Facts/Timeline

Fast Facts about Inger Stevens

• Birth name is Inger Stensland
• Born on October 18, 1934 in Stockholm, Sweden
• Graduated from Manhattan High School in Manhattan, Kansas, in 1952.
• Married to Anthony Soglio from 1955 to 1958
• Married to Ike Jones in 1961. They were separated, but remained married at the time of Inger's death in 1970.
• Hobbies included painting, playing pool, card games, horse races, singing, playing guitar, cooking, reading, playing chess and watching foreign films.
• Inger's favorite songs included "Just One of Those Things," "I'm in the Mood for Love," "September Song," and "Why Do I Love You."
• Inger's favorite writers were Ernest Hemingway and Thomas Wolfe. She enjoyed poems by Mary Brent Whiteside and Louise Driscoll and felt a special attachment to J.D. Salinger's short story "For Esme-With Love and Squalor."
• Inger described her fashion choices as simple and uncomplicated. She said that she chose items that were functional and comfortable. She loved clothes that were in shades of beige, black and pastels and loved how feminine chiffon made her feel. 
• Was the star of The Farmer's Daughter television series that aired from 1963 to 1966.
• Acted in over 35 television productions, 13 films and a handful of plays.
• Died at the age of 35 on April 30, 1970 in her home in California

Timeline of Inger Stevens' Life

1913 

• Inger's father Per Gustaf Stensland is born on May 9th outside of Stockholm, Sweden.

1914

• Inger's mother Lisbet Potthoff is born on February 23rd in Sodermanland, Sweden.

1934

• Inger's parents Per and Lisbet are married on May 17th.
• Inger is born on October 18th in Stockholm, Sweden.

1936

• Inger's brother Ola (later called Carl) is born on March 30th.

1938

• Inger's brother Peter is born on July 15th.
• Inger's family moves from Bromma to Mora.

1940

• Inger's mother Lisbet leaves family for Harald Rubinstein, takes youngest son Peter with her.
• Inger's parents officially separate on October 24th.
• Inger's father leaves Inger and Ola (Carl) in the care of a family maid and emigrates to America.

1942

• Inger and Ola (Carl) move in with their aunt and uncle in Lidingo. Inger will feel a special closeness to her aunt and uncle for the rest of her life.

1943

• Inger's parents Per and Lisbet are officially divorced on March 16th.

1944

• Per is settled in New York and requests his children. 
• Inger and Ola (Carl) leave from the port city of Goteborg on June 4, 1944. A family friend Borge Lundh travels with them.
• The ship finally docks in New Orleans, Louisiana on July 15, 1944. Inger and Ola's father Per is not there to greet them. Working on a thesis, Per feels he is too busy to travel. Inger and Ola (Carl) are instead placed in the care of Travelers Aid Society, which puts them on a train to New York with a Salvation Army escort.
• In New York, there is still no family to greet the children, so Travelers Aid Society once again cares for them and puts them on a train to Cape Cod, where their father Per is working on his thesis and with his new wife Carol Buswell.
• Per and Carol welcome daughter Lucy.
• The family lives in Manhattan, New York.

1948

• Per gets a job at Kansas State University and moves the family to Manhattan, Kansas.
• The Stenslands live at 1200 Kearney Street in Manhattan, Kansas.
• Inger attends Manhattan High School. She is remembered as being shy, wearing outdated clothing, and living by strict rules at home.

1949-1950

• Now a sophomore, Inger becomes more social and participates in  more extracurricular activities at Manhattan High School. Inger still lives in a very strict household full of arguments and accusations. Inger finds a passion for performing in local plays, but often has to turn down roles because her parents will not let her leave the house in the evenings to attend rehearsals. Although popular at school, Inger is still a sensitive, quiet girl. Inger works many jobs while attending school.

1951

• In July, Inger runs away from home to Chicago where her great aunt and uncle live. Inger takes a job at a factory to pay for her living expenses.
• Inger's uncle convinces her to return home to Manhattan and Inger takes a train, but dreading returning to her family, gets off at Kansas City.
• In Kansas City, Inger takes a job as a waitress and then ends up as a burlesque dancer at Folly Theatre.
• Inger goes by the name Kay Palmer so that her father will not find her, but a local Manhattan citizen spots Inger in the burlesque show and Per comes to retrieve her.
• Inger returns to Manhattan High School and her extracurricular activities.

