An Early Modeling Job for Inger Stensland

Following her high school graduation in Manhattan, Kansas, Inger briefly settled in Kansas City before pursuing acting in New York City. Eagerly accepting any modeling opportunities, eighteen-year-old Inger even modeled medical equipment! On April 16, 1953, Inger Stensland was featured in the Kansas City Star. Inger demonstrated an oxygen machine at the Mid-West Hospital Association's convention. Inger would make her television debut in a Vel detergent commercial and reluctantly accept the stage name Inger Stevens just one year later.

Five Card Stud (1968) Now on BluRay!

Vinegar Syndrome released a Blu-ray of the 1968 western Five Card Stud earlier this year. VS restored the film into 4K from its 35 mm camera negative and the results are stunning! The Blu-ray includes a commentary track with film historian Brian Hannan and short features on Henry Hathaway and Marguerite Roberts. The movie has always been an enjoyable western but the enhanced quality of the Blu-ray gave me a new appreciation for the love scenes between Dean Martin and Inger as well as the action scenes featuring Dean and Robert Mitchum.

Inger and the Blue Ribbon 400 in 1969

Inger talks to Mrs. Jonathan Larsen at the Blue Ribbon 400 party.

Inger was a member of the Blue Ribbon 400, a group of socialites and celebrities that supported L.A.'s Performing Arts Council. The Blue Ribbon 400 gathered at Mrs. Ingrid Orbach's home for a garden party on Wednesday, June 11, 1969. And who was Mrs. Ingrid Orbach? None other than Swedish actress Ingrid Goude whom Inger posed with for Life Magazine in 1957.

Ingrid Goude (later Orbach), Inger Stevens, and Mai Britt. 1957.

Director George Cukor, actress Rosalind Russell, and actress/dancer Marge Champion gave speeches during the event. In attendance were Polly Bergen, Natalie Trundy, Hope Lange, Shirlee Fonda, and Inger Stevens, of course. The Blue Ribbon 400 aimed for 400 women to pledge to give or raise $1,000 annually to the Los Angeles Music Center. It was revealed during the gathering that the Blue Ribbon 400 had raised over a million dollars to support the arts in less than a year. 

Ingrid Goude Orbach speaks to a guest at the party.

Inger at the 1959 Academy Awards

Inger onstage at the 1959 ceremony.

In April 1959, three months after a heavily publicized suicide attempt, Inger made her first public appearance at the 31st Annual Academy Awards ceremony. The event took place at the Pantages Theater on April 6th. Inger's film The Buccaneer was nominated for Best Costume Design, but lost to Gigi. In fact, Gigi dominated the awards, winning nine categories: Best Motion Picture, Director, Screenplay from Another Medium, Score, Song, Art Direction, Costume Design, Color Cinematography, and Film Editing.

Inger participated in an opening dance routine along with Lori Nelson, Jean Wallace, Terry Moore, Carolyn Jones, Erin O'Brien, Arlene Dahl, Connie Towers, Joanna Moore, and Barbara Rush. She also wore costume and hair from The Buccaneer in an onstage fashion show of the year's Best Costume Design nominees. You can view a clip of the fashion show on Youtube.

Inger with other actresses for the opening dance number.

A close-up of Inger from the group photo.

Inger had flown from New York City (where her suicide attempt and recuperation took place) to Los Angeles in early March, which signaled to the press that "her health's O.K. again." Hedda Hopper remarked that Inger was "looking like her old self again" and Inger assured Louella Parsons that she was thinking of the future and that her troubles were behind her. Gossip columnists and fan magazine writers speculated on which married man had caused Inger's anguish and led her to suicide. Several years later, a couple of writers would correctly identify the man as Harry Belafonte. Inger redirected the questions about her personal life to focus on her career aspirations, letting everyone know that she'd love to play Holly Golightly in the upcoming film production of Breakfast at Tiffany's.

Inger was kindly welcomed back into Hollywood. Columnist Sheilah Graham wrote, "Inger Stevens was hard to recognize. The last time I saw her, Inger's hair was a drab shade of blond and she was a worried gal. This time she looked gay, very French with her soft, scattered, very blond and becoming hairdo." 

Bob Thomas wrote that Inger's appearance at the ceremony received an "unusually warm reception...like an outstretched hand of sympathy for a girl who has undergone emotional stress." 

After that welcome, Inger returned to television work. Audiences would see her Inger in Playhouse 90 in May, Bonanza in September, and Sunday Showcase in December. But Inger would not be seen in a movie for another five years. Unhappy with loanouts, bad scripts, and a suspension, Inger surprised everyone by buying out her contract with Paramount by the end of the year. After her contract buyout in December 1959 and before landing the lead role in The Farmer's Daughter series in August 1963, hardworking Inger would star in twenty-two television productions and three plays.

Several years later, Inger would reflect on the year of heartbreak, survival, and independence. She said:

I don’t think I’m the least bit jaded. Life goes on for me in a very happy fashion. I’ve just gone and had, of course, mistakes and certain unhappiness, but that’s all part of it. You can’t be expected to always be making the right decisions. That’s what makes you grow up, and I don’t regret anything. I’m the sum total of all those things. But I know I’ve learned a lot – and changed. I’m more realistic about people now. I don’t think I’m living in a dream world. I don’t expect too much.

Sources:

Buffalo-Courier Express. March 17, 1959.

The Evening Star. April 10, 1959.

The Ledger-Star. April 10. 1959.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch. April 5, 1959.

San Francisco Examiner. March 9, 1959.

Solano-Napa News Chronicle. February 13, 1959.