Roberta Collins(1944-2008)

Brassy'n'beautiful blonde Roberta Collins was a terrific, dynamic and scene-stealing delight who greatly enlivened a bunch of choice down'n'dirty 1970s drive-in exploitation pictures with her earthy good humor, boundless vitality, superior acting ability, strong, forceful personality and smoldering sex appeal. Born on November 17, 1944, the tall, leggy, shapely and radiant Roberta first began acting in the late 1960s. Collins made a smashing impression as Alcott, a fiery'n'feisty prison inmate in Jack Hill's chicks-in-chains classic The Big Doll House (1971). Roberta was likewise fantastic as Belle, a bawdy, jovial, kittenish prison inmate in Jonathan Demme's marvelous tongue-in-cheek gem 5 femmes à abattre (1974) and hilarious as champion race car driver Matilda the Hun in the uproariously tasteless sci-fi black comedy hoot La Course à la mort de l'an 2000 (1975). Other noteworthy parts include one of Claudia Jennings' bitter rivals in The Unholy Rollers (1972), Jean Harlow in the odd Train Ride to Hollywood (1975), Jim Brown's secretary in the outrageous blaxploitation riot Les démolisseurs (1974), a forlorn wayward prostitute in Tobe Hooper's excellent Le Crocodile de la mort (1976), a klutzy student driver in the hugely enjoyable car chase romp La folle cavale (1977), and a neurotic egocentric actress in Matt Cimber's outstanding The Witch Who Came from the Sea (1976). Alas, Roberta Collins' career ran out of gas and came to an unfortunate close in the 1980s, as such latter lesser credits as Hardbodies (1984), Ils ne pensent qu'à ça (1985), and Les bronzés en délire (1986) all sadly confirm. However, Collins did contribute a typically fine and impressive turn as a tough prison security chief in the gritty babes-behind-bars revenge item La prison des sévices (1986). She also did guest spots on the TV shows Deux cent dollars plus les frais (1974), Dossiers brûlants (1974), Sam Cade (1971), and Adam-12 (1968). Roberta Collins died at age 63 from an accidental overdose of drugs and alcohol on August 16, 2008.