Angie Dickinson was one of the most beloved and prolific actresses throughout the 1950s and 1960s. And in 1999, she lists as number 42 on Playboy’s list of the top 100 Sexiest Stars of the Century. Likewise, TV Guide ranked her in 2002 as number three; just behind George Clooney and the late Diana Rigg, on their list of the 50 Sexiest TV Stars of All Time.
She began her decades-spanning career on television. Appearing in a handful of anthology series during the 1950s; before she landed her breakthrough role in the 1956 film Western Gun the Man Down alongside James Arness. Just three years later, she appeared in yet another Western flick, Rio Bravo; which scored her a Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year.
And how can we forget her 1966 appearance in Esquire? She turns her head wearing nothing but a sweater and a pair of white pumps? This image was reportedly purely accidental; as she had been under the impression that there would be clothes available for her to wear at the shoot. But when she showed up empty-handed, the photographer decided to just run with it. And the end result was a shot that was nothing short of iconic.
That image appears on the magazine’s cover 27 years later and is recreates by Britney Spears and Victoria’s Secret models.
While there is no denying Angie’s sex appeal – practically anyone alive back then had a crush on her. It’s also important to recognize her for her many other career successes. Throughout her 60-plus years working in Hollywood, Dickinson appeared in more than 50 films. Including 1957s China Gate, 1960s Ocean’s 11, 1965s The Art of Love, 1967s Point Blank, and 1974s Big Bad Mama.
But her acting career isn’t just limited to cinema. From 1974 to 1978, Dickinson portrayed Sergeant Pepper Anderson in the NBC procedural crime series Police Woman. She earns her the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Television Drama Series. And three Primetime Emmy nominations for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series.
Later on in her career, Dickinson shows in dozens of television films and limited series. And appeared in supporting roles in films such as 1994s Even Cowgirls Get the Blues and 2000s Pay It Forward.
Yes, Angie Dickinson is one of the finest actresses of her age. She is well aware. Looks to boot. Join Facts Verse as we take a peek at some Vintage Photos that reveal some of her most attractive moments while discussing a few more of her career highlights.
Angie Dickinson’s Humble Beginnings
Before she became Angie Dickinson, Angie is famous to her friends and family as Angeline Brown. Angie is born on September 30, 1931, in Kulm, North Dakota to parents, Fredericka and Leo Henry Brown. Her father works as a newspaper publisher and editor, and her mother stays at home and raises 4 of them.
At an early age, Angie loves the film as her father is a projectionist in the town of Kulm. Only movie theater up until it burns down.
When she was 10, her family moved out to Burbank, California. Angie is determined to become a writer. Before she graduates from high school in 1954, she marries a football player, Gene Dickinson 1952. The two stayed together until 1960, but even after they had divorced, she chose to keep his surname.
Angie’s first venture into a show is when she’s a contestant in a beauty pageant for the Miss America contest. Although she only managed to place second, she still was able to catch the attention of a Hollywood talent scout. This agent helps her score her first gig in the entertainment industry. She’s one of six showgirls to appear on the Jimmy Durante Show.
While performing on this show, a TV producer notices of her and convinces her to consider a career in acting. After she studied acting for a couple of years, NBC offered her the chance to guest-star on several television programs, including the popular anthology show The Colgate Comedy Hour.
Around this time, she met the famed Jazz crooner, Frank Sinatra, with who she would strike up a friendship. This leads her to be cast opposite to the Rat Pack leader in 1960s Ocean’s 11.
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Angie Dickinson’s Meteoric Rise To Fame
Angie’s TV career really started taking off in 1954 when she made her debut in an episode of the series Death Valley Days. This role led her to ultimately appear in numerous roles on shows such as Matinee Theater, Gunsmoke, It’s A Great Life and Gray Ghost.
Angie continued to make TV appearances throughout the 1950s. In 1954, she started starring in movies with an unaccredited role in the film Lucky Me. She would given her first starring role just two years later in 1956s Gun The Man Down. While that role certainly advanced her career, it wasn’t quite the watershed moment that she would experience just five years later.
After appearing in a few more B-films and Westerns, Angie landed her big breakthrough role in 1959s Rio Bravo playing a gambler named Feathers who had the hots for the town sheriff played by the one and only John Wayne.
After appearing in this memorable film, Dickinson became one of the most prolific leading actresses of the 1960s. During this decade, some of her most noteworthy films included 1961s Fever in the Blood, 1962s Rome Adventure, and 1964s The Killers – the latter of which saw her starring opposite Ronald Reagan in his last film role.
In 1964, Dickinson co-starred in the film The Art of Love. Two years after that, she joined forces with Jane Fonda, Robert Redford, Marlon Brando, and Robert Duvall in The Chase.
