in the motion picture business, both actors. She actually appeared as a small child in some productions. Around 1929-30, she began to show up as a dancer in some films, until her friend Joan Crawford introduced her to mogul Howard Hughes, a meeting that led the way to some impact roles in 1932, mainly in Scarface (as the young sister in a quasi-incestuous relationship with the title gangster), Sky Divers with Spencer Tracy and Three on a Match alongside Bette Davis and Joan Blondell. For the latter, when Ann learned that a child actor was making as much money as herself, she confronted the bosses… and found herself suspended.

Ann continued working mainly as a freelancer, but studios were more or less inclined to give solid parts to people with no studio attachments (especially a female). She went to England during WWII with her first husband, British actor Leslie Fenton (where she actually became an ambulance driver!) but they divorced soon after. Back in Hollywood, Ann married Russian dancer Igor Dega but this lasted until 1951, the year she retired from films, last appearing in a couple of television shows in 1952. She remarried a third time, now with TV producer Nicholas Wade. Ann Dvorak passed away on December 10, 1979, in Honolulu. Her contribution to Scarface is a personal favorite: a sensual interpretation of a most complex role.

A note on the tribute site: well done, but aren’t we a bit paranoid with the branding on the images?

Another ageless Bond Girl, Talisa Soto turns 41 today. Motherhood (two children with Benjamin Bratt) has been her principal occupation these last few years, so don’t pray right now for a sequel to Vampirella!

This is it, the last of four chapters for this amazing series starring Meiko Kaji as the title character. I conclude this small tribute on this very day, as star Meiko turns 61! Was this installment very necessary, considering how the previous episode ended? Well, no, to tell the truth. Sasori is still on the lam but will eventually find help with a technician that works in a strip joint. This guy has been crippled in the past by police brutality and is delighted to help someone who’s considered a fugitive of the law. Will Sasori find it in her bruised heart to trust a man? And is she really getting some? And how many movie screen characters how you seen kill an enemy using a flower? Watch out for these female prison guards, with awesome uniforms and boots giving us memories Ilsa, She-Wolf of the SS! And they don’t seem to mind watching prime beefcake in magazines, either!

With a new director, this movie has a couple of typical astonishing scenes with awesome color effects, but Yasuharu Hasebe is no Shunya Ito. I was also a bit disappointed that Sasori is involved in the needless and not so accidental death of a minor character, which is contrary to her character’s motivations. Still, she utters one of her longest monologue in the series (like, four or five consecutive sentences!).

Besides some reservation in the way the series was being treated (script, budget), this is still heads ahead of the majority of WiP offered worldwide, an unexpected haunting experience. The series would continue with different actresses beginning in 1976 with New Female Prisoner Scorpion 701, but with limited success.

Ursula Andress has been one of my first guests on the main site, and she effortlessly brought good luck and lots of visitors for Cult Sirens. The ultimate Bond Girl turns a youthful 72 today.

I get the feeling that you don’t mind seeing pictures of smiling beautiful girls with big breasts and perfect skin, wearing as close to nothing as possible. Try to convince me otherwise! Her guest today fits the bill nicely for all this criteria, as healthy Denise Milani is a joy to look at. Russ Meyer would’ve gone nuts! Chest enhancement? Who cares!!!

And what is Denise’s day job, exactly? Well, she’s a glamour model, evidently. She comes from Czechoslovakia, born there on April 24, 1980. When she moved to Los Angeles, she began a modeling career which still has the distinction of not including any nude shots, as she opted for teasing images only. And she loves hockey! Why isn’t she married yet? Check out the official site, of course.

Interestingly and not at all surprising coming from me, all my favorite female singers share at least a common characteristic: they’re all very theatrical in their live performances. Of course, this pleases my own tastes, as I can get quickly bored by immobile performers. Monica Naranjo, Marie Carmen and now Mylène Farmer all have tremendous stage presence and their shows aren’t mere standing-behind-the-microphone affairs. In the case of Mylène, her own aura has always been a mystifying one, as she created an unique universe around herself.

Mylène Gautier was born on September 12, 1961, in Pierrefonds, Québec, Canada, a suburb of Montréal. Her parents were of French origins and all the family moved back to France some years later. Many people in Québec still think of her as a French-Canadian who has snubbed her roots in taking a typical French accent, not knowing that her parents were actually French people from France. Ladies and gentlemen reading this, don’t confuse the French from Québec with the French from France!

