For men of my generation, there are a lot of obvious sex symbols that serve as sort of Proustian reminders of our youth: Suzanne Somers, Loni Anderson, Farrah Fawcett, Cheryl Tiegs, and so on.
However, if you stumble across the right rerun, or catch yet another showing of Halloween III: Season Of The Witch (1982) on cable, you'll be reminded of the bodacious charms of Stacey Nelkin.
The inspiration for Tracy in Manhattan (1979) -- which means that Woody Allen was hitting that!?! -- Stacey Nelkin did a bunch of films and TV shows from the late 1970s to the mid-1980s. She usually parlayed her...assets into a role that was both sweet-and-sexy. It's a fine line to walk and in an era of many blonde bimbos, Stacey's form of perky sexiness was refreshing.
Stacey Nelkin never played dumb, no matter how dumb the script, and she didn't have to try too hard to be sexy.
She's become a relationship expert recently, as witnessed by her many appearances on Fox News and her radio show and website.
Looking back now, I think it's the fact that Stacey didn't get very many good scripts at the time -- though Serial (1980) has its moments -- that ensured that she didn't become a bigger star. Still, she's always charming when on screen, and she's certainly easy on the eyes.
Here are a few pics of the voluptuous Stacey Nelkin -- no Going Ape! (1981), though!
In 1980's Serial, Stacey Nelkin plays Marlene, a grocery cashier who charms both Martin Mull and Bill Macy. Stacey makes Marlene seem more like a free spirit and less of a bimbo. At least the producers didn't cast another blonde in the role...
In the Mad magazine-produced Up The Academy, also from 1980, Stacey -- here billed as Stacy Nelkin -- plays Candy, the girlfriend of one of the military school cadets. The part is pretty forgettable until we get to the final section of the film where Stacey torments the lustful instructor played by Ron Leibman. The sight of Stacey Nelkin in that harem outfit is probably burned into the eyeballs of millions of guys who were teens at the time. Too bad the film didn't succeed at the box office as it's funny in spots...
In 1982's Halloween III: Season Of The Witch, poor Stacey Nelkin has to share love scenes with John Carpenter regular Tom Atkins. She's otherwise plucky and sassy in this critically reviled entry in the Halloween franchise. The film is odd and something of a cult favorite now...
In 1984's made-for-TV movie The Jerk, Too, Stacey Nelkin takes over the Bernadette Peters role from the Steve Martin original film. Too bad this sort-of sequel doesn't have Steve Martin in it. Instead, we've got the forced zaniness of Mark Blankfield, the druggy pharmacist from TV's "Fridays" and little else...
In 1983's Yellowbeard, Stacey Nelkin plays the seemingly virtuous Triola. The film is largely a failure but it's a fun failure thanks to the presence of Monty Python members Graham Chapman, Eric Idle, and John Cleese. It's also got a lot of comedy legends in the cast, like Cheech and Chong, Spike Milligan, and Madeline Kahn, as well as British luminaries like Beryl Reid, Michael Hordern, and David Bowie in a small, uncredited cameo...
