Paula Prentiss
Encyclopedia
Paula Ragusa better known by her stage name Paula Prentiss, is an American actress well-known for her film roles in Where the Boys Are
, Man's Favorite Sport?
, The Stepford Wives
, What's New Pussycat?
, The Black Marble
, and The Parallax View
and her co-starring role in the television situation comedy He and She.
in San Antonio. Prentiss' father was of Italian descent. Prentiss was always the tallest person in her school classes. In 1958, while attending Northwestern University
's school of drama, she met someone taller: her future husband, Richard Benjamin, who also impressed her with his sophistication. While still a student at Northwestern, she was discovered and offered a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
film contract. Prentiss initially intended to be a doctor, but somehow became involved with theater while at Northwestern.
, The Honeymoon Machine
, Bachelor in Paradise
, and The Horizontal Lieutenant
, where she was teamed with actor Jim Hutton
.
She later starred with Rock Hudson
in Man's Favorite Sport?
, in The World of Henry Orient
and What's New, Pussycat? with Peter Sellers
, Catch-22
and Last of the Red Hot Lovers
with Alan Arkin
, In Harm's Way
with John Wayne
and Kirk Douglas
, Move
with Elliott Gould
, The Parallax View
with Warren Beatty
, and Billy Wilder
's last film Buddy Buddy
with Jack Lemmon
and Walter Matthau
.
For one season (1967–1968), Paula starred with her husband, Richard Benjamin, in the CBS sitcom He & She
. Although not a big ratings success, the stylish series was considered ahead of its time in humor and sophistication. It is viewed as a landmark sitcom and a thematic precursor to the crop of MTM-style sitcoms to emerge a couple of seasons later. Prentiss was nominated for an Emmy Award
for Best Performance by an Actress in a Comedy.
/director
Richard Benjamin
married on October 26, 1961; her career was soaring while Benjamin still struggled for acting roles. In 1965, while filming What's New, Pussycat in Paris
, Paula suffered a nervous breakdown which kept her out of films for five years, returning to work with Benjamin in the short-lived television series, He and She. The couple also appeared together in Catch-22
(1970) and Saturday the 14th
(1981), as well as various plays.
They have two adult children, Ross and Prentiss, and live in the Hollywood Hills
.
Ann Prentiss
, her sister, was also an actress.
Where the Boys Are
The kind of cool modern jazz popularized by such acts as Dave Brubeck, Gerry Mulligan, and Chico Hamilton, then in the vanguard of the college music market, features in a number of scenes with Basil...
, Man's Favorite Sport?
Man's Favorite Sport?
Man's Favorite Sport? is a 1964 comedy film starring Rock Hudson and Paula Prentiss. Released by Universal Pictures, the movie was directed and produced by Howard Hawks....
, The Stepford Wives
The Stepford Wives (1975 film)
The Stepford Wives is a 1975 science fiction–thriller film based on the 1972 Ira Levin novel of the same name. It was directed by Bryan Forbes with a screenplay by William Goldman, and stars Katharine Ross, Paula Prentiss, Peter Masterson, Nanette Newman and Tina Louise...
, What's New Pussycat?
What's New Pussycat?
What's New Pussycat? is a 1965 comedy film directed by Clive Donner and starring Peter Sellers, Peter O'Toole, Romy Schneider, Capucine, Paula Prentiss and Ursula Andress. It was Woody Allen's film debut, as well as his first produced script. The Academy Award-nominated title song by Burt Bacharach...
, The Black Marble
The Black Marble
-Plot:Pragmatic Sgt. Natalie Zimmermann of the LAPD is paired with Sgt. Valnikov, a romantic detective of Russian origin who is going through a midlife crisis. They fall in love while solving the case of the kidnapping of a socialite's valuable pet dog...
, and The Parallax View
The Parallax View
The Parallax View is a 1974 American thriller film directed by Alan J. Pakula and starring Warren Beatty, Paula Prentiss, Hume Cronyn and William Daniels. The film was adapted by David Giler, Lorenzo Semple Jr and an uncredited Robert Towne from the 1970 novel by Loren Singer...
and her co-starring role in the television situation comedy He and She.
