Mara Corday obit

Mara Corday Dies: ‘Tarantula’ Cult Film Star & ‘Playboy’ Playmate Was 95

 She was not on the list.

Mara Corday, the showgirl, Playboy Playmate and cult movie star of Tarantula, has died at age 95.

The Golden Age actress died of arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease on Feb. 9 at her home in Valencia, California, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.

Her cause of death was listed on a death certificate obtained by The Washington Post.

Born Jan. 3, 1930 in Santa Monica, Marilyn Joan Watts began working as a showgirl at the Earl Carroll Theatre on Sunset Boulevard as a teenager, where she adopted her stage name. She was also Playboy‘s October 1958 Playmate of the Month.

Following several small roles in B-rated movies, Corday’s breakout came in the 1955 Jack Arnold-helmed sci-fi cult classic Tarantula, starring alongside John Agar and Leo G. Carroll.

Corday also appeared in sci-fi titles The Black Scorpion (1957) and The Giant Claw (1957), as well as westerns like Drums Across the River (1954), The Man From Bitter Ridge (1955) and Man Without a Star (1955).

Following the 1974 death of husband Richard Long, whom she met on the set of their 1954 film Playgirl, Corday’s friend and Tarantula co-star Clint Eastwood helped her revive her career with roles in his movies The Gauntlet (1977), Sudden Impact (1983), Pink Cadillac (1989) and The Rookie (1990).

 

Actress

Clint Eastwood and Charlie Sheen in The Rookie (1990)

The Rookie

5.9

Interrogator #2

1990

 

Clint Eastwood and Bernadette Peters in Pink Cadillac (1989)

Pink Cadillac

5.4

Stick Lady

1989

 

Clint Eastwood in Sudden Impact (1983)

Sudden Impact

6.6

Loretta - Coffee Shop Waitress

1983

 

Clint Eastwood and Sondra Locke in The Gauntlet (1977)

The Gauntlet

6.4

Jail Matron

1977

 

Joe Forrester (1975)

Joe Forrester

7.1

TV Series

the Personnel Woman

1976

1 episode

 

Cabana 54

TV Movie

1961

 

Surfside 6 (1960)

Surfside 6

7.9

TV Series

Bonnie Scott

1961

1 episode

 

Laramie (1959)

Laramie

7.7

TV Series

Rose

1960

1 episode

 

Steve McQueen in Wanted: Dead or Alive (1958)

Wanted: Dead or Alive

8.0

TV Series

Lucinda Lorenz

1960

1 episode

 

Gardner McKay in Adventures in Paradise (1959)

Adventures in Paradise

8.1

TV Series

Angel

1960

1 episode

 

The Man from Blackhawk (1959)

The Man from Blackhawk

6.9

TV Series

Annabel

1959

1 episode

 

Dale Robertson in Tales of Wells Fargo (1957)

Tales of Wells Fargo

7.9

TV Series

Ruby

1959

1 episode

 

Craig Stevens in Peter Gunn (1958)

Peter Gunn

8.0

TV Series

Emily - Blackmailer

1959

1 episode

 

John Payne in The Restless Gun (1957)

The Restless Gun

7.4

TV Series

Della

1959

1 episode

 

Joyce Barker, Barbara Bostock, Mara Corday, and Lita Milan in Girls on the Loose (1958)

Girls on the Loose

5.7

Vera Parkinson

1958

 

The Black Scorpion (1957)

The Black Scorpion

5.4

Teresa Alvarez

1957

 

Undersea Girl (1957)

Undersea Girl

5.8

Valerie Hudson

1957

 

The Giant Claw (1957)

The Giant Claw

4.6

Sally Caldwell

1957

 

Mara Corday, Kathleen Crowley, Jim Davis, and Forrest Tucker in The Quiet Gun (1957)

The Quiet Gun

6.5

Irene

1957

 

Mara Corday, Barton MacLane, and Willard Parker in Naked Gun (1956)

Naked Gun

6.6

Louisa Jackson

1956

 

Combat Sergeant

TV Series

Nono

1956

1 episode

 

Mara Corday, Jock Mahoney, and Dale Robertson in A Day of Fury (1956)

A Day of Fury

6.2

Sharman Fulton

1956

 

Yvonne De Carlo, Rory Calhoun, Mara Corday, and Rex Reason in Raw Edge (1956)

Raw Edge

6.0

Paca

1956

 

Matinee Theatre (1955)

Matinee Theatre

6.7

TV Series

(as Marilyn Watts)

1955

1 episode

 

John Agar and Mara Corday in Tarantula (1955)

Tarantula

6.4

Stephanie 'Steve' Clayton

1955

 

