SUSAN DENBERG ON A MATCHBOOK COVER?

Her turn-ons were sports cars and "exciting" clothes. She had aspirations to become an actress. She liked to read, dance, sunbathe and swim. Her favorite author was Harold Robbins. She was also Playboy's Playmate of the Month for August 1966.

Born Dietlinde Zechner on August 2, 1944 in in Bad Polzin, Germany and raised in Klagenfurt, Austria, as a young woman she took the stage name Susan Denberg and became a dancer in London and Las Vegas. After her photo shoot in PLAYBOY by renown glamour photographer Peter Gowland, she signed a contract with Hammer Films and starred alongside Peter Cushing in FRANKENSTEIN CREATED WOMAN in 1967.

Despite her learning some English, Denberg's accent was so heavy that the studio opted to dub her dialogue using the German voice actress Nikki van der Zyl. Miss van der Zyl also dubbed Honey Rider's voice (played by Swiss actress Ursula Andress) in DR. NO.

Prior to that, she played Magda Kovacs in the Season 1, Episode 6 story, "Mudd's Women", on STAR TREK.

After just a few more film and TV appearances, her life suddenly spiraled out of control and she descended into alcoholism and drug addiction. This, she claimed, happened after her first LSD trip sent her off the rails.  After spending some time in a mental hospital, she was able to turn her life (somewhat) around. By that time, her parents had disowned her.

Updated image, now legible!

She returned to Vienna and worked as a topless waitress in a "porno bar" called Rondell Rauschkino and a nude dancer at another Vienna club called Renz.

Although she was once reported as dying by suicide, as far as this blogger can tell, she is currently spending a quiet, retired life in Austria at the age of 81. By all accounts, she's fortunate to have made it this far.

A lot of famous blonde actresses aren't so lucky.

The idea for this post happened last week, while I was absorbed in watching an episode on Scott Michaels' Dearly Departed Tours YouTube Channel titled "Hollywood Matchbooks THEN and NOW". Michaels has several of these vids where he takes a handful of matchbook covers from old Hollywood restaurants, hotels and other locations and compares them to what's at those same addresses today. Sadly, at least half or more of them have either been demolished or have changed hands or venues.

A few minutes into this show, he opened up a matchbook for Hollywood Massage. When he turned it over and I was amazed to see the color picture of someone recognizable. After rewinding it a few times, I finally figured out it was a picture of none other than Susan Denberg!

Now, I'm positive that such an upstanding establishment as Hollywood Massage would have passed on any permission to use the photo and this was before licensing became a common business practice. Still, it surprised the hell out of me.

I was unable to come up with a photo of Susan that exactly matches the one on the matchbook, but I'm sure you'll forget that small detail after you scroll through the images below and visit her naughty, NSFW gallery HERE.

This looks to me like same outfit as in the matchbook photo.

Now, had I known that Susan Denberg was working at the Hollywood Massage back in the day . . .

View the Dearly Departed Hollywood Matchbooks THEN and NOW episode HERE.

SUSAN DENBERG'S VITAL STATISTICS

Susan Denberg

Miss August 1966

BIRTHPLACE: Bad Polzin, Germany

HAIR: BLONDE

EYES: GREEN

BUST: 34" C

WAIST: 25"

HIPS: 34"

HEIGHT: 5' 7"

WEIGHT: 123 lbs

• AMBITIONS: I'd like to be an actress.
• TURN-ONS: Sports cars, exciting clothes.
• TURNOFFS: Impoliteness, bad dressers, self-admiration.
• IN MY SPARE TIME: I like reading, dancing, sunbathing, attending car races, relaxing and swimming.
• FAVORITE AUTHOR: Harold Robbins.
• PLAY ME A: Ballad.
• PEOPLE I ADMIRE: Caesar, Napoleon and Cleopatra.
• MY IDEAL EVENING: Dinner in a romantic restaurant, seeing a show and the drinking and dancing till closing time.
• FAVORITE ACTORS: Steve McQueen and Sean Connery.

SUSAN DENBERG GALLERY

MORE DAN CURTIS BLU-RAYS!

Just last week was announced the Blu-ray editions of Dan Curtis' trio of horror films. Let's toss in a few more with new Blu-ray issues of his TV movies DEAD OF NIGHT and collections GOTHIC TALES and LATE NIGHT MYSTERIES. Had these been solicited by anyone but Kino Lorber, they might have been sold as a box set. This way we get to choose from the ones we want and pass on the ones we don't. I like that idea.

Dan Curtis' Dead of Night Blu-ray

Kino Lorber have detailed their upcoming Blu-ray release of Dan Curtis' Dan Curtis' Dead of Night (1977), starring Ed Begley Jr., E.J. André, Ann Doran, Christina Hart, and Orin Cannon. The release is scheduled to arrive on the market on October 28.

