Stella Stevens, a well-known actress, died on February 17, 2023, at the age of 84. According to her son Andrew, she had Alzheimer’s for a long time and was in hospice care at the time of her death. Stella’s manager and friend, Maria Calabrese, released a statement in her honor. Calabrese noted that working with Stevens was an honor and that she was one of the most “lovely and brilliant” people she had ever met. The statement went on to say:
“While I truly wish I could have done more for her in the later years of her career and shared in her frustration as she so desperately wanted to make the leap from triple threat American icon to producer – her wish, which was never realized, was to have three original Western scripts produced,” she says.
As soon as word of Stevens’ death broke, Twitter was swamped with condolences to the late actress:
Stella Stevens has departed. RIP pic.twitter.com/CLugkzCTw1
— TitusWelliver (@welliver_titus) February 18, 2023
Stella Stevens is survived by her son Andrew, as well as three grandkids, Amelia, Aubrey, and Samuel.
Stella Stevens’ prosperous career in the entertainment sector
Stevens, who was born on October 1, 1938, attended St. Anne’s Catholic School and Sacred Heart School. She then enrolled at the Memphis Evening School and later at Memphis State University. Stevens made her acting debut in the 1959 comedic musical film Say One for Me, in which she portrayed Chorine. This was followed by The Blue Angel, Li’l Abner, Man-Trap, Too Late Blues, Girls! Girls! Girls!, and The Courtship of Eddie’s Father, among others.
In addition to pursuing a film career, she started appearing on television programs in 1960, with her first appearance being on the anthology series Alfred Hitchcock Presents. She appeared as Judy in one episode of the series, and she also appeared in five other programs that year: Johnny Ringo, Hawaiian Eye, Bonanza, Riverboat, and General Electric Theater.
Stella Stevens was most remembered for her role as Stella Purdy in The Nutty Professor, a 1963 science fiction comedy film. The film, directed by Jerry Lewis, got excellent reviews and had Lewis in the main role, with Del Moore and Kathleen Freeman in supporting parts. It resulted in a remake in 1996, followed by a sequel in 2000.
Stella also appeared in Frontier Circus, Ghost Story, Hec Ramsey, Police Story, Wonder Woman, The Love Boat, Fantasy Island, General Hospital, Nash Bridges, and more series. Stevens also directed two movies, The American Heroine and The Ranch. Stevens has also appeared in films such as Advance to the Rear, Sol Madrid, The Crazy Room, The Poseidon Adventure, Nickelodeon, The Nutt House, Bikini Hotel, Blessed, Popstar, and more.
