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Celeste Yarnall

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Celeste Yarnall
Yarnall in 1967
Born
Celeste Jeanne Yarnall

(1944-07-26)July 26, 1944
DiedOctober 7, 2018(2018-10-07) (aged 74)
Occupations
  • Actress
  • model
  • real estate
  • author
Years active1962–2018
Known for
Spouses
  • Sheldon Silverstein
    (m. 1964; div. 1970)
  • Robert Colman
    (m. 1979; div. 1990)
  • Nazim Nazim
    (m. 2010)
Children1
Websitewww.celesteyarnall.com Edit this at Wikidata

Celeste Jeanne Yarnall (July 26, 1944 – October 7, 2018) was an American actress primarily of the 1960s and 1970s. She started her career on television before moving to feature film roles.

Career

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A native of Long Beach, California, Yarnall was discovered by Ozzie Nelson and his son Ricky[1] and appeared on their show The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet. She was named Miss Rheingold 1964[2] (the last person to hold that title)[1] while modeling and appearing in TV commercials. She made her film debut in The Nutty Professor (1963) and, after appearing at the 1967 Cannes Film Festival, was spotted by producer Harry Alan Towers, who scouted her to appear as the central character in his film Eve. She also appeared as a "Scream Queen" who is terrorized by a headless monster in the horror film Beast of Blood (1971).

Yarnall was known for her role as Yeoman Martha Landon in the Star Trek: The Original Series episode "The Apple" (1967), a character she would return to in the fan-made film Star Trek: Of Gods and Men (2006). She was cast in a small role opposite Elvis Presley in Live a Little, Love a Little (1968), as a party-goer wearing a glittery silver mini-dress and briefly a white fur coat, who captures Presley's attention and prompts him to sing "A Little Less Conversation". After she attended the Cannes Film Festival in 1968, the National Association of Theatre Owners named her "Most Promising New Star" for 1968, and the Foreign Press Corps named her "Most Photogenic Beauty of the Year".[1] In 1971, she starred as the titular vampire in Stephanie Rothman's low-budget film The Velvet Vampire, of which Dave Kehr of the Chicago Reader said, "Given the genre (horror) and the budget (extremely low), it may seem perverse to say that Stephanie Rothman's 1971 film is among the best women's films ever made, but so it is."[3]

Personal life

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From 1964 until 1970, Yarnall was married to Sheldon Silverstein,[4] with whom she had her only child, a daughter, Camilla Yarnall, born in 1970.[5] She was married from 1979 until 1990 to Robert Colman[4][6][5] and, from 2010 until her death, to British artist Nazim Nazim.[7]

Later years and death

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When her acting career diminished, Yarnall began to work in real estate. Despite warnings about limited opportunities for success, she earned a six-figure income in her first year with a real-estate firm. By 1982, she owned Celeste Yarnall & Associates, which a syndicated columnist described as "one of L.A.'s top office real-estate firms."[8]

In 1998, Yarnall achieved a doctorate in nutrition, following which she taught nutrition at Pacific Western University. She also became a breeder of Tonkinese cats and wrote two books: Natural Dog Care: A Complete Guide to Holistic Care for Dogs and Natural Cat Care: A Complete Guide to Holistic Care for Cats.[5] Yarnall attended Star Trek conventions where she signed autographs for fans.[9]

Yarnall died at her home in Westlake Village, California on October 7, 2018, aged 74, from ovarian cancer, which she had been diagnosed with in 2014.[10][11][12] She is buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.[13]