As a teen, Mylène began living in Paris and started modeling, while studying acting. In 1984, she was choosen in a casting call to be the voice for a new song, Maman a tort, which turned out to be a big hit that year. Mylène Farmer was thusly born, her new name paying respect to troubled actress Frances Farmer. 1986 saw the release of her first album, Cendres de lune, which produced the mega-hit, Libertine. The videoclip for the latter song was quite a visual delight, almost a short film in itself, the kind of project that she would become famous for (can I mention the frequent nudity and sometimes surprinsing violence in these productions? yes I can, as they were more often than not censored for television viewing). Also, she became a redhead, another quite unique visual choice in the world of popular singers. Already an aura of sensuality and dark eroticism was born.

Between 1986 and 1992, Mylène began an imposing reign on the European charts, becoming the first female singer to get Diamond Record status. In 1988, she would win at the World Music Awards and the Victoires de la Musique. Even with techno-pop or dance rythms, Mylène’s music has always proposed lyrics about sex, death, religion… not just mindless words. The quality of her videoclips began to make her well-known in the USA, as well, and many European countries. In 1991, an obsessed fan willing to meet her actually killed by gunshot Mylène’s receptionist at her music company office and then committed suicide. From the start, she had not been trusting of the media, but from that point on, she chose to continue expressing herself in her songs and films, giving only one interview per album release.

In 1989, even while being extremely shy, Mylène proposed her first concerts, elaborate shows with an American showmanship twist that was not in vogue for France performers, not counting Johnny Halliday. Elaborate choregraphies and costumes were on the menu, with sets emphasizing the theatrical feel. Remember that still today, French musical television shows still used badly out of date lip-sinc techniques that borders on the embarrassing.

In 1994, Mylène made her film debut in Giorgino, directed by Laurent Boutonnat, her collaborator for the videos. It was a complete box-office and critical disaster, considered as a bad three-hours clip. Reedited, the film was recently released for home viewing. Mylène moved to California in 1995 to find more inspiration, a move that resulted in the album Anamorphosée, recorded in L.A. and considered her best work. Another gigantic tour followed, from which the resulting live album is still considered the best-selling one in France for a show. A third tour in 1999 even reached Moscow and St.Petersburg.

A 2001 Best Of compilation was also a gigantic best-seller and included a duo with singer Seal. She received an honorary award at the Victoires de la Musique as the ultimate female artist of the last twenty years. 2005 saw the release of her sixth album, Avant que l’ombre… which resulted in another successful series of concert. Her stage was so big that it was impossible to take it on tour, so she sold out thirteen consecutive shows at the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy in January 2006. Of course, the resulting DVD is still the best-selling show sold in France in that format. A new album is expected later this year, with live performances planned for September 2009. Talk about early planning!

Even with all that success, critics have always been lukewarm towards Mylène. All recognize her unique artistry and the quality of her work, but seem to reproach her for her big commercial success (?) and her tendency to run her stage shows à l‘américaine. Of course, her unavailability towards the media is always perceived as a negative factor. Many consider her a caring and phenomenal creative spirit, others see her as arrogant and cold… I personally picture her as a Madonna-like phenomenon, surely not in the ability to manipulate her entourage, but for the will to reinvent herself and the gift of always being in the spotlight in her own way.

And of course, there’s the voice. Sometimes piercing, but more often than not an amazing mix of high whispers than any rival couldn‘t even reproduce. You either like it or hate it. I just adore it.

Tall Siren Nancy Kovack turns 73 today. She’ll always remain the amazing Medea from Jason and the Argonauts in 1963.

Why not sharing a couple of pictures concerning the upcoming zombie comedy Zombie Strippers? First of all the poster, which gives a grindhouse feel to the production (as if the title itself was not trashy enough!).

And then, here’s the awesome beauty of co-star Jessica Custodio, looking mighty fine and leggy in this pose. Of course, (former?) adult movie star Jena Jameson has the lead female role and there’s the involvement of Robert Englund.

What are YOU going to do when these zombie strippers are coming onto you?

Is there anyone more interesting and sexier to watch on TV these days than to witness pro wrestler Gail Kim wearing tight jeans and a white bra kicking ass on an octagonal ring? I don’t think so. Right now, Gail is without a doubt my favorite female wrestler, combining great skill, beauty and demonstrating a sense of taking chances that we don’t see very often in North American performers of the “weaker” sex. Let’s try to understand where she’s coming from.