Early life
Prentiss was born Paula Ragusa in San Antonio, Texas, the daughter of Paulene (née Gardner) and Thomas J. Ragusa, who was a Social Sciences professor at the University of the Incarnate WordUniversity of the Incarnate Word
The University of the Incarnate Word is a private Catholic university located within the cities of San Antonio and Alamo Heights in Texas, United States....
in San Antonio. Prentiss' father was of Italian descent. Prentiss was always the tallest person in her school classes. In 1958, while attending Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
's school of drama, she met someone taller: her future husband, Richard Benjamin, who also impressed her with his sophistication. While still a student at Northwestern, she was discovered and offered a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
film contract. Prentiss initially intended to be a doctor, but somehow became involved with theater while at Northwestern.
Career
Prentiss first became known as a comedic actress with such films as Where the Boys AreWhere the Boys Are
The kind of cool modern jazz popularized by such acts as Dave Brubeck, Gerry Mulligan, and Chico Hamilton, then in the vanguard of the college music market, features in a number of scenes with Basil...
, The Honeymoon Machine
The Honeymoon Machine
The Honeymoon Machine is a 1961 film starring Steve McQueen, Brigid Bazlen, Jim Hutton, Paula Prentiss, Jack Mullaney, and Dean Jagger, based on the 1959 Broadway play The Golden Fleecing by Lorenzo Semple Jr.. In the film, three men devise a plan to win at roulette with a United States Navy computer...
, Bachelor in Paradise
Bachelor in Paradise
Bachelor in Paradise is a 1961 Metrocolor romantic comedy film starring Bob Hope and Lana Turner. It was directed by Jack Arnold, and written by Valentine Davies and Hal Kanter, based on story by Vera Caspary....
, and The Horizontal Lieutenant
The Horizontal Lieutenant
The Horizontal Lieutenant is a 1962 American romantic comedy film directed by Richard Thorpe. It is a military comedy about an unfortunate army intelligence lieutenant who finds himself isolated on a remote Japanese island army outpost during World War II....
, where she was teamed with actor Jim Hutton
Jim Hutton
Dana James Hutton , usually credited as Jim Hutton, was an American actor in film and television probably best remembered for his role as Ellery Queen in the 1970s TV series of the same name.-Early life and career:...
.
She later starred with Rock Hudson
Rock Hudson
Roy Harold Scherer, Jr., later Roy Harold Fitzgerald , known professionally as Rock Hudson, was an American film and television actor, recognized as a romantic leading man during the 1950s and 1960s, most notably in several romantic comedies with Doris Day.Hudson was voted "Star of the Year",...
in Man's Favorite Sport?
Man's Favorite Sport?
Man's Favorite Sport? is a 1964 comedy film starring Rock Hudson and Paula Prentiss. Released by Universal Pictures, the movie was directed and produced by Howard Hawks....
, in The World of Henry Orient
The World of Henry Orient
The World of Henry Orient is a 1964 American comedy film based on the novel of the same name by Nora Johnson. It was directed by George Roy Hill and stars Peter Sellers, Paula Prentiss, Angela Lansbury, Tippy Walker, Merrie Spaeth, Phyllis Thaxter, Bibi Osterwald, and Tom Bosley.Filming started in...
and What's New, Pussycat? with Peter Sellers
Peter Sellers
Richard Henry Sellers, CBE , known as Peter Sellers, was a British comedian and actor. Perhaps best known as Chief Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther film series, he is also notable for playing three different characters in Dr...
