Latest news with #KingCreole
Express Tribune
28-01-2025
- Entertainment
- Express Tribune
Jan Shepard dies at 96 after pneumonia battle, remembered for roles with Elvis Presley
Hollywood actress Jan Shepard, celebrated for her roles alongside Elvis Presley, passed away at the age of 96. Shepard died on January 17, 2025, in a California hospital due to pneumonia caused by respiratory failure. Best known for her work during Hollywood's golden age, Shepard starred in King Creole (1958) and Paradise, Hawaiian Style (1966) with Elvis Presley. Reflecting on her first encounter with the rock 'n' roll icon, Shepard once shared a humorous anecdote: their outfits matched, leading Elvis to joke, "Honey, I'm either going to have to give you my jacket or you're going to have to give me your pants." Shepard described her role in King Creole as "the break of her life," where she played Mimi Fisher, Elvis' on-screen sister. Her other notable film credits include Attack of the Giant Leeches (1959). Outside of her film career, Shepard was a prominent presence on television, appearing in westerns like Rawhide, The Virginian, and Gunsmoke. Her small-screen career began in 1952 with Fireside Theatre, one of the earliest successful TV series. Away from the spotlight, Shepard was born in Pennsylvania in 1928 and married actor Dirk London (Ray Boyle) in 1954. Together, they had a son, Brandon Boyle. London passed away in 2022 at the age of 98. Brandon paid tribute to his mother, saying, "She was a good one and will be dearly missed." Shepard remained connected to her Hollywood legacy, attending events such as the 2012 "Elvis at the Movies" program at the Grammy Museum. Her remarkable contributions to film and television, especially her iconic collaborations with Elvis Presley, cement her status as a cherished figure in Hollywood's golden age.
Khaleej Times
27-01-2025
- Entertainment
- Khaleej Times
Hollywood actor Jan Shepard passes away
Actor Jan Shepard has passed away. She was 96. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Shepard died on January 17 at Providence St Joseph Medical Center in Burbank of pneumonia brought on by respiratory failure. Her son, Hollywood prop master Brandon Boyle, confirmed the demise. "She was a good one and will be dearly missed," he said. Shepard is best known for guest-starring on Rawhide, The Virginian, Gunsmoke and two dozen other TV Westerns. She portrayed Mimi, the sister of Presley's Danny Fisher, in the Michael Curtiz-directed King Creole (1958) and the wife of Danny Kohana (James Shigeta), who partners with Presley's Rick Richards in a helicopter business, in Paradise, Hawaiian Style (1966). Her big-screen resume also included the cult B-movie Attack of the Giant Leeches (1959), directed by Bernard L Kowalski and produced by brothers Gene and Roger Corman for American International Pictures. In 1954, the delightful Shepard appeared in her first TV Western, the syndicated anthology series Death Valley Days, and followed by The Adventures of Kit Carson, The Lone Ranger, The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, Tales of the Texas Rangers, Rawhide, Tombstone Territory, Wanted: Dead or Alive, Bat Masterson, Gunsmoke (four episodes), Laramie, Lawman, The Virginian (five episodes) and The High Chaparral, among others.
