She Played The Innocent
In her early career, Debra Paget played wide-eyed, innocent girls who were Native American, Indian, and even Polynesian. She also went out of her way to keep her reputation around Hollywood squeaky clean.
Then one day, she did a sultry dance with a snake, and her career and life changed forever.
1. She Was Born To Act
Debra Paget was born on August 19, 1933, in Denver, Colorado. Her father was a painter, and her mother was an actress. Her mother got it into her mind that her daughter should follow in her footsteps, so she did what she needed to do to make it happen. She moved the family to Los Angeles and enrolled her daughter in the Hollywood Professional School.
Once in Hollywood, Paget got to work fast.
2. She Grew Up Quickly
Before she even started at the Hollywood Professional School, Paget had already had her first professional job when she was just eight. By the time she was 13, she’d already appeared on stage in Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor. Paget was growing up fast, and she needed a name to match her ascending career.
3. She Took Their Name
Debra Paget had been born Debralee Griffin, and maybe she thought this didn’t sound like the name of a star. Seeking a change, she looked back in her family history and found out that they had fancy-sounding relatives in England named Lord and Lady Paget. She shortened Debralee to Debra and took on Paget.
She was ready for her first movie.
4. She Played Older
One of Paget’s first roles was in the 20th Century Fox film noir Cry of the City with big names like Victor Mature and Shelley Winters. Paget must have looked older than her age because her part was one of the bad guy’s girlfriends. The actor playing him was 38 years old, and Paget was just 14.
Cry of the City made money, and this made Fox happy. Paget was on her way to success.
5. She Did Small Parts
Debra Paget had proven that she could hold her own in a money-making film, so 20th Century Fox offered her a contract. They first gave her only small roles in films like It Happens Every Spring and House of Strangers. Paget was still a teenager when Fox got her her first big part.
She was going to act opposite one of Hollywood's favorite actors—James Stewart.
6. There Was A Huge Age Gap
Paget’s film with Stewart was Broken Arrow, and once again, she’d be playing the romantic interest to someone much older than she was. Stewart was 42 when he made this film, and Paget was just 15 years old when the project began. But this wasn't the only controversy around this film.
7. She Wasn’t Right For The Part
Broken Arrow is a western, and in it, Debra Paget plays a Native American. She wore contact lenses to change her blue eyes to brown, but this didn't help with the film’s detractors. Down the road, people criticized the film for casting a white actor in a Native American role. But at the time, the film was a step forward in at least one way.
8. She Did Some Good
Despite using Paget and not an actual Native American actor, this film did some good for the image of Native Americans. Broken Arrow received recognition for improving the average American’s image of Native People. It was one of the first films to portray Native People as principled and civilized.
Fox was ready to send Paget up for another role where her blue eyes would also be a distraction.
9. She Did It Again
In 1951, Debra Paget reteamed with the director of Broken Arrow and made Bird of Paradise. Here she has the lead role as a Polynesian woman who falls for a Frenchman. This was a remake of a 1932 film, but it is a lot tamer. They axed the swimming scene where her character only wears a cleverly placed lei.
But keeping her clothes on would not protect Paget from her fate.
10. She Paid For Her Sins
Even though Paget kept her clothes on, her character would still pay for her sins. The angry and superstitious villagers heartlessly throw her into an active volcano. Luckily, the critics were much kinder and praised her performance. Paget was ready to dive into her next role.
11. She Got A Big Part
Fourteen Hours tells the story of a man on a very high ledge wanting to end his life in a dramatic leap. Debra Paget had a fairly large part in this film, which also features Grace Kelly and Jeffrey Hunter in their acting debuts. Paget had a lot riding on this feature film. But she was about to be very disappointed.
12. She Had To Wait
Paget may have been anxious to see Fourteen Hours on the big screen, but she was going to have to wait. In the original version of the film, the character on the ledge does indeed take the leap to end his life. The same thing happened in the true story that they based the film on.
But then Hollywood brass got in the way.
