Elvis and Juliet Prowse

Juliet Prowse Famous memorial Birth 25 Sep 1936 Mumbai (Bombay), Maharashtra, India Death 14 Sep 1996 (aged 59) Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California, USA Burial Cremated, Ashes given to family or friend Memorial ID 6522601 · View Source Memorial Photos 3 Flowers 1k+ Actress, Dancer. She is best remembered for her movie roles of 'Claudine' in "Can-Can" (1960) and of 'Lili' in "G.I. Blues" (1960), and for her long dancer's legs, which measured 39 inches long (she was 5 feet, 8 inches tall). Born in Bombay, India to South African parents, she studied from the age of four to be a dancer. While attending the Royal Academy of Dance, she was determined to be too tall to be a ballet dancer, so she signed as a chorus dancer with the London Palladium, and then moved on to a career in European nightclubs. While dancing in Paris, she was signed to the role of Claudine in "Can-Can" (1960), which began her Hollywood career. When Soviet Premier Khrushchev denounced the dance as immoral, it was Prowse's photo that accompanied the news article, and she became an instant celebrity. That year, she won the part of Lili in "G.I. Blues" (1960), opposite Elvis Presley, and the tabloids followed her for the next several years. She became engaged to Frank Sinatra in 1962, but as her romance waned, so did her movie status. In 1965, she moved to television to star in "Mona McCluskey," but the show quickly ended with poor ratings after one season. After the movie, "Run for Your Wife" (1966) failed at the box office, her movie career also came to a halt, and she began appearing on stage and nightclub shows while making some bit parts on television, including being the first guest star on the first episode of "The Muppet Show" (1976). In 1987, she was mauled by a leopard while making a television show, "Circus of the Stars," which required five stitches; a few months later, while on the Johnny Carson "Tonight Show" to promote the "Circus of the Stars" show, the same leopard again mauled her, this time requiring 40 stitches. In 1994, she was diagnosed with cancer, and the disease went into remission by 1995, only to return later the next year. She died of pancreatic cancer in September 1996 in Los Angeles, California. Bio by: Kit and Morgan Benson