, Catch-22
Catch-22 (film)
Catch-22 is a 1970 satirical war film adapted from the book of the same name by Joseph Heller. Considered a black comedy revolving around the "lunatic characters" of Heller's satirical anti-war novel, it was the work of a talented production team which included director Mike Nichols and...
and Last of the Red Hot Lovers
Last of the Red Hot Lovers (film)
Neil Simon's Last of the Red Hot Lovers is a 1972 comedy film based on Neil Simon's play of the same name. Alan Arkin, Sally Kellerman, Paula Prentiss and Renée Taylor star in it...
with Alan Arkin
Alan Arkin
Alan Wolf Arkin is an American actor, director, musician and singer. He is known for starring in such films as Wait Until Dark, The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, Catch-22, The In-Laws, Edward Scissorhands, Glengarry Glen Ross, Marley & Me, and...
, In Harm's Way
In Harm's Way
In Harm's Way is a 1965 American epic war film produced and directed by Otto Preminger and starring John Wayne, Kirk Douglas, Patricia Neal, Tom Tryon, Paula Prentiss, Stanley Holloway, Burgess Meredith, Brandon De Wilde, Jill Haworth, Dana Andrews, and Henry Fonda.It was the last black-and-white...
with John Wayne
John Wayne
Marion Mitchell Morrison , better known by his stage name John Wayne, was an American film actor, director and producer. He epitomized rugged masculinity and became an enduring American icon. He is famous for his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height...
and Kirk Douglas
Kirk Douglas
Kirk Douglas is an American stage and film actor, film producer and author. His popular films include Out of the Past , Champion , Ace in the Hole , The Bad and the Beautiful , Lust for Life , Paths of Glory , Gunfight at the O.K...
, Move
Move (film)
Move is a 1970 comedy film starring Elliott Gould, Paula Prentiss and Geneviève Waïte, and directed by Stuart Rosenberg. The screenplay was written by Joel Lieber and Stanley Hart, adapted from a novel by Lieber.- Synopsis :...
with Elliott Gould
Elliott Gould
Elliott Gould is an American actor. He began acting in Hollywood films during the 1960s, and has remained prolific ever since. Some of his most notable films include M*A*S*H and Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice, for which he received an Oscar nomination...
, The Parallax View
The Parallax View
The Parallax View is a 1974 American thriller film directed by Alan J. Pakula and starring Warren Beatty, Paula Prentiss, Hume Cronyn and William Daniels. The film was adapted by David Giler, Lorenzo Semple Jr and an uncredited Robert Towne from the 1970 novel by Loren Singer...
with Warren Beatty
Warren Beatty
Warren Beatty born March 30, 1937) is an American actor, producer, screenwriter and director. He has received a total of fourteen Academy Award nominations, winning one for Best Director in 1982. He has also won four Golden Globe Awards including the Cecil B. DeMille Award.-Early life and...
, and Billy Wilder
Billy Wilder
Billy Wilder was an Austro-Hungarian born American filmmaker, screenwriter, producer, artist, and journalist, whose career spanned more than 50 years and 60 films. He is regarded as one of the most brilliant and versatile filmmakers of Hollywood's golden age...
's last film Buddy Buddy
Buddy Buddy
Buddy Buddy is a 1981 American comedy film directed by Billy Wilder that stars Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, Paula Prentiss and Klaus Kinski. The screenplay by Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond is based on the 1973 French language film L'Emmerdeur, which screenwriter Francis Veber had adapted from his play...
with Jack Lemmon
Jack Lemmon
John Uhler "Jack" Lemmon III was an American actor and musician. He starred in more than 60 films including Some Like It Hot, The Apartment, Mister Roberts , Days of Wine and Roses, The Great Race, Irma la Douce, The Odd Couple, Save the Tiger John Uhler "Jack" Lemmon III (February 8, 1925June...
and Walter Matthau
Walter Matthau
Walter Matthau was an American actor best known for his role as Oscar Madison in The Odd Couple and his frequent collaborations with Odd Couple star Jack Lemmon, as well as his role as Coach Buttermaker in the 1976 comedy The Bad News Bears...
.