13. It Was Too Close For Comfort
Fox executive Spyros Skouras watched a preview of Fourteen Hours and refused to release it. You see, his own daughter had recently had a fatal fall. At that point, no one knew if it was on purpose or by accident. Skouras wasn't about to let Fox release this film. Debra Paget was going to have to wait and see if this film would catapult her career or have her fade away into obscurity.
14. Waiting Paid Off
To please Skouras, Fox filmed a different ending where the man on the ledge survives. It didn’t follow the true story, but that didn't matter. Fourteen Hours was a big hit and ended up as one of the top 10 films that year on the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures. Accolades like this could only help Paget’s career.
15. She Was Second Fiddle
Debra Paget next appeared in the female pirate movie Anne of the Indies opposite Jean Peters. Sadly, audiences tended to gravitate toward the eye-catching costumes of Peters and not so much toward her. Paget then worked on 1952’s Les Misérables, where she played the age-appropriate character of Cosette.
But when it came to her ca
16. She Reached The Top
The same year, Paget appeared in Star and Stripes Forever, which tells the true story of composer John Philip Sousa. Paget plays the love interest of Robert Wagner and was the top-billed female lead. Critics and audiences loved the film, but those who knew Sousa were not happy with the portrayal. Several of them walked out of the movie angry.
Something must have clicked with Wagner, and the two were soon at it again.
17. She Did A Comic Book
While most movies based on comic books center around superheroes, in 1954, there was Prince Valiant. Here, Debra Paget again plays opposite Wagner as the titular Prince and Janet Leigh, who would later scare audiences silly in a famous shower scene. Sadly, it was Leigh who got the top female billing.
Next, Paget would go neck and neck with one of Hollywood’s biggest stars.
18. She Replaced An Icon
In 1954, Fox had the idea for a big-budget adventure film set in Egypt. They boasted that the film would star Marilyn Monroe and Tyrone Power. Out of nowhere, Paget got the call to replace Monroe and star in Princess of the Nile. But the reason for this was a real humiliation for Paget.
19. She Did Her Best
The only reason Debra Paget replaced Monroe was that they’d decided to decrease the budget on the film and couldn’t afford her anymore. Tyrone Power had also jumped ship because of the reduced budget. They replaced him with the lesser-known and cheaper, Jeffrey Hunter. Paget had to hold her head high and make the best film she could, given the circumstances.
20. She Got Mail
The low-budget Princess of the Nile was not a box office wonder, but something strange happened as a result of this film. Fan mail for Paget increased exponentially. In fact, she got so much mail that only two stars had more: Betty Grable and Marilyn Monroe. Paget’s next film would be one deja vu after another.
21. She Rejoined
When Debra Paget walked onto the set of Demetrius and the Gladiators, she might have had a strange feeling. Over there was Victor Mature, with whom she’d appeared in Cry of the City. Then there was Susan Hayward whom she’d played opposite in House of Strangers. But there was something eerily familiar when it came to Hayward.
22. She Got The Same Role
In House of Strangers, Paget and Hayward had fought for the attention of the hero of the film. Paget plays the good girl, and Hayward plays the wild one. In Demetrius and the Gladiators, Paget and Hayward are in the exact same situation. But there was still another reason for Paget to feel an overpowering sense of deja vu while making this film.
23. Something Looked Familiar
As Debra Paget was quickly noticing a lot of familiar faces in Demetrius and the Gladiators, something else may have caught her eye. As it turned out, they used many of the sets from her previous film Princess of the Nile for Demetrius and the Gladiators.
Demetrius and the Gladiators was a huge hit for Fox, and that could only mean good things for Paget.
24. She Went Native Again
Paget had already played a Native American in Broken Arrow, and Hollywood didn't seem to have a problem with that. So, they had her do it twice more. In White Feather, she plays Appearing Day, opposite Robert Wagner, and in The Last Hunt with Robert Taylor, they just call her “Indian Girl”.
Paget only got the part in The Last Hunt due to a frightening accident.
25. She Was A Last-Minute Replacement
The original actor for The Last Hunt was Anne Bancroft. When she had a tragic fall from her horse, she had to leave the film. Paget got the part, but there was something fishy about this film. In one of the last scenes, you can clearly see that it is Bancroft in the scene and not Paget.
