Coogan’s Bluff
I am only in the beginning of this movie. In the opening scenes I am in bed and then in a bathtub with Clint Eastwood. After a week of shooting which consisted of a few lines, much kissing, and soaking in a tub filled with Tide—used for its sturdy soap bubbles—I commented to my husband, "I don’t think Eastwood is going to make it as an actor. He doesn’t show any emotion." As I said, I wanted to be a writer.

The Moonshine War
My most favorite line I said in a movie came from The Moonshine War. Sitting by the side of a river and kissing Alan Alda, I murmured, "I have a stone bruise on my ass."
The movie was taken from the Elmore Leonard novel of the same title. I met him on the set and he autographed a copy of his book for me. I wished I could tell him that I wanted to be a writer, but I was too shy. Years later he and I would be in the same anthology for The Best American Mystery Stories in 1997. My life had come full circle.

It Takes a Thief
Here I am, stripping for Robert Wagner. I just took off my gloves.

Bewitched
Here I an with Elizabeth Montgomery in the "Generation Zap" episode of Bewitched.

As I have said I wanted to be a writer but I was "discovered" instead. While attending the University of Southern California I met a man named Hal Landers at a party, who told me, "I can get you a screen test." Growing up in the shadow of Hollywood I had heard offers like this before. But Hal meant it. Within the next week he got me a screen test at MGM. They filmed me from the waist up which caused the studio-heads to think there was something wrong with my legs. Rejected. Universal Studios showed me walking and talking at the same time and I got a contract. Three hundred dollars a week. So I ended up graduating from Universal instead of USC.

On shooting commercials:
What can I say? They call an actor "The Talent" and the product "The Product‚" An example: "Move The Talent further back. She’s getting in the way of The Product."

Ride to Hangman’s Tree
We shot this movie in eight days. I sing and dance in it. I cannot dance. I cannot sing. Acting is the ability to do what you know nothing about, but look like you do. I think that’s why most actors feel surreptitious and insecure, not unlike writers. By the way, I lip-synced the song.

Gaily, Gaily
The brilliant Norman Jewison who helped bring out my comedic abilities directed this movie. While acting during the day, in this case with Beau Bridges, I took writing classes at night.

I'm trying to seduce Beau Bridges in Gaily, Gaily. I didn't succeed!