Description: From the legendary dark minds of producer-director Dan Curtis (Dark Shadows, The Night Stalker, Trilogy of Terror) and writer Richard Matheson (Tales of Terror, The Last Man on Earth, The Twilight Zone) comes this thrilling triptych of spellbinding stories. Second Chance – After buying an antique automobile, Frank (Ed Begley Jr.) restores the vehicle to its original condition. Along with the car, Frank is suddenly transported back in time to the year 1926. Based on a story by Jack Finney (Invasion of the Body Snatchers). No Such Thing as a Vampire – Alexis (Anjanette Comer), the mistress of an old mansion, is terrified of vampires. When her husband (Patrick Macnee) calls in a friend (Horst Buchholz) to examine her, a macabre and bloody scheme unfolds. Bobby – In the dead of night, a boy (Lee H. Montgomery), thought to be deceased, surprises his despondent mother (Joan Hackett) at the family beach house, bringing her both extreme joy and overwhelming terror.

Special Features and Technical Specs:

• NEW Audio Commentary by Audio Commentary by novelist and critic Tim Lucas
• Introduction by Jeff Thompson, Author of The Television Horrors of Dan Curtis
• Dead of Night - A Darkness At Blaisedon (HD Up-Res): 1969 TV Pilot (51:53)
• Robert Corbett's Music Score Highlights
• No Such Thing as a Vampire: Deleted Scenes
• Deleted Extended Opening Title Sequence
• Newly Commissioned Cover Art by Tom Hodge/The Dude Designs
• Limited Edition O-Card Slipcase
• Optional English Subtitles

Dan Curtis' Gothic Tales Blu-ray

Kino Lorber have revealed that they are preparing a Blu-ray release of Dan Curtis' Gothic Tales (1973-1974). The release is scheduled to arrive on the market in late November.

CONTENT:

The Picture of Dorian Gray (1973)

Not long after having his portrait painted by the artist Basil Hallward (Charles Aidman), handsome Dorian Gray (Shane Briant) meets Lord Harry Wotton (Nigel Davenport) and falls under his influence. A radical libertine, Wotton encourages the boy to indulge every hedonistic impulse, and soon Dorian becomes notorious for his debauchery. Looking at his own portrait one day, he fancifully wishes that it might age rather than he -- and, miraculously, gets his wish.

The Turn of the Screw (1974)

An English governess is hired to take care of two adorable orphans, who turn out to be not exactly what they seem to be.

Dan Curtis' Late-Night Mysteries Blu-ray

Kino Lorber will release on Blu-ray Dan Curtis' Late-Night Mysteries (1974). The release is scheduled to arrive on the market on September 23.

Description: Perhaps no figure exerted a greater influence on 1970s television horror than Dan Curtis. Having created the daytime drama Dark Shadows (1966-71), and while developing The Night Stalker into a weekly series, he produced stand-alone thrillers for ABC Television's Wide World Mystery.

Originally shot on videotape, the four films in this collection have been carefully adapted to HD for this Blu-ray release.

Shadow of Fear stars Claude Akins (B.J. and the Bear) as a disgraced police officer hired to investigate crimes surrounding a psychologically troubled housewife (Anjanette Comer). In The Invasion of Carol Enders, the spirit of a car crash victim is reincarnated into the body of another patient (Meredith Baxter, Family Ties). Come Die With Me follows the cat-and-mouse relationship between a cavalier playboy (George Maharis) and the housekeeper who tries to blackmail him (Eileen Brennan, Private Benjamin). A wholesome family experiences a Kafkaesque miscarriage of justice when they are accused of drug trafficking in Nightmare at 43 Hillcrest.

Special Features and Technical Specs:

Introductions to All Four Films by Jeff Thompson, Author of House of Dan Curtis: The Television Mysteries of the Dark Shadows Auteur

Shadow of Fear Commentary by Amanda Reyes, Author of Are You in the House Alone? A TV Movie Compendium 1964-1999

The Invasion of Carol Enders Commentary by Television Historian Scott Skelton

Come Die WIth Me Commentary by Author/Podcaster Dan Budnik and Film Historian Robert Kelly

Nightmare at 43 Hillcrest Commentary by Film Historians Amanda Reyes and Heidi Honeycutt

EXTRA! RE-ANIMATOR 40TH ANNIVERSARY 4K BLU-RAY

Ignite Films is also getting into the Halloween mood with their 40th anniversary 4K Blu-ray of Stuart Gordon's cult classic, RE-ANIMATOR. And unlike the disappointing news about the upcoming UK release of the 4K GORGO, Ignite is also going to release a standard Blu-ray edition of RE-ANIMATOR. I like that idea, too!

Ignite Films will celebrate the 40th anniversary of Stuart Gordon's cult film Re-Animator (1985) with a brand new 4K Blu-ray release, which is scheduled to arrive on the market on November 11th.

A standalone Blu-ray release will be available for purchase on the same date as well.

Description: In celebration of its 40th anniversary, Re-Animator returns in a stunning 4K restoration, bringing new life to this horror classic. Based on H.P. Lovecraft's twisted tale, the film follows Herbert West, a brilliant yet unhinged medical student who creates a serum capable of reanimating the dead--with horrifying consequences. Blending grotesque horror and dark humor, Stuart Gordon's Re-Animator shocked audiences and became an instant cult classic upon its release in 1985. This vivid 4K edition captures every gory detail of West's obsession, inviting fans old and new to experience the film's boundary-pushing terror like never before.