It was now time for Paget to step up to the biggest film of her career.
26. She Had Help From God
The Ten Commandments was a star-studded and mega-budget production directed by Cecil B Demille. Demille offered Paget the role of Lilia, a "lissome and beatific slave girl" without even asking her to audition. Paget later said that Demille told her: "I feel the hand of God has been on you".
Well, Paget may not have felt that during the shoot.
27. She Was In Pain
For The Ten Commandments, Paget was back to wearing brown contact lenses. This time was more of an ordeal, as the lights Demille used in the film tended to heat up the lenses. The only actor without naturally brown eyes who got to stay that way was Yvonne De Carlo. Demille thought it was her “main asset”.
However, the film's costumes posed another problem for Paget.
28. She Looked Dirty
The Ten Commandments took a very long time to make. Because of this, Paget said that she was stuck wearing the same costume for months. Worse still, the costume people refused to clean it. They said that looking dirty was right for her character. Now all Paget could do was hope all this fuss around The Ten Commandments would be worth it.
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29. She’s A Part Of History
As most of us know, The Ten Commandments became an iconic film. It was the highest-grossing film of that year and by 1957 had taken in $10 million, which was unprecedented. The film also received rave reviews and seven Academy Award nominations. Paget had won her place in history.
Next, Paget would say goodbye to Pharaohs and hello to a King.
30. She Had To Work With Someone New
Paget had signed on to appear in the low-budget western The Reno Brothers with Richard Egan. There was a minor role that the studio had to fill, and Paget’s usual co-stars Robert Wagner and Jeffrey Hunter had already said no. When the studio signed on a quickly rising singing sensation, everything about this movie changed.
31. They Hired A Sensation
Elvis Presley’s singing career was already on fire, but he wanted to do movies. He didn’t mind taking the small role in The Reno Brothers, as he was new to acting and wanted to get his feet wet in a small role. Around the same time, his hit song “Love Me Tender” sold more than a million copies.
Suddenly, all eyes were on Paget’s little low-budget western.
32. There Were A Lot Of Changes
When Fox realized that Presley would be a huge draw to the movie, they made some changes. First, they beefed up Presley’s part, so he had more lines and more scenes. Then they made it into a musical in order to showcase Presley’s huge talent. Last but not least was a name change. They changed the film's title to Love Me Tender. The same name as Presley’s hit song.
Paget would barely recognize the film she was about to start making.
33. She Was Out Of His League
Paget was about to come face to face with Presley, the man who had caused so many changes in the film. As it turned out, she’d met Presley before. This was on The Milton Berle Show, where Berle had teased Presley and told him that Paget was out of his league. He then brought Paget out, and she jokingly screamed like one of his obsessed fans.
When the two met on the set of Love Me Tender, something completely different happened.
34. The King Had A Crush
The truth was that Presley was more excited to see Paget than Paget was to see him. The story goes that while filming Love Me Tender, Presley developed a huge crush on Paget. When he found out there was no kissing scene between the two of them, he made sure to fix that.
35. He Wanted A Kiss
Presley was apparently head over heels for Paget. Because there was no kissing scene with her, Presley made sure he could lock lips with his beautiful co-star. He arranged it so the two were kissing for some of the promotional images. Presley was obviously completely smitten with Paget.
But it’s possible that she was leading him on.
36. She Took Him Home
Paget must have had some interest in Presley, as she invited him to her home. Presley won over her parents and even showed off by gallantly leaving the living room to get a chair for Mom. Paget said that Presley felt at home with the Paget family. So what was the problem?
Well, there was actually one very good reason why Paget could not pursue a relationship with Presley.
37. She Had Two To Choose From
Paget later said that Presley went as far as to ask her to marry him, but she could not have said yes. Some sources have alleged that she was already secretly engaged. According to reports at the time, Paget had been dating billionaire Howard Hughes. It certainly seemed like she had her share of choices: a billionaire or the King of Rock and Roll.
How’s a girl supposed to choose?
38. She Walked Down The Aisle
On January 14, 1958, Paget walked down the aisle not with Presley, and not with Hughes. She married David Street. Street was a singer, wannabe actor, and talent agent. Paget would be his fifth wife, and he was behind in child support payments to his first wife and owed money to his fourth.
