Paula Prentiss

A vivacious brunette comic player, Paula Prentiss began in lightweight, coquettish roles in the 1960s and shifted to more meaty dramatic fare in the 70s before curtailing her career in favor of raising a family. The daughter of an Italian immigrant and his wife, Prentiss graduated from the famed acting program at Northwestern University. Spotted by talent scouts, she was put under contract at MGM, where she was frequently partnered onscreen with Jim Hutton, beginning with her debut feature "Where the Boys Are" (1960). Having conquered the teen audience, Prentiss offered what many feel is her best performance as Rock Hudson's overbearing girlfriend in Howard Hawks' "Man's Favorite Sport?" (1964) She continued to win the attention of adult moviegoers as Peter Sellers' married conquest in "The World of Henry Orient" (1964) and as a stripper chasing Peter O'Toole in "What's New Pussycat" (1965). She retired from features for five years, during which she co-starred with her husband Richard Benjamin in the CBS sitcom "He and She" (1967-68) as a scatterbrained social worker married to a cartoonist.