Connie Stevens (born Concetta Rosalie Ann Ingolia; August 8, 1938)[1] is an American actress and singer.

Born in Brooklyn to musician parents, Stevens was raised there until the age of 12, when she was sent to live with family friends in rural Missouri.

Stevens gained widespread recognition for her portrayal of "Cricket" Blake on the ABC TV Warner Brothers series Hawaiian Eye, beginning in 1959 opposite Robert Conrad and Anthony Eisley.

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.

[6] Coming from a musical family, Stevens joined the singing group called The Fourmost[7] with Tony Butala, who went on to fame as founder of The Lettermen.

[citation needed] Her first notable film role was in Young and Dangerous (1957) with Mark Damon, a low budget teen movie.

[8] 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.

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,[12] 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.

", "Something Beautiful," "Mr. Songwriter," "Now That You've Gone,"[citation needed] "La-La (Means I Love You)" (originally performed by The Delfonics),[15] and "Keep Growing Strong" (which was remade by the Stylistics under the title "Betcha by Golly, Wow").

She starred in three films for the studio, all opposite Troy Donahue: Parrish (1961), as a rural girl; Susan Slade (1962), playing the title role, an unwed mother; and Palm Springs Weekend (1963), a teen romantic comedy.

[21] Stevens in 1966 starred in the Broadway production of Neil Simon's The Star-Spangled Girl with Anthony Perkins and Richard Benjamin.

Stevens guest starred on Fantasy Island, The Love Boat, Hotel, Detective in the House, Murder, She Wrote and Tales from the Darkside.

There's something wrong when an actress can come off a 'Dynasty' or a 'Falcon Crest' and get a production deal (to star in a mini-series or TV movie) and I can't.

She said at the time, "TV is not my favorite medium; the work is hard, you don't have any life, and I feel like I've already been a champion in it, but the economics of the business is you need momentum to get hot.

Stevens’ later appearances include Ellen, Love Is All There Is, Baywatch, Clueless, James Dean: Race with Destiny (1997), Returning Mickey Stern, Titus, Wild Card, 8 Simple Rules, Fat Actress, The Wedding Album.

In 1997, Stevens wrote, edited, and directed a documentary entitled A Healing, about Red Cross nurses who served during the Vietnam War.

She also co-wrote and directed the thriller Saving Grace B. Jones (2009); it was shot in Boonville and is based on true events that Stevens witnessed there, as a child.

[33] In 1994, accompanied by her two daughters, she issued her first recording in several years, Tradition: A Family at Christmas,[3] She made nightclub appearances and headlined in major Las Vegas showrooms.

[37] On June 29, 2013, the National Society of Daughters of the American Revolution's President General, Merry Ann Wright, presented Stevens with the Founder's Medal for Patriotism for her 40+ years of work with the USO.