It seemed pretty clear that Paget had made the wrong decision.
39. She Was Too Famous
Paget’s marriage to Street had all the glamor of a Hollywood marriage. They tied the knot in Paget’s gorgeous home in Beverly Hills. Sadly, like many Hollywood marriages, fame got in the way. They annulled the marriage just a few months after the wedding. Paget needed to shake this bad choice off, so she got on a plane.
40. She Made Two
The plane that Paget got on took her to Germany, and once there, she was going to meet Austrian director Fritz Lang. Lang wanted her for two films he was making in Germany and India. One was The Tiger of Eschnapur, where her character gets between an architect and a maharaja.
The second follows the same story, but Paget found a way to make this one stand out.
41. She Took It Off
In both films with Lang, Paget plays Seetha, an Indian temple dancer. In the second film, The Indian Tomb, audiences got a different look at Paget. In this film, she does a snake dance, but it’s not the snake that gets our attention. In the dance sequence, Paget wears a pasted-on costume that leaves her wearing next to nothing.
It looked like Hollywood’s good girl had gone bad.
42. She Had A Quickie
After her enticing snake dance, Paget may have thought it was time to settle down. She decided to try marriage again. This time it was with director Budd Boetticher, and the venue of the event was Tijuana, Mexico. It was a quickie wedding, and it was also a quickie marriage. They split after just 22 days.
Paget’s love life was a mess, and her career was not faring much better.
43. She Needed A Man
It looked like Paget’s film career was winding down with appearances on TV in Rawhide and second-rate horror films like Tales of Terror. Paget had not given up on finding true love, or at least a husband. Maybe she learned her lesson about marrying men from the movie industry because her next husband came far from the bright lights of Hollywood.
44. She Found A Rich Guy
Paget married her third husband on April 19, 1962. He was Louis Ling-Chieh Kung. Not only was he a rich oil tycoon, but he was also a direct descendant of the Chinese philosopher Confucius. If Paget wanted to get away from Hollywood, this was her big chance.
She hadn’t even reached 30, but she was ready to say goodbye to her career.
45. She Said Goodbye
Paget was happily married to Kung and made her last performance in ABC’s detective series Burke’s Law. Paget was ready to say goodbye to acting and focus on her husband. Together, the two had a son, Gregory Teh-chi Kung. This time, Paget managed to stay married for 12 years. In 1980, they got a divorce.
Paget was ready for the third act of her career.
46. She Found God
Despite her quickie marriages, alluring snakes dance, and affair with Howard Hughes, Paget has always been rather conservative. In fact, she says she was actually never alone with Hughes; her mom was always with them on dates. After her marriage to Kung, Paget became an evangelical Christian.
For Paget, this meant getting back in the spotlight.
47. She Did Christian Broadcasting
In 1973, Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) began airing programs dedicated to Christian viewers. Paget threw her hat in the ring with An Interlude with Debra Paget. She also had involvement with Praise the Lord television. Clearly, her lurid snake dances were far behind her.
But movie lovers were not about to forget her.
48. She Inspired A Hair Style
Priscilla Wagner had seen the effect that Paget had had on Presley in his film debut, Love Me Tender. When it was time for Priscilla to try to reel Presley in, she copied Paget’s hairstyle. Obviously, it worked as she became Mrs Presley in 1967. It wasn’t just her hairstyle. Even Paget’s name was an inspiration.
49. Her Name Lives On
There’s little chance of Paget’s name fading away. You see, her dad’s friend Robert Winger named his daughter after her. She grew up to be mega-star Debra Winger. Paget Brewster, famous for playing the woman who got between Joey and Chandler on TV’s Friends, also got her name from Paget.
But maybe Paget didn’t want to be famous at all.
50. Her Mother Pushed Her
Paget had three siblings who also ended up in show business, and yet none of them had a long career. Paget herself walked away from acting before she was even 30. Some suggest that her mother, a vaudeville and burlesque performer, was just trying to live out her Hollywood fantasies through her children.
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