Biografie

7. Juli 1931 · Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

15. August 2023 · Corona del Mar, Kalifornien, USA (Undisclosed)

Nancy Lou Peterson

Reminisces about the sci-fi movie, The Hideous Sun Demon (1958), in the book, "A Sci-Fi Swarm and Horror Horde" (McFarland, 2010), by Tom Weaver.

Incorrectly identified as Miss America 1954 in a photo that ran in several newspapers nationwide in May 1957.

Daughter of Tilmer Siebert Peterson (1904-1991) and Violet Hildred Johnston (1899-1979).

Also for TV, I had done three episodes of Lawman, and I was set to do the continuing role as Peter Brown's girlfriend. It was the same thing: I got a phone call from the Warner Brothers casting director, a proposition, right over the phone! If I wanted to continue in the series, Id have to [go to bed with him]. And that really hurt me, because they all came to watch me at Warners and I would probably have had a contract there. But I refused, and again I was dropped from the part.

And then the other fellow was Roger Corman. It was the same thing, a proposition in his office and so I never got the part. My agent Herman Bernie sent me over there; I don't think Herman knew that Corman had a reputation that way, and I didn't know that either. Anyway, those were my only three incidents. And, who knows, they may have kept me from going on, I don't know.

In my career, I ran up against only three people who were terrible people. Bob was a nice fellow, and most of the people in Hollywood were, the people who I worked with. But Lloyd Bridges was really a bad guy. He had been with the Actors Lab that Roman Bohnen was with, and he was the star of the TV series Sea Hunt. I was on Sea Hunt twice, and I told him that I was Roman Bohnen's third cousin. Well, after the second Sea Hunt, he was driving me home. By that time, Id moved from the Studio Club and I had my own home that I was renting above Sunset Strip, a beautiful home-I rented the whole lower part. And he made a pass at me! He wanted me to go to bed with him. When I refused, he said, 'If you don't, you'll never work [on Sea Hunt] again.' I was going to be given a continuing part. And, sure enough, the next day I got a message from the studio no to report, that I was off Sea Hunt. That really made me mad, especially since I had met his whole family; at a big Christmas party, I met his two sons, and his wife, and they were all very nice. He seemed like such a nice family man. So when he put this ultimatum to me-even though he knew my cousin Roman Bohnen-I was just shocked.