As you have read time to time here on previous blogs (see the "Scream Queens" and "Horror Hotties" links on the sidebar to your left for more examples), many women who ended up acting in horror, fantasy and science-fiction films were previous showgirls, dancers, models and pinups. They were more often than not, hired for their good looks rather than their acting ability.
One of the most arresting examples of making the jump from glamour to film was the voluptuous Diane Webber. The 5' 2" (39C-23-37) brunette was born Marguerite Empey on July 27, 1932. Her mother was a Hollywood actress and former Miss Long Beach beauty queen who signed her daughter up for ballet classes when she was young.
Soon after graduating from Hollywood High School, Miss Empey embarked on a modelling career while holding down a job as a chorus girl at Bimbo's 365 Club (!) in San Francisco. She found herself in front of the lens of notable photographers such as Peter Gowland, Bunny Yeager and Russ Meyer, where her photos began to show up on many magazine covers and commercial art.
In 1955, she was selected as the PLAYBOY Playmate of the Month for the May issue and again in February, 1956. Following this exposure (no pun intended), she became a popular nude pinup model and appeared in numerous men's magazines and calendars as Diane Webber.
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| Playboy, May 1955. |
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| Playboy, February 1956. |
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| Photographer Russ Meyer is seen in the bottom left photo. |
Favoring a natural lifestyle with her husband, Joe Webber, they joined a naturist's club that frequented nudist colonies. Webber discovered a secondary reason: to naturally cover her tan lines for photo shoots!
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| Jem, April 1957. |
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| Fling Festival Calendar for 1962. |
Even Frank Frazetta couldn't escape Diane's allure, as he used a photo of hers as reference for one of his illustrations.
Diane appeared in a handful of films and a few of them were in the horror/fantasy genres. Beside her pinup and nude photography, she is probably best known for her role as the Mermaid Queen in the MERMAIDS OF TIBURON (1982). She also had small roles in THE WITCHMAKER (1969) and SINTHIA, THE DEVIL'S DOLL (1970). Her TV appearances included VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA and ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS.
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| Diane Webber with David Hedison in Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea. |
In later years, Webber was a belly dance instructor and founded Perfumes of Araby, one of the first middle-eastern dance companies formed in the United States. The dances were traditional and not intended to be sexual. She organized a number of outdoor shows with other performers until 1980. Her knowledge and skill in belly-dancing helped her to land in two more roles. Her final film was as a belly-dance instructor in THE TRIAL OF BILLY JACK (1974). In her last years, she worked as a librarian and archivist for a Southern California law firm.
Unfortunately, her natural living lifestyle couldn't save her from a longer life. Miss Webber died on August 18, 2008 after complications from cancer surgery at the age of 76.
Click on the "Extras" tab at the top of this blog for more photos of the lovely Diane Webber.
RARE AUCTION PHOTOGRAPHS
Original Vintage Diane Webber at San Filipe Cantina (Not Nude), by Ed Lange This is a rare, one-of-a-kind production photographic print taken by Ed Lange for his groundbreaking nudist magazines of the 1950s and 1960s. There have been other nudist photographers and producers but none as fresh and spontaneous as Ed Lange. Ed photographed Diane Webber like no one else. The magnetism between the model and photographer is apparent in every print.Photo size: 8 x 10 inches. This is a production print for one of Ed Lange's many nudist magazines and books. Diane is NOT nude in this intimate portrait of the model relaxing after a long day of shooting on the beach at San Filipe, Baja California during her famous photo shoot in 1959.
Original Diane Webber with Joe Webber in their famous swimming pool "Creation" shot, by Ed Lange This is a rare and very popular picture taken by Ed Lange for his groundbreaking nudist magazines of the 1950s and 1960s. It was printed in the 1990s for a book catalog cover. There have been other nudist photographers and producers but none as fresh and spontaneous as Ed Lange. Ed photographed Diane Webber like no one else. The magnetism between the model and photographer is apparent in every print.Photo paper size: 8 x 10 inches on RC paper. Diane and her husband Joe are pictured inside a swimming pool in Los Angeles, early 1960s, with a huge orange parachute as a prop. Ed Lange was underwater with them. He shot many rolls of film and this was the finest of the bunch. It was alway's called the "Creation shot" because it reminded everyone of the Sistine Chapel God & Adam painting.
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| Another shot of Diane in San Filipe with Ed Lange's wife and daughter. |
MERMAIDS OF TIBURON Trailer (in HD!):