Jacqueline Fontaine
Born
14 August 1927 (98)
Place of Birth
Kenosha, Wisconsin, USA
Also known as
Joyce Elaine Romeo, Lili Fontaine
Biography
Joyce Elaine Romeo, the raven-haired daughter of Orlando and Emma Romeo of 5606 34th Avenue in Kenosha, Wisconsin, studied at the nearby McKinley Junior High School and the downtown Mary D. Bradford High School while simultaneously nurturing her dreams of performing before appreciative audiences. She made her first such appearances in Chicago clubs before coming to Los Angeles for George White's Scandals and Billy Gray's Band Box (Dorothy Kilgallen noted her in July, 1946 as a dancer at LaConga)...
Joyce Elaine Romeo, the raven-haired daughter of Orlando and Emma Romeo of 5606 34th Avenue in Kenosha, Wisconsin, studied at the nearby McKinley Junior High School and the downtown Mary D. Bradford High School while simultaneously nurturing her dreams of performing before appreciative audiences. She made her first such appearances in Chicago clubs before coming to Los Angeles for George White's Scandals and Billy Gray's Band Box (Dorothy Kilgallen noted her in July, 1946 as a dancer at LaConga) and local television. One such telecast caught the eye of producer Ron Ormond who signed her for "Outlaw Women" (1952) without a screen test. Previously she had appeared with Mickey Rooney as "the other woman" in The Strip. Also in 1952 Jacki (as she was labeled on Crystalette Records songs) worked with Jack Carson at the Sahati's Country Club Casino in Stateline, Nevada. Bing Crosby noticed her at a Pebble Beach golf tournament and cast her in The Country Girl. Later she did live appearances with comic Lenny Kent at the Casino Lounge in the Mapes Hotel and in 1962 with Buddy Lester at New Facks and at the Losers Club in Hollywood. and by 1965 at the Jamaica Room of the West Valley Bowl and at Sunset Boulevard's Key Club. Three years later she worked as a regular in a troupe with singer-comic Duke Mitchell, and by the 1970s she was seen at Aladdin's Funny Farm, the new Nine Thousand and the Fire and Flame in North Hollywood, with billing calling her "The Performer's Performer".
Filmography (25)
Gallant Ladies
1990
Lorsque l'enfant parait
1982
Bilitis
1977
It's Tough for Everybody
1975
How to Make Good When One Is a Jerk and a Crybaby
1974
The Egg
1972
Les Cent livres : À la recherche du temps perdu
1971
To Die of Love
1971
Under the Sign of the Bull
1969
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
1967
Murderers' Row
1966
Alvarez Kelly
1966
Le naïf amoureux
1965
The Cross and the Banner
1962
The Ladies Man
1961
Born to Be Loved
1959
The Lieutenant Wore Skirts
1956
The Country Girl
1954
Outlaw Women
1952
The Strip
1951
Untamed Mistress
1951
Skipalong Rosenbloom
1951
The Daltons' Women
1950
Impasse of Two Angels
1948
Back Streets of Paris
1946