1952

• Inger graduates from Manhattan High School on May 12th.
• Inger works at Montgomery Ward and Kipps Music and Electric Store. She also works as an artists' model and gives ballet lessons to children to earn tuition for her own ballet study.
• Inger's father Per moves to Lubbock, Texas, where he takes a job at Texas Technical College. Inger and Carl (previously known as Ola) choose to remain in Kansas. Inger lives with a friend's family while Carl lives with a teacher.

1953

• Inger saves enough money to move to Kansas City, where she takes a modeling course before moving to New York City for modeling jobs. In New York, Inger lives at 41 West 58th Street (in actress Nanette Fabray's apartment), then in an apartment on 94th Street and finally with friend Wanda Matthews in a walk-up apartment at Madison & 91st Streets.
• Inger signs a three year contract with agent Anthony Soglio.

1954

• Inger is befriended by Veronica Lake, who gives the young actress advice on her auditions and how to succeed in the acting business.
• Inger works various jobs while going to countless auditions. She served as a model, telephone operator, movie theater usher and cashier.
• Inger is accepted as a student at Lee Strasberg's Actors Studio on March 1. She takes her studying of the profession seriously. Inger also takes singing lessons and works as a chorus dancer at the Latin Quarter nightclub to pay for her lessons.
• Inger moves to an apartment on East 94th Street.
• Inger's first break comes in a Vel detergent commercial and then other commercials for Tide detergent, Kent cigarettes and Lustre-Creme skincare products follow.
• Summer stock season finds Inger acting in "Glad Tidings" in Pennsylvania and "The Women" in New York.
• Inger is featured in her first television role in the Studio One production of "Sue Ellen."
• Inger is dating her agent Anthony Soglio.

1955

• Inger undergoes a tonsillectomy on February 11.
• Anthony Soglio and Inger Stevens (having changed her last name under Soglio's suggestion) marry in Connecticut on July 9.
• A whirlwind of theater activity occurs immediately following the wedding: Inger is seen in "Picnic" in New York in July, "Hide and Seek" in Connecticut in mid-August, and "Oh, Men! Oh, Women!" in New York in late August.
• A role on Crunch and Des leads to a happy, explorative trip to Bermuda in the fall.

1956

• Inger separates from her husband Anthony Soglio on January 15. 
• On February 22, Inger's play "Debut" debuts on Broadway, but it flops and closes after only five shows and three days.
• In March, Inger travels to Hollywood and is screentested by 20th Century Fox for multiple films, including The Last Wagon, Fraulein, and Oh, Men! Oh, Women!. Inger does not win the roles and her option is not picked up by 20th Century Fox.
• Inger receives her United States citizenship on August 3. She purchases a 1956 Mercury on the very same day.
• Paramount Pictures picks up Inger's option and offers her a one-year contract on October 4.
• During her first year in California, Inger lives at the Beverly Carlton Hotel, then 1142 San Ysidro Drive, Beverly Hills (friend and actress Nanette Fabray's home), then 649 Midvale in West Los Angeles.
• Inger begins production on her first film Man on Fire in December. 
• After extreme pain, Inger must take some time off the set to undergo an appendectomy.

1957

• Shooting for Man on Fire wraps up in January.
• Inger has a romantic affair with costar Bing Crosby. (However, biographer William T. Patterson suggests this affair was not nearly as serious or damaging  to Inger as publicity and newspaper articles lead us to believe.)
• Man on Fire premieres to audiences in May.
• Inger files for divorce from Anthony Soglio, who is still acting as her agent, in July.
• Filming of Inger's second film Cry Terror begins in August.
• While shooting the final scenes of the film which take place in a rail tunnel, a faulty generator leads to carbon monoxide poisoning for Inger, costar Rod Steiger and 11 crew members. Fortunately, all survived this serious, life-threatening incident.

1958

• Inger is  cast in her third film The Buccaneer, which will premiere in December.
• Inger shoots interior shots for The World, The Flesh and The Devil in the spring and travels to New York for exterior shots in the fall. 
• Inger is issued a passport on June 23 and by June 26 is traveling to Sweden to see her homeland and family. Inger enjoys time with her beloved aunt Karin and uncle Bengt, but feels disappointed by the uncomfortable reunion with her mother Lizbet. Although Lizbet has not reached out to her daughter since abandoning her as a child, she expects Inger to feel close to her. 
• Inger's divorce from Anthony Soglio is final in August.