Well actually Gail is Canadian, born in Toronto on February 20, 1976, but of Korean heritage. Even while studying kinesiology at the University of Toronto, Gail had always shown great athletic prowess, being skillful in basketball, volleyball, soccer, baseball and badminton… She eventually changed her course by attending Ryerson University, this time studying nutrition. Once obtaining her degree, Gail decided, just like that, to become a pro wrestler, to the amazement of her family. To achieve this goal, she enrolled at Ron Hutchinson’s School of Pro Wrestling in Toronto (isn’t that name awfully adequate?). She also attended the Squared Circle Pro Wrestling Gym. Now, she had a natural talent and thusly made her debut in December 2000, portraying a masked character named La Felina, The Queen of the Cats, for the Apocalypse Wrestling Federation promotion based in Southern Ontario.

For the next couple of years, Gail found employment on the independent circuit, still mainly in Canada, learning her craft and already having memorable encounters with fellow fighter Tracy Brooks. In 2001, she met WWF current performer Holly Molly and gave her a promotional videotape of herself. This resulted in being hired in October 2002 and assigned to Ohio Valley Wrestling, a training ground for future stars of the company. Gail debuted officially on June 30, 2003, on a female battle royal match televised for RAW, where she actually won the WWE Women’s Championship, no mean feat for a first appearance! She held the belt for a month, eventually losing to Molly and becoming soon after a “bad girl” or a “heel”, in wrestling terms.

Gail was quite busy until an injury the following November, an unfortunate broken right collarbone that kept her on ice until the next April. For a while, she didn’t return to high-flying tactics, preferring to specialize in submission moves. She had more title shots, but no more championship reign. Her last match for the WWE was on November 1, 2004, and she was released by the company the following day, a surprising move that astounded many fans, as that decision was really coming out of nowhere.

After a 90-day no-compete clause, Gail visited Mexico, South Korea, and Australia for matches on the independent circuit. She caused quite a happy sensation when willingly posing topless for a mobile phone ad in South Korea (now what was the connection between a cell and a naked cutie? Not that I’m complaining, but…).

Things looked well when Gail was hired by TNA (Total Nonstop Action) Wrestling and debuted on October 8, 2005. Being tossed around or body slammed by male wrestlers didn’t seemed to be a problem. She filmed a movie in 2006, Royal Kill, which should be released this year, directed by a guy named Babar, where she seemingly plays an assassin. In 2007, she had a great feud with another of my favorites, Jackie Moore, which culminated in a Cat Fight Steel cage match, an awesome affair that saw Gail victorious after actually jumping down the top of the cage on her opponent!

At the Bound for Glory pay-per-view on October 14, 2007, Gail became the first ever TNA Women’s World Champion after winning a Knockout Gauntlet Match involving nine more female athletes. Knockout is the term TNA uses for its female roster. So eventually Gail lost her title on a televised episode, to Awesome Kong, a 5 ft 10 in, 250 lb immense performer. Of course these days Gail wants her belt back where it belongs, but is now also involved in a love/hate relationship with fellow grappler O.D.B., after some communication problems of late.

Take my word for it: Gail Kim delivers in all departments. There’s a lot of her matches available on YouTube, so you can now program your own kick-ass Gail Kim Bone-Crunch Festival! I can just salute TNA for the quality given to their Knockout division: of course there’s much inflated boobs galore but these gals give their all in sometimes very brutal spots; in fact, there’s no embarrassing lingerie matches/sketches like those too often than not served by rival company WWE, a flagrant disrespect towards their own female roster wasting their time in limbo. It just irks me that McMahon likes more to waste his time in discovering a Diva of the Year when real wrestlers could be under his command.

Gail Kim is also now considered one of America’s Most Eligible Bachelorettes, to her own astonishment, as claimed by Forbes, coming at #32 on a list of forty!

Sites:

• Official Site
• Official MySpace Site
• TNA Wrestling
• Fan Site
• La Felina info

Talk about an hour-glass figure! Who exactly is this magnificent creature? Well, I want you to meet Immodesty Blaize, a British burlesque dancer based in London. The Las Vegas Burlesque Hall of Fame (yes, there is such a thing) named her Miss Exotic World 2007!

She was born Kelly Fletcher in 1978 in Hertfordshire, England. After being a producer and director of commercials, she began a burlesque routine as Immodesty Blaize and became a sensation on Brick Lane, a popular street in London where are nested many popular nightclubs.

Immodesty was featured in Goldfrapp’s “Train” video in 2003 and the rest is history. She now teaches women to find their inner showgirl selves by discovering their sensual side. Lovely! More curves! Curves! Curves! Curves!

Of course, check out the Official Site.