What critics consider to be her best film from this era, however, was the 1967s Point Blank. And from there, she continued to make appearances in Western films, including 1969s Sam Whiskey, in which she smooched Burt Reynolds for his first on-screen kiss.
In 1965, Angie married for the second time Burt Bacharach, a prominent classical music composer. The couple ended up remaining married until 1981, and in the meantime, they had one daughter together – but we’ll get to her a little later – so don’t go wandering off.
Angie Dickinson’s Police Woman Years
Angie continued to star in films during the 1970s. One of her most acclaimed films from this decade was 1974s Big Bad Mama, in which she starred alongside Tom Skerritt and William Shatner. In that film, which is widely regarded as one of her most significant offerings, Dickinson appeared nude in a couple of scenes, thus giving the world a glimpse at some of her most valuable “assets”.
That same year, Dickinson also made a return to TV, appearing in the procedural crime drama anthology series, Police Story. Her appearance on that program met with such a resounding and enthusiastic response by audiences, that NBC decided to offer Dickinson her very own series.
In Police Woman, Angie played Sergeant Leann ‘Pepper’ Anderson, an officer in the Los Angeles Police Departments Criminal Conspiracy unit. That role ended up winning her a Golden Globe and an Emmy Nomination three years in a row.
The series aired for four seasons, and in 1987, the Los Angeles Police Department honored her with an honorary doctorate. Dickinson also would given her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame which she justifiably deserved for her many contributions to the worlds of film and television.
The series paved the way for other actresses to play the title roles in subsequent television dramas – and because of that, Dickinson is considered a hero of sorts for women everywhere.
Angie’s Life And Career Post-Police Woman
In the 80s, Angie’s career began to slow down just a bit. She would appear in the 1980 Brian De Palma flick Dressed to Kill, in which she was recognized for her powerful performance in the role of Kate Miller, a sexually frustrated housewife from New York. That role ended up winning her a Saturn Award for Best Actress,
Dickinson passed on an offer to play Krystle Carrington on Dynasty in order to spend more time with her daughter, who wasn’t doing very well at the time, and she would likewise later turn down the opportunity to play the character, Sable Colby, on the Dynasty spin-off series, The Colby’s.
After shooting two episodes of a sitcom called The Angie Dickinson Show, she would also tell the show’s producers that she’s no longer interested in being it’s star. She did, however, appear in a half-dozen or so TV films throughout the 1980s, and she would reprise her role as the salacious Wilma McClatchie in 1987s Big Bad Mama II.
In 1993, Angie’s one of the stars of Oliver Stone’s critically revered mini-series Wild Palms. In 1995, she’s given a part in the remake of Sabrina. The following year, she starred in The Maddening, in which she played Burt Reynold’s wife.
In 2000, Angie played the homeless and destitute alcoholic mother of Helen Hunt’s character in the heartwarming film Pay It Forward. That same year, she portrayed the grandmother of Gwynneth Paltrow’s character in the musical comedy Duets.
In 2001, she made a cameo in the remake of Ocean’s 11, and more recently, in 2009, she appeared in a Hallmark Channel original film called Mending Fences.
Angie’s Daughter Nikki: A Tragedy That Would Push Angie To Her Limits
While we’ve spent most of this video looking at vintage photos of Angie Dickinson looking flawless, it’s also important to recognize that her life hasn’t always been smooth sailing.
Baby Nikki Bacharach was born in 1966, three months premature, weighing just 1 pound, 10 ounces.
Nikki wouldn’t learn to speak until she was three years old, and her doctors were convinced that she was autistic. Fortunately, by the age of four, she showed signs of rapid development and became a child prodigy pianist.
Nikki also loved ballet and gymnastics and often rode horses and went on scuba diving outings with her father. While Angie thought that her daughter was a fairly normal and healthy child, her husband had concerns about her behavior.
Because of being born premature, Nikki suffered from a condition called Strabismus that caused her eyes to turn inward. In school, this ailment caused her to be bullied by the other children. Nikki was also later diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome.
We mentioned before that Angie turned down quite a few roles. She did this to focus more of her attention on raising little Nikki, who was quite fragile and needed extra care.
Eventually, after she had shown increasing signs of instability, Nikki’s father placed her into the care of a psychiatric residential treatment facility in Minnesota. She remained there for nine years. Later, she would study geology at California Lutheran University, but her eyesight sadly prevented her from pursuing that path as a career.
Tragically, at the age of 40, on January 4, 2007, Nikki Took her life by suffocation at her apartment in Thousand Oaks, California.
Well, that just about wraps up this video. Sorry for leaving things on a fairly sad note, but it’s important to keep in mind that great people are forged in the fires of tribulation – and it would be impossible to classify Angie Dickinson as anything but extraordinary!
What are some of your favorite memories of Angie? And did you ever find yourself crushing on the Police Woman star? Let us know in the comments section down below.
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