Erica Gavin
{{short description|American actress}}
{{Infobox person
| image =Vixen poster 01.jpg
| imagesize = 180px
| caption = Gavin on the poster for Vixen!
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1947|7|22}}
| birth_place = Los Angeles, California, US
| death_date =
| birth_name = Donna Graff
| years_active = 1968–present
| other_names =
| occupation = Actress
| website = http://www.ericagavin.com/
| spouse =
}}
Erica Gavin (born Donna Graff;[http://www.msu.edu/~daggy/cop/bkofdead/alive-g.htm msu.edu] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060816074442/http://www.msu.edu/~daggy/cop/bkofdead/alive-g.htm |date=August 16, 2006 }} July 22, 1947) is an American film actress best known for playing the title role in Russ Meyer's 1968 film Vixen!.
Early years
Gavin was born in Los Angeles, California, daughter of blacklisted actor Fred Graff and Madeleine Rosenteil.{{Cite web |title=Erica Gavin {{!}} The Official Website! — Growing Up in Silver Lake |url=http://www.ericagavin.com/growing-up.html |access-date=2024-04-24 |website=www.ericagavin.com}} At age 19, she worked as a topless dancer in Hollywood with two other future Russ Meyer stars, Haji and Tura Satana. While waiting in a dentist's office, she saw an advertisement in Variety for women to audition for the new Russ Meyer movie Vixen! She auditioned and won the role, which launched her to stardom in low-budget independent films.{{Cite web |url=http://www.ericagavin.com/bio/ |title=Official website |access-date=2010-10-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100911044109/http://www.ericagavin.com/bio/ |archive-date=2010-09-11 |url-status=dead }}
Career
Following Vixen!, Gavin appeared in one more Russ Meyer film, Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, written by famed film critic Roger Ebert.{{cite web|author-last1=Ebert|author-first1=Roger|url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/beyond-the-valley-of-the-dolls-1980|title=Beyond the Valley of the Dolls}} She also appeared in Jonathan Demme's women-in-prison film Caged Heat.[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071266/ Caged Heat cast list] at Internet Movie Database IMDb. Filmink argued she should have become a bigger star.{{cite magazine|first=Stephen|last=Vagg|magazine=Filmink|url=https://www.filmink.com.au/z-russ-meyer/|title=The A to Z of Russ Meyer|date=December 16, 2018}}
Personal life
Gavin resides in Los Angeles, California, where she works as a stylist and occasionally makes appearances at movie memorabilia conventions. She said in a 2006 interview that she is bisexual.{{Cite web |url=http://www.retrocrush.com/archive2006/ericagavin/ |title=retroCRUSH.com |access-date=2006-07-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140209002546/http://www.retrocrush.com/archive2006/ericagavin/ |archive-date=2014-02-09 |url-status=dead }}
Filmography
- Initiation (1968) - Jan
- Vixen! (1968) - Vixen Palmer
- Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (1970) - Roxanne
- Erika's Hot Summer (1971) - Erika
- Godmonster of Indian Flats (1973) - Girl at bar
- Caged Heat (1974) - Jacqueline Wilson
- 3 Stories About Evil (2008) - Mrs. Harris
References
External links
- [http://www.ericagavin.com Official site]
- {{IMDb name|id=0310532|name=Erica Gavin}}
- [http://www.rockshockpop.com/forums/content.php?995-An-Interview-With-Erica-Gavin An Interview With Erica Gavin at Rock! Shock! Pop!]
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gavin, Erica}}
Category:American film actresses
Category:20th-century American actresses
Category:Actresses from Los Angeles
Category:American bisexual actresses