Sally Kellerman passed away about a week ago and I missed it.
The Variety writers did their usual very thorough job when doing a show-biz obituary, and we all know about her beautiful and sexy speaking voice, so let’s discuss things nobody knows about her.
In 1971, when she was already an established star from her work in M*A*S*H, she and her then-partner collaborated on an experimental film called Venus, which was apparently such a dud that it screened in only a few arthouse theaters, including only one theater in LA for one night. Fortunately, the LA Times had a hard-working critic named Kevin Thomas who made a point of going there that night to review it. There was no internet or cable TV in that era, and the film was too trippy for broadcast TV to be interested, so it disappeared into film oblivion. To my knowledge, there is no extant copy. We would not know about it at all, if not for three things: (1) the LA Times reviewed it, as mentioned; (2) Kellerman mentioned it several times in her autobiography because there was footage that she was not expecting (she had not known the camera was rolling); (3) Playboy included a single frame from it in one of those “Sex Stars of 19XX” recaps.
While we are on the subject of her most obscure performances, I can name two more from her pre-M*A*S*H days:
She was one of the Many Loves of Dobie Gillis in the early 60s. (Fully dressed, of course.)
And she took a bath on screen (nothing showing) in an utterly obscure Canadian series called Seaway, which ran for only a single season in 1965, and has attracted a whopping 47 votes at IMDb. This would normally be lost to the ages alongside Venus, except for the legendary internet encyclopedist named OZ, who has been chronicling the antics of sexy celebrities for more than 20 years, eventually covering just about anything and everything you can think of, even Sally’s performance in Seaway!
Well, of course she also did some nudity in real movies:
Film, Year, (Her approximate age)
M*A*S*H, 1969, (31)
Brewster McCloud, 1970 (32)
A Reflection of Fear, 1973 (35)
Serial, 1980 (42)
Ready to Wear, 1994 (56)
Boynton Beach Club, 2005 (67)
That’s right, She was still whippin’ em’ out at age 67 – and she looked pretty good!
Beautiful classy woman. RIP.
Some great scenery chewing by Stacy Keach -“McCloud, bird doo doo!! Bird doo doo on the windshield, McCloud” (if I remember right). And Hot Lips looked good in that fountain. I enjoyed it.
Thanks Scoop
Hey, that’s a couple I didn’t know about! We can always count on you for the Scoop!
Brewster McCloud is worth it, if you ever stumble across. Prime Altman, Bud Cort after Harold & Maude, sadly Dennis Weaver was not involved.
I saw Brewster in theaters, some 50 years ago. I really liked it, but haven’t ever re-watched it.