Were Tony Conigliaro and Mamie ever lovers?
I heard somewhere that they were, but does anybody know?
shareTHE LOINCLOTH IN SUMMER
It was a hot summer in 1960. I was back home, so to speak, on the set of "The Private Lives of Adam and Eve" at Universal Studios. I had left Universal after the birth of my son Perry in 1956. Since then, I had been a free agent, going from studio to studio to independent producer making movies. Now I had come full circle.
My dressing room was a comfy bungalow situated between two male stars who were making the sword-and-loincloth spectacular "Spartacus" on the Uni lot. I found myself doing a lot of thinking about loincloths. There was Martin Milner, my co-star in "Private Lives . . .etc.," who wore a loincloth throughout our movie. Marty liked me and I knew it, but he didn't really trip my trigger. Then there was the loincloth that was worn by Kirk Douglas, Spartacus himself in the bungalow on my right. He was handsome and interested, to be sure. He'd invited me over several times and we'd chatted, but . . . that's a story for another time. The loincloth that I was obsessing over was handsomely worn by none other than my former co-star in the "All American," Tony Curtis.
Flashback.
It was late in 1952 that I played a bit part as a nightclub singer in "Forbidden" starring Tony Curtis and Joanne Dru. Universal executives happened to see the scene being shot and were so impressed that they offered to sign me. In 1953, I slipped in under Louella Parsons' vicious early warning system and got my contract with Universal Studios. Louella had already blocked me from getting a contract with Paramount because she was jealous of her boyfriend, songwriter Jimmy McHugh, who was my manager.
I was a starlet still wet behind the ears, newly christened Mamie Van Doren, and nervously trying to find myself in my first starring role in the "All American" opposite--yes--Tony Curtis. Tony helped me a lot. Showed me many of the ropes. So you see, Tony and I had some history.
Tony Curtis is one of the all-time, world class, sexy movie stars. We worked for weeks in "All American" and the sight of him never failed to make me, um, tingle. The trouble was that it was extremely risky to have an affair with a fellow contract player. It could mean the end of your career in a big hurry.
Now, in 1960, I was a star in my own right. I was also a free agent with nothing to fear from the once dreaded studio execs. I began keeping track of that loincloth. I ran into Tony a couple of times over the course of the shooting and we spoke. Since we were dressing room neighbors, I invited him over for a drink.
Tony stood at my dressing room door in that loincloth, fresh off the "Spartacus" set. Handsome. Tony closed the door without a word. I slipped off the robe I was wearing over my little Eve outfit and peeled out of the costume. Tony was out of that loincloth before you could say Gladiator. We fell onto the bed in a hot embrace.
I suppose in the name of good taste I should just fade to black here. But, *beep* good taste. Let's have some details.
Tony was one great lover. This gladiator had a weapon that was just what the doctor ordered, and he wasted no time in putting it to it's proper use. We worked up a sweat as we *beep* and our body makeup ran and smeared the bed spread. One of the hair pieces I wore with the Eve costume ended up on the floor as we went at each other with total abandon. When we climaxed, we lay in each others arms for a few moments. Then, professionals that we were, we got back into our costumes to go to work. Very much more relaxed than we had been. I kissed Tony deeply on the mouth when he left. He smiled and waved as he walked out onto the lot.
I still see Tony at parties. We still embrace and kiss. And there is a familiar look that passes between us that only we know the meaning of. Until now.
Mamie van Doren
November 11, 2003