Jane Russell and Jeff Chandler in Foxfire (1955)

Foxfire

6.2

Maria - Hugh's Nurse

1955

 

Lex Barker, Mara Corday, and Stephen McNally in The Man from Bitter Ridge (1955)

The Man from Bitter Ridge

6.0

Holly Kenton

1955

 

Kirk Douglas and Jeanne Crain in Man Without a Star (1955)

Man Without a Star

6.8

Moccasin Mary

1955

 

Tony Curtis and Gloria DeHaven in So This Is Paris (1954)

So This Is Paris

6.0

Yvonne

1954

 

Dawn at Socorro (1954)

Dawn at Socorro

6.4

Letty Diamond

1954

 

Julie Adams, Donald O'Connor, Mamie Van Doren, and Chill Wills in Francis Joins the WACS (1954)

Francis Joins the WACS

6.3

Kate

1954

 

Walter Brennan and Audie Murphy in Drums Across the River (1954)

Drums Across the River

6.1

Sue

1954

 

Shelley Winters, Colleen Miller, and Barry Sullivan in Playgirl (1954)

Playgirl

5.8

Pam

1954

 

Yankee Pasha (1954)

Yankee Pasha

6.2

Harem Girl (uncredited)

1954

 

Jerry Lewis, Dean Martin, Pat Crowley, and Marjie Millar in Money from Home (1953)

Money from Home

6.1

Waitress (uncredited)

1953

 

Eileen Christy, Ray Middleton, and Lucille Norman in Sweethearts on Parade (1953)

Sweethearts on Parade

6.7

Belle

1953

 

Lex Barker, Joyce Mackenzie, and Monique van Vooren in Tarzan and the She-Devil (1953)

Tarzan and the She-Devil

5.3

Locopo Woman (uncredited)

1953

 

Problem Girls (1953)

Problem Girls

5.3

Dorothy Childers

1953

 

Eve Arden, William Demarest, Ruth Hussey, and Dennis O'Keefe in The Lady Wants Mink (1953)

The Lady Wants Mink

6.1

Model

1953

 

Mr. & Mrs. North (1952)

Mr. & Mrs. North

7.4

TV Series

Cynthia Stone

1953

1 episode

 

Bill Williams in The Adventures of Kit Carson (1951)

The Adventures of Kit Carson

6.8

TV Series

Mrs. DrakeJuanitaJanet Cronin ...

1951–1953

4 episodes

 

Donald Woods in Craig Kennedy, Criminologist (1952)

Craig Kennedy, Criminologist

5.4

TV Series

Lucille MerrillMae GibsonGreta Varden

1952–1953

3 episodes

 

Joan Leslie and Vaughn Monroe in Toughest Man in Arizona (1952)

Toughest Man in Arizona

6.1

Bit Role (uncredited)

1952

 

Tony Curtis and Piper Laurie in Son of Ali Baba (1952)

Son of Ali Baba

5.7

Girl on Balcony (uncredited)

1952

 

John Archer, Marguerite Chapman, and Mara Corday in Sea Tiger (1952)

Sea Tiger

5.2

Lola - Hotel Proprietress

1952

 

Janet Leigh and Tony Martin in Two Tickets to Broadway (1951)

Two Tickets to Broadway

5.5

ShowgirlPasserby on Sidewalk (uncredited)

1951

 

Self

It Takes Two

6.8

TV Series

Self

1969

10 episodes

 

I'll Bet (1965)

I'll Bet

2.7

TV Series

SelfSelf - actress and wife of Richard Long

1965

10 episodes

 

Here's Hollywood (1960)

Here's Hollywood

8.6

TV Series

Self

1962

1 episode

 

Bob Hope in The Bob Hope Show (1950)

The Bob Hope Show

7.3

TV Series

Self - Hollywood Deb Star

1955

1 episode

 

Steve Allen in Allen in Movieland (1955)

Allen in Movieland

6.7

TV Movie

Self

1955

 

The George Gobel Show (1954)

The George Gobel Show

7.3

TV Series

Self

1955

1 episode

 

The Colgate Comedy Hour (1950)

The Colgate Comedy Hour

7.7

TV Series

Self - Actress

1954

1 episode

 

Hollywood Exclusive

TV Series

Self - Guest

1954

1 episode

 

Archive Footage

Cinemassacre's Monster Madness (2007)

Cinemassacre's Monster Madness

8.8

TV Series

Sally Caldwell (archive footage)

2009

1 episode

 

Coming Soon (1982)

Coming Soon

5.8

Video

edited from 'Tarantula' (archive footage, uncredited)

1982