1959

• Inger is found unresponsive in her home the first weekend of the new year. On January 3, Inger takes an overdose of pills and is unconscious for 40 hours. While recovering in the hospital, Inger contracts pneumonia that leads to a blood clot and has to have part of the heel of her foot removed to combat gangrene that has set in after non-circulation. (Contrary to press about the events, biographer William T. Patterson writes that Inger did not drink cleaning fluid, nor did she have phlebitis in her legs or go blind.)
• Inger fortunately recovers from the overdose and is able to bounce back.
• In March, Inger signs with MCA, which will represent her in her theater work.
• Inger adopts a sealyham terrier and names him Pirate.
• The World, The Flesh, and The Devil premieres in May.
• Among other television work, Inger stars in the classic Twilight Zone episode "The Hitchhiker."
• In November, Inger travels to Colombia to judge a beauty contest.
• She signs with MCA for representation in her film work.
• At the end of the year, Inger begins rehearsals for the Broadway play "Roman Candle."

1960

• "Roman Candle" premieres at the Cort Theatre on February 3. Like "Debut" in 1956, "Roman Candle" closes after only 5 shows in 3 days, on February 6. (Inger is said to have shown humor about the situation, noting "At least I'm consistent!.")
• Inger desired to play Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany's, but that iconic role goes to Audrey Hepburn instead. She also is considered for The Misfits, but loses that role to Marilyn Monroe.
• Inger stays busy with television work, including among others, Checkmate and Hong Kong.
• Inger attends a party in September and meets Isaac "Ike" Jones. 
• Paramount puts Inger on suspension for refusing a role in the film Key Witness.
• Inger buys out her contract from Paramount and pays off any remaining debt to her first husband and first agent Tony Soglio.

1961

• Inger lives at 1355 North Laurel.
• In April, Inger travels to Europe on vacation. She visits family in Sweden that May.
• In June, the Boeing 707 Inger had just exited at a Lisbon airport exploded. Although she was not seriously hurt, Inger told one reporter that being that close to it was a "shattering experience."
• Inger parts ways with MCA and gains representation with the William Morris Agency in August.
• By October, Inger and Ike Jones are living in an apartment at 68 West Ninth Street in New York City.
• Inger and Ike are secretly married in Tijuana on November 18.

1962

• Inger is nominated for an Emmy for "Outstanding Single Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role" in the Dick Powell Show. 
• Inger performs in the play "The Voice of the Turtle" in Chicago for a two-week run in June. Inger is thrilled to receive positive reviews for her performance.
• Inger celebrates her 28th birthday with friend Shelly in Las Vegas.
• Inger's aunt Karin visits Inger and Ike in November.
• In December, Inger replaces actress Barbara Bel Geddes for a three-week run in the play "Mary, Mary!" Inger receives positive reviews for her performance.

1963

• Inger is ill with a respiratory infection and exhaustion after non-stop television and theater work.
• On April 13th, Inger attends the Academy Awards with Robert Vaughn.
• Inger participates in a conference on mental health and the broadcasting world at Westport.
• Inger is the guest of honor at a benefit for the Cerebral Palsy Foundation and records public service announcements for the foundation.
• Inger travels to Hawaii for a quick vacation before heading to the set of The Farmer's Daughter to begin rehearsals in June.
• The cast of The Farmer's Daughter is invited  to take a photo with Robert Kennedy and attend a reception by Senators Hubert Humphrey and Thomas Kuchel while in Washington, D.C. to shoot on-location shots.
• The Farmer's Daughter airs in late September and Inger embarks on a major promotional tour to promote the new series.
• Inger shoots scenes for the film The New Interns.
• Inger and Ike live at their home on 8000 Woodrow Wilson Drive.

1964

• On March 11, Inger wins the Golden Globe for Best Female Television Star of 1963. She also wins TV Guide's award for Favorite Female Performer of the Year.
• In April, Inger sponsors an art exhibit to benefit children with intellectual disabilities. Inger will sponsor many exhibits of this kind in the future.
• Inger receives a second Emmy nomination, this time for Outstanding Continued Performance by an Actress in a Series Lead for The Farmer's Daughter.
• The second season of The Farmer's Daughter begins filming in the summer.
• In September, Inger travels to Sweden with a Screen Gems television crew to film the television special Inger Stevens in Sweden. Inger visits with her family and films educational segments around Sweden and with notable people of Sweden.
• Inger is ill with pneumonia at the end of the year.

1965

• To continue to drum up publicity for The Farmer's Daughter, Inger serves as Miss International Hostess at a game night held for television and radio representatives.
• The Farmer's Daughter cast begins filming their third and final season in the summer.
• In November, the much anticipated wedding episode "To Have and to Hold" airs.
• Inger is nominated for the Golden Apple Award by the Hollywood Woman's Press Club.

