Connie Stevens (born Concetta Rosalie Ann Ingolia; August 8, 1938) is an American actress and singer. Born in Brooklyn to musician parents, Stevens was raised there until age 12, when she was sent to live with family friends in rural Missouri. In 1953, at age 15, Stevens relocated with her father to Los Angeles.
She began her career in 1957, making her feature film debut in Young and Dangerous, before releasing her debut album, Concetta, the following year. She had a supporting role in the musical comedy Rock-A-Bye Baby (1958) opposite Jerry Lewis, followed by the drama film The Party Crashers (also 1958) opposite Frances Farmer.
Stevens gained widespread recognition for her portrayal of "Cricket" Blake on the network television series Hawaiian Eye, beginning in 1959. She garnered concurrent musical success when her single "Sixteen Reasons" became a radio hit, peaking at number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and the UK Singles Chart in 1960. Stevens continued to appear in film and television throughout the 1970s and 1980s, as well as performing as a musical nightclub act.
Stevens' later film roles include in the comedy Tapeheads (1988) and the drama Love Is All There Is (1996). In 2009, Stevens made her directorial debut with the feature film Saving Grace B. Jones, which she also wrote and produced, based partly on elements of her own childhood.
Stevens was born Concetta Rosalie Ann Ingolia in Brooklyn, New York, United States, the daughter of musician Peter Ingolia (known as Teddy Stevens) and singer Eleanor McGinley. Stevens is of Italian and Irish descent. She adopted her father's stage name of Stevens as her own. Her parents divorced and she lived with her grandparents and attended Catholic boarding schools. Actor John Megna was her half-brother.
At the age of 12, she witnessed a murder while waiting at a bus stop in Brooklyn. The event traumatized Stevens, and she was sent to live with family friends in Boonville, Missouri.
Coming from a musical family, Stevens joined the singing group called The Fourmost with Tony Butala, who went on to fame as founder of The Lettermen. Stevens moved to Los Angeles with her father in 1953.
Her first notable film role was in Young and Dangerous (1957) with Mark Damon, a low budget teen movie. She also was in Eighteen and Anxious (1957); and an episode of The Bob Cummings Show ("Bob Goes Hillbilly"). In December 1957 Stevens signed a seven-year contract with Paramount starting at $600 a week going up to $1,500 a week
Jerry Lewis saw her in Dragstrip Riot (1958), and cast her as his love interest in his 1958 production of Rock-A-Bye Baby, giving Stevens her first big break.
Stevens made another film with Damon, The Party Crashers (1958), before Paramount dropped her.
In May 1959, she signed a seven-year contract with Warner Bros. starting at $300 per week. Like many Warners contract players, Stevens was kept busy guest-starring on their regular TV shows such as The Ann Sothern Show, Maverick, Tenderfoot, 77 Sunset Strip and Cheyenne.
She appeared opposite James Garner in an episode of the TV Western series Maverick titled "Two Tickets to Ten Strike," which also featured Adam West. Stardom came when she was cast as Cricket Blake in the popular television detective series Hawaiian Eye from 1959 to 1963, a role that made her famous; her principal costar was Robert Conrad.
First televised on December 23, 1960, she appeared (uncredited) in "The Dresden Doll", Episode 15 of Season 3 of 77 Sunset Strip as her character from Hawaiian Eye, Cricket Blake.
In a televised interview on August 26, 2003, on CNN's Larry King Live, Stevens recounted that while on the set of Hawaiian Eye she was told she had a telephone call from Elvis Presley. "She didn't believe it, but in fact it was Elvis, who invited her to a party and said that he would come to her house and pick her up personally"; they subsequently dated.
Stevens dated actor Glenn Ford in the early 1960s.
She was married twice during her twenties. Her first husband, from 1963 until their 1966 divorce, was actor James Stacy. Her second husband, from 1967 until they divorced in 1969, was singer Eddie Fisher. She is the mother of actresses Joely Fisher and Tricia Leigh Fisher, and the former stepmother of Todd Fisher and actress Carrie Fisher. Stevens is a half-sister of John Megna through their mother.
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- SERVES
- 4
- COOK TIME
- 15 Min
Looking for a pizza-perfect way to enjoy homemade pizza without the hassle? These Cheesy Pepperoni Pizza Sticks will do the trick! Flakey dough and melty mozzarella cheese, topped with zesty pepperoni and pizza sauce, make this an anytime snack or dinner that will soon be your favorite pizza recipe!
- 1 (8-ounce) can refrigerated crescent rolls
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 16 slices pepperoni
- 1 tablespoon butter, melted
- 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 cup pizza sauce, warmed
- Preheat oven to 350º. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray.
- Unroll crescent roll dough on a flat surface. Press two triangles together to form a rectangle; repeat with remaining dough. (You will end up with 4 rectangles.)
- Sprinkle 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese down the center of each rectangle. Sprinkle evenly with Italian seasoning and top each with 4 pepperoni slices. Fold dough on each side of cheese to the middle, slightly overlapping each other, and pinch the seam to secure. Grab both ends of dough and gently twist it. Place on baking sheet and repeat with remaining dough. Brush tops of each with butter and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
- Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until golden. Serve with pizza sauce.
1964 – Hoda Kotb, American television news anchor
National Book Lovers Day on August 9th harnesses all the excitement bibliophiles feel about books into one celebration.
A day for all those who love to read, National Book Lovers Day encourages you to find your favorite reading place, a good book (whether it be fiction or non-fiction) and read the day away.
Bibliophile – a person who has a great appreciation for or collects books.
Step back in time
- The very first books used parchment or vellum (calf-skin) for the book pages.
- The book covers were made of wood and often covered with leather.
- Clasps or straps kept the books closed.
- Public libraries appeared in the Middle Ages.
- Public libraries often chained the books to a shelf or a desk to prevent theft.
Moving forward
Along with several recent developments, book manufacturers use digital printing. Book pages are printed using toner rather than ink. As a result of digital printing, print-on-demand opens up a whole new realm of publishing. In this case, distributors don’t print the books until the customer places the order.
More and more, people read E-books. E-book (electronic book) refers to a book-length publication in digital form. They are usually available through the internet. However, they can also be found on CD-ROM and other systems. Read an E-book on a computer or via a portable book display device known as an e-book reader, such as a Reader, Nook or Kindle
HOW TO OBSERVE
Sit back, relax and READ! Don’t forget to share the joy of reading with young people in your life. Inspire them with your favorite novel or find out about the last book they took off the shelf. Read to the littlest of the up-and-coming readers, too. And share what you’re reading with us, too! Need more ways to celebrate? We’ve got them!
- Shop for a new title to read or explore the shelves for one you would like to give.
- Explore the shelves of used book stores. You might find an out-of-print tome that might become the highlight of your collection.
- Discover the world of online bookstores. Their stock includes a variety of subjects and collectible items, too.
- Record a video of you reading a story for a child in your life
- Randomly give a book to someone.
- Visit your public library and check out a favorite tome.