For one season (1967–1968), Paula starred with her husband, Richard Benjamin, in the CBS sitcom He & She
He & She
He & She is an American sitcom that aired on the CBS television network as part of its 1967-68 lineup, originally sponsored by General Foods and Lever Brothers. This landmark sitcom is widely considered to be ahead of its time by broadcast historians...
. Although not a big ratings success, the stylish series was considered ahead of its time in humor and sophistication. It is viewed as a landmark sitcom and a thematic precursor to the crop of MTM-style sitcoms to emerge a couple of seasons later. Prentiss was nominated for an Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
for Best Performance by an Actress in a Comedy.
Personal life
Prentiss and actorActor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
/director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
Richard Benjamin
Richard Benjamin
Richard Benjamin is an American actor and film director. He has starred in a number of productions, including Goodbye, Columbus , based on the novella by Philip Roth, and Westworld .-Life and career:...
married on October 26, 1961; her career was soaring while Benjamin still struggled for acting roles. In 1965, while filming What's New, Pussycat in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, Paula suffered a nervous breakdown which kept her out of films for five years, returning to work with Benjamin in the short-lived television series, He and She. The couple also appeared together in Catch-22
Catch-22 (film)
Catch-22 is a 1970 satirical war film adapted from the book of the same name by Joseph Heller. Considered a black comedy revolving around the "lunatic characters" of Heller's satirical anti-war novel, it was the work of a talented production team which included director Mike Nichols and...
(1970) and Saturday the 14th
Saturday the 14th
Saturday the 14th is an American horror-comedy film released in 1981, directed by Howard R. Cohen and produced by Julie Corman. The film was followed by Saturday the 14th Strikes Back in 1988.-Plot:...
(1981), as well as various plays.
They have two adult children, Ross and Prentiss, and live in the Hollywood Hills
Hollywood Hills
The Hollywood Hills is an affluent and exclusive neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, in the southeastern Santa Monica Mountains. It is bound by Laurel Canyon Boulevard to the west, Vermont Avenue to the east, Mulholland Drive to the north, and Sunset Boulevard to the south.-Hollywood Hills...
.
Ann Prentiss
Ann Prentiss
Ann Prentiss was an American actress.Prentiss was born in San Antonio, Texas. Her father was of Sicilian descent. Her younger sister was actress Paula Prentiss. Prentiss had many bit parts in movies and television series in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s...
, her sister, was also an actress.
Filmography
- Where the Boys AreWhere the Boys AreThe kind of cool modern jazz popularized by such acts as Dave Brubeck, Gerry Mulligan, and Chico Hamilton, then in the vanguard of the college music market, features in a number of scenes with Basil...
(1960) - The Honeymoon MachineThe Honeymoon MachineThe Honeymoon Machine is a 1961 film starring Steve McQueen, Brigid Bazlen, Jim Hutton, Paula Prentiss, Jack Mullaney, and Dean Jagger, based on the 1959 Broadway play The Golden Fleecing by Lorenzo Semple Jr.. In the film, three men devise a plan to win at roulette with a United States Navy computer...
(1961) - Bachelor in ParadiseBachelor in ParadiseBachelor in Paradise is a 1961 Metrocolor romantic comedy film starring Bob Hope and Lana Turner. It was directed by Jack Arnold, and written by Valentine Davies and Hal Kanter, based on story by Vera Caspary....
(1961) - The Horizontal LieutenantThe Horizontal LieutenantThe Horizontal Lieutenant is a 1962 American romantic comedy film directed by Richard Thorpe. It is a military comedy about an unfortunate army intelligence lieutenant who finds himself isolated on a remote Japanese island army outpost during World War II....
(1962) - Follow the BoysFollow the Boys (1963 film)Follow the Boys is a 1963 comedy film and also the theme song which was a Top 20 hit for Connie Francis.-The film:Directed by Richard Thorpe and shot on location on the French and Italian Riviera, Follow the Boys was MGM's second film vehicle for its label's top recording artist Connie Francis...