Filmography

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Film
Year Title Role Notes
1963 The Nutty Professor College Student Uncredited
1963 A New Kind of Love Uncredited
1963 Under the Yum Yum Tree College Girl Uncredited
1966 Around the World Under the Sea Secretary
1968 Eve Eve
1968 Live a Little, Love a Little Ellen
1969 Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice Susan
1970 Beast of Blood Myra J. Russell
1971 The Velvet Vampire Diane LeFanu
1972 The Mechanic The Mark's Girl
1973 Scorpio Helen Thomas
1987 Fatal Beauty Laura
1990 Shattered Dreams Madge
1990 Funny About Love Madge
1991 Driving Me Crazy Volvo Boss
1991 Driving Me Crazy Beverly Hills Shopper
1993 Born Yesterday Mrs. Hedges
1993 Midnight Kiss Sheila
2003 Shrink Rap Gloria
2005 Skinwalker: Curse of the Shaman Gwynn Stevens Video
2007 The Two Sisters Nurse Louise Brennan
2007 Star Trek: Of Gods and Men Special Wedding Guest Video
2012 Elvis Found Alive Celeste Yarnall
2018 Unbelievable!!!!!
Television
Year Title Role Notes
1962 The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet Girl Episode: "Rick and the Maid of Honor"
1962-1963 My Three Sons Ginny Stewart 2 episodes
1966 The Man from U.N.C.L.E. Andrea Fouchet Episode: "The Monks of St. Thomas Affair"
1966 Bewitched Student Nurse Episode: "And Then There Were Three"
1967 Star Trek: The Original Series Yeoman Martha Landon Episode: "The Apple"
1968 It Takes a Thief Ilsa Episode: "Locked in the Cradle of the Keep"
1968 The F.B.I. Julie Episode: "The Mercenary"
1968 Hogan's Heroes Nanny / Wilhelmina 2 episodes
1968 Land of the Giants Marna Whelan Episode: "The Golden Cage"
1968 Bonanza Katie Kelly Episode: "Queen High"
1969 Mannix Tawny Episode: "Eagles Sometimes Can’t Fly"
1969 The Survivors Episode: "Chapter One"
1969 In Name Only Anne Television film
1969 The Bold Ones: The Protectors Ethel Miller Episode: "Draw a Straight Man"
1971 Ransom for a Dead Man Gloria Television film Ransom for a Dead Man
1971 Insight Viola (as Celeste Yarnell) Episode: "Bird on the Mast"
1972 The Judge and Jake Wyler Ballerina Television film
1972 McMillan & Wife Miss Jones Episode: "Terror Times Two"
1973 Love, American Style Florence (segment "Love and the Postal Meeter" Episode: "Love and the End of the Line / Love and the Growing Romance / Love and the Postal Meeter"
1990 Knots Landing Caroline Craig Episode: "My First Born"
1991 Daughters of Privilege Beautiful Woman Television film
1993 Civil Wars Gwendolyn Epispde "Split Ends"
1994 Sisters Rita Zaylor Episode: "Chemical Reactions"
1995 Melrose Place Mrs. Pemberton Episode: "Oy! to the World"
1998 Melrose Place Mrs. Huntington Episode: "Amanda's Back"

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Celeste Yarnall parlayed 'photogenic beauty' into career as 1960s love interest and cult star". National Post. October 23, 2018. Archived from the original on December 24, 2018. Retrieved December 24, 2018.
  2. ^ "Tapped". Daily News. New York, New York City. December 20, 1963. p. 14. Retrieved December 24, 2018.
  3. ^ Kehr, Dave (October 26, 1985). "The Velvet Vampire". Chicago Reader.
  4. ^ a b "Celeste Yarnall". glamourgirlsofthesilverscreen.com.
  5. ^ a b c "Celeste Yarnall, 74". Classic Images (522): 48. December 2018.
  6. ^ Armstrong, Alice Catt; Vitale, Sarah Alice (1986). Who's Who in California, Volume 16. San Clemente, CA: Who's Who Historical Society. p. 488. ISBN 0-9603166-5-5.
  7. ^ Blake, Elly (October 27, 2018). "Celeste Yarnall: Actress; BORN JULY 26, 1944 - DIED OCTOBER 7, 2018, AGED 74". Daily Express. p. 39. ProQuest 2125565017. She died from ovarian cancer and is survived by second husband, Nazim Nazim, whom she married in 2010.
  8. ^ Kleiner, Dick (October 1, 1982). "Starlet Finds Niche". Journal Gazette. Illinois, Mattoon. Newspaper Enterprise Association. p. 24. Retrieved December 24, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ Vinciguerra, Thomas (October 8, 2006). "There Are No Small Parts, Only Long Memories". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 20, 2022.
  10. ^ Evans, Greg (October 9, 2018). "Celeste Yarnall Dies: 'Star Trek' Actress & Elvis Co-Star Was 74". Deadline. Retrieved October 9, 2018.
  11. ^ "Celeste Yarnall's Cancer Battle -- In Her Own Words". StarTrek.com. Archived from the original on October 10, 2018. Retrieved October 9, 2018.
  12. ^ "Remembering TOS Guest Star, Celeste Yarnall, 1944-2018". Startrek.com. Archived from the original on October 9, 2018. Retrieved October 10, 2018.
  13. ^ Barnes, Mike (October 9, 2018). "Celeste Yarnall, Alluring Actress of the 1960s, Dies at 74". Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on March 8, 2023. Retrieved October 10, 2018.
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