Jill St. John is an American actress…..who is best known for playing Bond girl Tiffany Case in Diamonds Are Forever (1971). In May 1957, St. John was 16 when Universal Pictures signed her to a contract for seven years starting at $200 a week…..as her major studio film debut was in Summer Love (1958) starring John Saxon….when she also appeared on TV in episodes of The Christophers, Schlitz Playhouse and The DuPont Show of the Month. St John then signed a contract with 20th Century Fox who tried to build her into a star…..when she played the daughter of Clifton Webb in The Remarkable Mr. Pennypacker (1959) and Holiday for Lovers (1959)….after which she put in an adventure movie, The Lost World (1960)……“Nothing but starlet parts,” she later said. “You know, the daughter, the niece, the girlfriend.” Fox picked up their option on her….and Warner Bros borrowed her for The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone (1961)…. then she had a support part in Tender Is the Night (1962).
St John had a key role in Come Blow Your Horn (1963)….where she starred opposite Frank Sinatra. She received a Golden Globe Award nomination as Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for her performance in the film. “I’m a comedian,” she said in 1963. “I’ve never pretended to be a dramatic actress. But I’m very funny.” She followed this with a series of comedies including Who’s Minding the Store? (1963) with Jerry Lewis….Who’s Been Sleeping in My Bed? (1963) with Dean Martin….and Honeymoon Hotel (1964) with Robert Morse. “Now I play the sexy comedian….which is my forte” she said in 1964. “Comedy is what I’ve always wanted to do.”
She did a Bob Hope comedy, Eight on the Run (1967) ….as seen in an excerpt from the movie in this video herewith….then made Banning (1967) with Robert Wagner and The King’s Pirate (1967) with Doug McClure.