Special Features and Technical Specs:

• TWO-DISC (4K BLU-RAY/BLU-RAY) COMBO PACK RELEASE
• DOLBY VISION/HDR PRESENTATION OF THE FILM
• Re-Animator at 40: A Conversation with Jeffrey Combs, Barbara Crampton, and Brian Yuzna
• Piece By Piece: Cutting Re-Animator – A New Interview with Editor Lee Percy
• The Horror of It All: The Legacy and Impact of Re-Animator
• I Give Life: A Look Back at Re-Animator: The Musical
• Suzie Sorority and the Good College Boy: An Interview with Carolyn Purdy-Gordon
• Re-Animating a Horror Classic: The 4K Restoration of Re-Animator
• The Organic Theater Company of Chicago: A 1977 documentary featuring Stuart Gordon
• New 40th anniversary 4K Blu-ray trailer
• Integral Version (105 mins)
• Isolated Score
• Audio commentary with director Stuart Gordon and actors Graham Skipper and Jesse Merlin of Re-Animator: The Musical
• Audio commentary with Stuart Gordon
• Audio commentary with producer Brian Yuzna, actors Jeffrey Combs, Barbara Crampton, Bruce Abbott, and Robert Sampson
• Re-Animator: Resurrectus - Feature-length documentary on the making of the film featuring extensive interviews with cast and crew
• Interviews with director Stuart Gordon and producer Brian Yuzna, writer Dennis Paoli, composer Richard Band and former Fangoria editor Tony Timpone
• Music discussion with composer Richard Band
• The Catastrophe of Success: Stuart Gordon and The Organic Theater - Director Stuart Gordon discusses his early theater roots and his continued commitment to the stage
• Theater of Blood - Re-Animator: The Musical lyricist Mark Nutter on adapting the cult classic for musical theater
• Extended scenes
• Deleted scene
• Trailer & TV Spots
• Still Gallery
• Barbara Crampton In Conversation: The Re-Animator star sits down with journalist Alan Jones for this career-spanning 2015 interview
• A Guide to Lovecraft Cinema: Chris Lackey, host of the H.P. Lovecraft Literary Podcast, provides a comprehensive look at the many cinematic incarnations of Lovecraft's work.
• Doug Bradley's Spinechillers: Herbert West, Re-Animator actor Jeffrey Combs reads H.P. Lovecraft's original classic story

EXTRA!

One of the tales in Dan Curtis' DEAD OF NIGHT, "No Such Thing as a Vampire", is adapted from a short story by fantasist Richard Matheson. It was first published in PLAYBOY'S October 1959 issue. It was reprinted in THE PLAYBOY BOOK OF HORROR AND THE SUPERNATURAL (Playboy Press, 1967). The following is from the magazine. Art is by Jurgens.

If you care to see who was the Playmate of the Month for this issue, go HERE.

BEFORE THEY WERE SCREAM QUEENS: JUNE BLAIR

Tangentially a Scream Queen, June Blair was another lovely, photogenic model that got caught in the cross-hairs of a low-budget adventure/quasi-science fiction film. For a lot of pinup models, Hollywood was where they went to see their careers die. Miss Blair, however, escaped being typecast in B-movies and made a name for herself in television, landing roles in HAWAIIAN EYE, SEA HUNT, M SQUAD, BAT MASTERSON, THE AQUANAUTS and others. She also had an uncredited role as Chorine in the Lon Chaney bio-pic MAN OF A THOUSAND FACES (1957). Blair hit pay dirt in 1961 when she was cast as June Nelson in OZZIE AND HARRIET after marrying the Harriet's son David Nelson.

In 1959 she signed on for the role as Mercuria in ISLAND OF LOST WOMEN (1959), an independently filmed melodrama that had all the trappings of a re-write of FORBIDDEN PLANET.

Two years prior, Miss Blair was PLAYBOY'S Playmate of the Month for their January 1957 issue. One would be blind not to see her potential for the movies.

Margaret June Blair was born on October 20, 1932 in San Francisco. She married David Nelson in 1961 and had two children, both sons. The marriage ended in divorce in 1975. Miss Blair passed away on December 4, 2022 at the age of 90.

Auction lot description:

Cave-woman dress worn by June Blair as "Mercuria" in Island of Lost Women. Cave-woman dress worn by June Blair as "Mercuria" in Island of Lost Women. (Warner Bros., 1959) Island of Lost Women is essentially a remake of Forbidden Planet, in which two men land their plane on an uncharted island where they discover a mad scientist doing atomic experiments. The scientist's three lovely daughters - "Venus", "Urana", and "Mercuria" - have never seen a man other than their father. Offered here is "Mercuria's" cave woman mini-dress of rough, irregularly pleated muslin with unfinished hems. Hook and loop side closure and shoulder strap. worn to startling effect by Playboy magazine's January 1957 Playmate of the Month, June Blair (the future Mrs. David Nelson of Ozzie and Harriet fame). Sold for $369.00 on July 28, 2013.

JUNE BLAIR GALLERY

JUNE BLAIR Playmate of the Month (PLAYBOY, January 1957 )