1966

• Inger joins the Advisory Board of the Neuropsychiatric Institute at UCLA.
• Inger organizes and promotes additional art exhibits to benefit children with intellectual disabilities.
• The Farmer's Daughter ends after three seasons and Inger works on films back-to-back.
• Inger attends the Academy Awards ceremony.
• In June, Inger films A Time for Killing (also known as The Long Ride Home) in Utah and Arizona.
• In August, Inger films The Borgia Stick in New York.
• In October, Inger films A Guide for the Married Man.
• Inger appears on The Andy Williams Show as a host of the Annual Cody American Fashion Critics Awards.

1967

• Inger shoots her scenes for Firecreek.
• In April, Inger attends the Academy Awards ceremony.
• Inger sponsors more art shows to benefit children with intellectual disabilities.
• In May, Inger attends a special preview of A Guide for the Married Man with castmates on the SS Canberra which cruises from Vancouver to San Francisco.
• Inger begins filming Madigan in May, despite having a case of measles.
• Inger films Hang 'Em High in the summer and signs a four picture deal with Universal.
• Inger hires the elite firm Chasin-Park-Chasin for theatrical representation.
• In the fall, Inger travels to Paris and Rome to film House of Cards. Inger's aunt Karin visits her during shooting and after filming ends, Inger makes a quick trip to Sweden to see her extended family.

1968

• Inger begins filming Five Card Stud in Durango, Mexico. While there, Inger cements her footprints in the town's min version of Graumann's Theatre.
• After an affair with Dean Martin, Inger separates from Ike but they remain involved.
• In June, Inger is with friends at the Ambassador Hotel celebrating Robert Kennedy's primary victories when he is assassinated on site.
• After Robert Kennedy's assassination, Inger campaigns for Hubert Humphrey.
• The films Firecreek, Madigan, 5 Card Stud and Hang 'Em High are all released. House of Cards premieres in London.
• In November Inger travels to Chicago to film A Dream of Kings.

1969

• Inger turns down the lead in They Shoot Horses, Don't They and the part is a success for Jane Fonda.
• Inger undergoes an operation for a prolapsed uterus.
• In February, Inger starts a new business venture with friend Leon F. Cardini. They open Stevens & Cardini Interior and Design in Hollywood. 
• Inger and Ike travel to Sweden to visit family.
• Inger serves as a judge for the 6th Annual Hugh O'Brien Awards, which support young acting students, at UCLA.
• In November, Inger travels to Mexico to film The Mask of Sheba. The cast and crew spend the Thanksgiving holiday together.
• A Dream of Kings premieres in December.

1970

• Inger travels to Arizona to film Run, Simon, Run.
• After years of an on-and-off relationship, Inger separates from Ike and contemplates divorce.
• In March, Inger goes on vacation with costar Burt Reynolds in Florida.
• On April 18, Inger attended the local Emmy Awards at the Hollywood Palladium.
• On April 27, Inger joined Aaron and Candy Spelling and Burt Reynolds for dinner at La Scala. 
• Inger is excited about her starring role on a new Aaron Spelling show The Most Deadly Game.
• On April 29, Inger attends the funeral of Gypsy Rose Lee. Inger cooks dinner for Burt Reynolds and herself. After dinner, the two argue and Burt leaves. Inger chats on the phone with her publicist and her assistant, friends Lola and Chris (in whom Inger confides that she and Burt argued and that he hit her and cut her chin). Each person who chatted with her found her to be cheerful, clear-headed and like herself.
• On April 30, after not being able to get in touch with Inger, Lola goes to Inger's house and finds her on the kitchen floor in her nightgown. Inger was pronounced dead when she arrived at the hospital a mere 30 minutes after being found. The autopsy indicated that Inger had the laceration on her chin and several abrasions and bruises on her forearm. The cause of death was acute barbituate intoxication and ingestion of overdose. 
• On May 4, a private memorial for Inger is held in publicist Ben Irwin's backyard. Ben delivers the eulogy. Inger's close friends, Ike and his family, and a small group of others (including actor Peter Falk) attended.
• In December, Inger's final film Run, Simon, Run airs on ABC.

Sources:

The majority of facts presented in this timeline come from William T. Patterson's wonderful book on Inger's life below.

• Patterson, William T. The Farmer's Daughter Remembered. Xlibris. 2000.
• Various newspaper articles accessed via newspapers.com