Regina Carrol

Buxom, lively and attractive blonde bombshell Regina Carrol was a dancer, singer and actress who achieved her greatest enduring cult popularity by appearing in a handful of entertainingly trashy drive-in exploitation features directed by her filmmaker husband Al Adamson. She was born as Regina Gelfan on May 2, 1943 in Boston, Massachusetts. Regina began doing auditions for plays at age five. She performed in stage productions of "West Side Story," "The Children's Hour," "Wish You Were Here," and "Daddy Long Legs." Carrol's mother died of cancer when she was only fifteen. Regina worked as a dancer in Las Vegas and toured Europe with her night club act. In addition, she hosted her own television interview program called "The Regina Carrol Show" and wrote a column for the "Las Vegas Panorama." She was discovered for the movies by actor Steve Cochran. Regina made appearances on the TV series "The Dinah Shore Show," "Route 66," and "Ozzie and Harriet." Carrol made her film debut as a dancer in "The Beat Generation." She had uncredited small parts in "The Glass Bottom Boat," "The Slender Thread," the delightful Elvis Presley romp "Viva Las Vegas" (Regina dated Elvis for a short spell), "Two Rode Together," and "From the Terrace." Regina gave a memorably wild performance as crazed motorcycle mama Gina in the splendidly sleazy "Satan's Sadists." (Carrol was billed as "the freak-out girl" in the advertisements for this picture). Other notable roles include the daffy Lori in the amusing "Blazing Stewardesses," feisty cowgirl Claire in the gritty revenge Western "Jessie's Girls," and a melancholy lounge singer in the nifty blaxploitation item "Black Heat" (Regina sings the forlorn ballad "No More Mail Until Tomorrow" in this film). Carrol ended her career performing cabaret on stage. Regina Carrol died of cancer at the tragically young age of 49 on November 4, 1992.