(1963) - Man's Favorite Sport?Man's Favorite Sport?Man's Favorite Sport? is a 1964 comedy film starring Rock Hudson and Paula Prentiss. Released by Universal Pictures, the movie was directed and produced by Howard Hawks....
(1964) - The World of Henry OrientThe World of Henry OrientThe World of Henry Orient is a 1964 American comedy film based on the novel of the same name by Nora Johnson. It was directed by George Roy Hill and stars Peter Sellers, Paula Prentiss, Angela Lansbury, Tippy Walker, Merrie Spaeth, Phyllis Thaxter, Bibi Osterwald, and Tom Bosley.Filming started in...
(1964) - In Harm's WayIn Harm's WayIn Harm's Way is a 1965 American epic war film produced and directed by Otto Preminger and starring John Wayne, Kirk Douglas, Patricia Neal, Tom Tryon, Paula Prentiss, Stanley Holloway, Burgess Meredith, Brandon De Wilde, Jill Haworth, Dana Andrews, and Henry Fonda.It was the last black-and-white...
(1965) - What's New, Pussycat? (1965)
- MoveMove (film)Move is a 1970 comedy film starring Elliott Gould, Paula Prentiss and Geneviève Waïte, and directed by Stuart Rosenberg. The screenplay was written by Joel Lieber and Stanley Hart, adapted from a novel by Lieber.- Synopsis :...
(1970) - Catch-22Catch-22 (film)Catch-22 is a 1970 satirical war film adapted from the book of the same name by Joseph Heller. Considered a black comedy revolving around the "lunatic characters" of Heller's satirical anti-war novel, it was the work of a talented production team which included director Mike Nichols and...
(1970) - Born to WinBorn to Win-Plot:The film follows Jay Jay , a former hair dresser who has become a drug addict. He lives his new life by doing deals for Vivian from time to time. One day he meets Parm , a free spirited girl. The two fall in love. Jay Jay's drug habit grows, and he soon resorts to robbery...
(1971) - Last of the Red Hot Lovers (1972)
- The Parallax ViewThe Parallax ViewThe Parallax View is a 1974 American thriller film directed by Alan J. Pakula and starring Warren Beatty, Paula Prentiss, Hume Cronyn and William Daniels. The film was adapted by David Giler, Lorenzo Semple Jr and an uncredited Robert Towne from the 1970 novel by Loren Singer...
(1974) - The Stepford WivesThe Stepford Wives (1975 film)The Stepford Wives is a 1975 science fiction–thriller film based on the 1972 Ira Levin novel of the same name. It was directed by Bryan Forbes with a screenplay by William Goldman, and stars Katharine Ross, Paula Prentiss, Peter Masterson, Nanette Newman and Tina Louise...
(1975) - The Black MarbleThe Black Marble-Plot:Pragmatic Sgt. Natalie Zimmermann of the LAPD is paired with Sgt. Valnikov, a romantic detective of Russian origin who is going through a midlife crisis. They fall in love while solving the case of the kidnapping of a socialite's valuable pet dog...
(1980) - Saturday the 14thSaturday the 14thSaturday the 14th is an American horror-comedy film released in 1981, directed by Howard R. Cohen and produced by Julie Corman. The film was followed by Saturday the 14th Strikes Back in 1988.-Plot:...
(1981) - Buddy BuddyBuddy BuddyBuddy Buddy is a 1981 American comedy film directed by Billy Wilder that stars Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, Paula Prentiss and Klaus Kinski. The screenplay by Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond is based on the 1973 French language film L'Emmerdeur, which screenwriter Francis Veber had adapted from his play...
(1981) - Mrs. WinterbourneMrs. WinterbourneMrs. Winterbourne is a 1996 romantic comedy/drama starring Shirley MacLaine, Ricki Lake, and Brendan Fraser. The film is loosely based on Cornell Woolrich's novel I Married a Dead Man, which has already been filmed in Hollywood as No Man of Her Own starring Barbara Stanwyck, and in Bollywood as...
(1996) - Hard Four (2007)