Helene Stanton: Movies & Filmography

Helene Stanton, born Eleanor Mae Stansbury on November 4, 1925, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was an American singer and actress whose career spanned from the early 1940s to the late 1950s. The youngest of five children born to William Benton Stansbury and Sarah Jane Hamilton, she took ballet lessons as a child and began singing lessons at the age of 13. Her professional career began with the Cosmopolitan Opera Company in Philadelphia, where she originally sang opera before being asked in 1943 to perform in a stage version of The Merry Widow. Upon moving to Hollywood, she was persuaded to transition from classical to popular music, a change that would define her public persona. Columnist Louella Parsons suggested she change her name from Eleanor Stansbury to something more suitable for a popular singer, leading to her stage name. After being spotted by a producer for Allied Artists while performing in Las Vegas in 1955, Stanton was offered a part in the film noir classic The Big Combo, which launched her acting career. She moved to Los Angeles and quickly became known for her work in B-movies of the era, starring alongside actors such as Johnny Weissmuller, Arthur Franz, and Tom Drake. Producer Sam Katzman praised her appearance during a screen test for Jungle Moon Men, comparing her tall, redheaded look to Rita Hayworth. She was described in 1956 as "a provocatively sexy young lady" following several television appearances, including roles on The Red Skelton Show, Four Star Playhouse, and Highway Patrol. Her final film role was as a temperamental movie star in Universal's 1957 film Four Girls in Town, after which she retired from acting. In her personal life, Stanton married silent film actor Ken Harlan in 1949, becoming his eighth wife; they divorced in 1953 on grounds of cruelty, though she described the split as "real friendly." In 1957, she married Dr. Morton Pinsky, and they remained together until his death in 2009, having two children, including the well-known celebrity doctor Drew Pinsky, better known as "Dr. Drew," and a daughter named Dana Chelf. Stanton passed away on June 7, 2017, in Pasadena, California, at the age of 91, and was buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, Los Angeles.