Mamie Van Doren (/ˈmeɪmi væn ˈdɔːrən/; born Joan Lucille Olander;[1] February 6, 1931)[1] is an American actress, singer, model, and sex symbol who rose to prominence in the 1950s and 1960s.

[6] In 1953, Van Doren, then named Joan Lucille Olander, signed a seven-year contract with Universal, which hoped that she would be their version of Monroe.

Van Doren was born and raised in Rowena, South Dakota, but her parents moved to Sioux City, Iowa and eventually to Los Angeles, California in 1942 before she married Jack Newman.

Outside of Universal, she starred in Untamed Youth (1957), Teacher's Pet (1958), High School Confidential (1958), Born Reckless (1958), The Beat Generation (1959), and Sex Kittens Go To College (1960).

Van Doren starred in many B movies, such as Voyage to the Planet of Prehistoric Women (1968),[7] The Las Vegas Hillbillys (1966) with Mansfield, and particularly, 3 Nuts in Search of a Bolt (1964) with Tommy Noonan.

Van Doren was born Joan Lucille Olander on February 6, 1931 in Rowena, South Dakota,[14] nine miles out of Sioux Falls.

[19] Van Doren's father, Warner Olander, worked at a rock quarry to take care of his family, and was paid $0.35 cents a load, sometimes $7.00.

"[21] She described in her memoir that her grandmother, whom she called "Dah", was an important household figure, while her grandfather, "Pa", would take Van Doren into town weekly.

[21] Van Doren would walk a mile and a half to a two room schoolhouse on the ranch, often in different types of weather including snow, rain, and wind.

[23] Van Doren moved to Sioux City, Iowa in 1939 to live with her parents, where she watched movies with actors such as Clark Gable, Carole Lombard, Spencer Tracy, Fred Astaire, Katharine Hepburn, Jean Harlow, Mae West, and Ginger Rogers.

"[27] After her thirteenth birthday, Van Doren was able to convince the manager of Hollywood Pantages Theatre to make her an usherette, which allowed her to watch popular movies at the time.

[28] After being commented on by Nils Thor Grunlund, known by his initials NTG, that she looked similar to Jean Harlow, she was able to be on his Hollywood TV show for a minor role.

However, her parents were worried that she would get in trouble and feared that she would go on to be killed like Black Dahlia, who was, as stated by Van Doren, one of their closest friends.

In 1950, Hughes provided Van Doren with a bit part in Jet Pilot (1957) at RKO Radio Pictures, which was filmed from 1949 to 1950, but released in 1957.

Van Doren additionally had a small role in Footlight Varieties (1951) as the girl in the theater in the final scene of the film.

[35] Van Doren did a few more bit parts in movies at RKO, including His Kind of Woman (1951) starring Robert Mitchum, Jane Russell and Vincent Price.

[36] In her memoir, Van Doren recollects her relationship with Charles Fischetti, an American mobster and the cousin of Al Capone, whom she met in Las Vegas.

[15] According to Barry Lowe, Van Doren was, "Near penniless, out of work, and frightened for the future" due to Billion Dollar Baby not being successful.

[40] Benjamin believed that Van Doren was fit for a singer in the then upcoming Universal film Forbidden (1953), starring Tony Curtis.

[51] In The All American, Van Doren played Susie Ward, an ambitious waitress initially looking to find a wealthy spouse near a university.

Yankee Pasha centers around a man who sails the ocean, played by Jeff Chandler, to find his true love, a woman forced into slavery,[54] who was portrayed by Van Doren.

[56] In Playing the Field, Van Doren claimed that she auditioned for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, hoping to get the role of Ado Annie in Oklahoma!, a movie based on the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical.

Van Doren starred in the 1954 film Francis Joins the WACS, playing the role of Corporal Bunky Hilstrom.

Though Van Doren garnered prominent billing alongside John Agar and Richard Boone, she appears rather briefly, as the daughter of a ranch owner.

[citation needed] Some of Van Doren's more noteworthy movies include Teacher's Pet (1958) at Paramount Pictures, Born Reckless (1958) at Warner Brothers, High School Confidential (1958), and The Beat Generation (1959), the latter two at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

After Universal Studios chose not to renew her contract in 1959, Van Doren became a free agent and struggled to find work.

[63] In 1967, she appeared in You've Got to Be Smart, and starred in the science fiction film Voyage to the Planet of Prehistoric Women (1968), the following year, directed by Peter Bogdanovich.

She performed in stage productions of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and Dames at Sea at the Drury Lane Theater in Chicago as well as appeared in Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?

"[citation needed] In 1964, Van Doren was a guest at the Whisky a Go Go on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood, California when The Beatles were at the club visiting with Jayne Mansfield, and an inebriated George Harrison accidentally threw his drink on her when trying to throw it on some bothersome journalists.

Van Doren released Playing the Field (1987), her autobiography, which brought much attention and proved to be her biggest media splash in over 25 years.