BIRTH DATE: September 30, 1931, Kulm, North Dakota
BIRTH NAME: Angeline Brown
CLAIM TO FAME: While Angie has been in many different roles
in film and TV, the role that she is most identified with
has to be that of Pepper Anderson from the television
series, 'Police Woman.'
FAMILY LIFE: Burt Bacharach (1965 - 1980) (divorced) 1 child
daughter named, Lea Nikki, Born in 1966
Gene Dickinson (1952 - 1960) (divorced)
INFO: Her father was the publisher of the local newspaper
in North Dakota. Because of this Angie wanted to become
a writer, but gave this up after winning her first beauty
contest. She ended up entering various beauty contests one
of which was sponsored by NBC. This lead to appearances in
several TV variety shows. She got her first bit part in a
Warner Brothers movie in 1954 and gained television fame
in the TV series "The Millionaire" (1955) and got her first
good film role opposite John Wayne and Dean Martin in Rio
Bravo (1959).
TRIVIA: Turned down the role of Krystle Carrington on "Dynasty"
When she was a senior at Bellamarine Jefferson High School
in Burbank, she won the Sixth Annual Bill of Rights Contest.
Had a 10 year, on-off again relationship with Frank Sinatra.
She is also rumored to have been one of JFK's mistresses.
When asked about the affair, she said, "It was the best 20
seconds of my life."
Had a bunch of famous boyfriends, most notably:
Johnny Carson (The Tonight Show)
Larry King (talk show host)
Julio Iglesias (singer)
Harry Reasoner (TV journalist)
Ranked #42 on "Playboy" Magazines "100 Sexiest Stars of the
Century," January 1999.
Said she initially declined to play the ill-fated, sexually
frustrated "Kate Miller" in Dressed to Kill (1980) because she
felt her role on the "Police Woman" (1974) TV series had made
her into something of a role model, but director Brian De Palma
eventually persuaded her to accept the role.
When asked to choose a new actress name, first suggested "Angie
Rome" which was eventually changed into "Dickinson".
Became a blonde in 1960, for 'The Bramble Bush' with Barbara
Rush, because Rush and Dickinson were both brunettes, but at
the time Rush was a bigger star. Annoyed at first, Angie soon
decided she liked being blonde.
Her legs were once insured for $1-million dollars through Lloyds
of London.
In 1993, she became the first and only 'This Is Your Life'
honoree to refuse to do the retrospective show. Friends,
acquaintances, and co-workers from her career were waiting
to regale viewers with their memories of Dickinson, but as
part of the program's format, honorees were never told in
advance. She had been lured to a studio on the pretext that
she was appearing in a tribute to Brian De Palma, who had
directed her in Dressed to Kill. When Ralph Edwards, the
show's host, walked on stage and said, "Angie Dickinson,
this is your life!" she responded, "F**k no, I won't do it."
After this incident she was never invited back on NBC’s
'Tonight Show', where she says she’d been a Johnny Carson
guest "40 times."
WHERE IS SHE NOW: Angie is still acting. In fact over the
last few years she's been in a few movies and TV shows.
Just this past year you may have even caught her on BRAVO
in a Celebrity Poker tournament. She didn't do to well,
but it was interesting to see the younger actors fawn
over her.
Upcoming for Angie are two projects:
3055 Jean Leon (2006) (documentary)
'Chronicles of Narnia 2' (2007) (action)
Also in 2006 Angie launched a one-woman crusade to find a
cure for memory-robbing Alzheimer's disease as a tribute
to her late sister. Angie's sister battled the insidious
illness for 20 years before she passed away in December
2005. And now Angie has embarked on a major Alzheimer's
awareness campaign to make sure her sibling didn't suffer
in vain. She says, "I know she (sister) didn't die in vain
and that's a blessing. It's because of her that I became
involved. "Mary Lou's legacy is that she increased our
awareness and so many more people now know what a tragic
disease this is." More than 100,000 Americans succumb to
Alzheimer's every year.
Burt's most famous wife
Moderator: mark