Darlene Tompkins

Chicago-born 'Darlene Tompkins' (qv) came from a "show biz family", with relatives who worked in vaudeville and in plays (Tompkins' three-years-younger aunt is actress 'Beverly Washburn' (qv)). A beauty contest victory opened some Hollywood doors for Tompkins, who began appearing in commercials, co-starred in _Beyond the Time Barrier (1960)_ (qv) (at age 18) and appeared in TV series and additional features, including 'Elvis Presley' (qv)'s _Blue Hawaii (1961)_ (qv). Marriage and motherhood derailed her screen career, but she managed to return in the 1970s to work as an extra, a stand-in and stunt-woman, occasionally stunt-doubling on _Charlie's Angels (1976)_ (qv) (for 'Cheryl Ladd' (qv), and in other TV series and movies.::Tom Weaver <TomWeavr@aol.com>