.

Elvis Hit Songwriter and Ed Wood Muse, Dolores Fuller Dies

05/16/2011
.
(Gibson) Dolores Fuller, the shapely actress immortalized in films by (and about) director Ed Wood, passed away last Monday at her home in Las Vegas after suffering a stroke. She was 88.

Fuller began her acting career with an uncredited role in the classic Frank Capra comedy, It Happened One Night, but made her legend�for better or worse�in the films of director Ed Wood, whose Glen or Glenda featured Wood himself as a cross-dresser who borrows Fuller's clothes, somewhat mirroring the personal lives of the real-life couple. The relationship was later portrayed in the Tim Burton film, Ed Wood, with Sarah Jessica Parker playing the role of Fuller.

After she left the movie industry, Fuller got into songwriting. Through Fuller's connection with film producer Hal Wallis, she began contributing songs to Elvis Presley films, including Blue Hawaii, Girl Happy, Kissin' Cousins and Spinout. "Rock-A-Hula Baby," which she co-wrote with Bob Weisman and Fred Wise, went to #1 in the U.K. in 1961. Fuller went on to write songs for Nat King Cole, Peggy Lee and other '60s hit-makers. more on this story

Gibson.com is an official news provider for the Day in Rock.

Preview and Purchase Elvis CDs

Elvis MP3 Downloads

.



advertisement