Andrea Dromm (born February 18, 1941 in Long Island, New York, U.S.) is an American actress. She is the daughter of an engineer, and attended school in Patchogue and later in Greensburg, Pennsylvania.Her career began as a child model at the age of six, but she felt it interfered with her school work. She attended the University of Connecticut, where she studied drama, acting in student productions of The Diary of Anne Frank, The Crucible, and Romeo and Juliet. She dropped out and hitchhiked to San Francisco, but eventually returned for her degree, after which she began work as a New York model, signing with the Eileen Ford Agency.Her career rose dramatically after her appearance in a National Airlines television commercial in 1963 as the stewardess asking "Is this any way to run an airline? You bet it is!"On the strength of the ad's popularity, she was urged to seek a Hollywood career. Her first job was playing Yeoman Smith in "Where No Man Has Gone Before", the second pilot for Star Trek: The Original Series. Allegedly, Gene Roddenberry hired her so he could "score with her", but Dromm insists that she had "no problems" with the legendary ladies' man.Dromm passed on the opportunity to stay with the series to take a part in The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming, in which she played a teenaged babysitter who falls in love with a handsome Soviet sailor. She then co-starred in Come Spy with Me, a spy spoof that fell flat. She also appeared as hostess of a TV special on surfing.After this experience, she returned to New York modeling, and for a time was the Clairol "Summer Blonde" girl who appeared in television and print ads.In 1988, People reported that she was living off real estate investments and splitting her time between homes in The Hamptons and Palm Beach.
During the sixties, when a model became an actress, they didn't want you to model any more. I had reservations about going to California because I still wanted to be in New York part of the time and model. It was a difficult decision.
2
I enjoyed [modeling] for awhile. Conover signed me and I had to go into the city a lot. I was dragged all over the place and had to take buses and trains. I was pulled out of school frequently. I stopped modeling as a child because I decided I would rather stay in school. It was interfering too much with my studies.
3
I was offered a role in The Russians Are Coming the Russians Are Coming (1966). They told me you either had to do the film or the (Star Trek (1966)) series. I chose the film, but had I known that "Star Trek" would become such a phenomenon, I probably would have opted for the series.
4
Since Star Trek (1966) was only a pilot they could keep you under option for six months and change your character or even worse drop you from the series. You had no guarantees that they would sign you for the series. I thought that doing the movie (The Russians Are Coming the Russians Are Coming (1966)) would be more exciting and a great thing to do. That was a choice I had to make and you can't look back.
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Fact
1
Lives primarily in Long Island with her mother and has retired from modeling and acting. [May 2008]
2
Notable as the willowy flight attendant for National Airlines in the early 1960s, Andrea delivered the famous catchphrase, "Is this any way to run an airline? You bet it is!".
3
She was the Clairol "Summer Blonde" girl in TV and print ads in the mid-60s.
4
She became nationally known thanks to a 1960s National Airlines TV commercial in which she played a stewardess and delivered the punchline: "Is this any way to run an airline? You bet it is."
Actress
Title
Year
Status
Character
Come Spy with Me
1967
Jill Parsons
Star Trek
1966
TV Series
Yeoman Smith
The Russians Are Coming the Russians Are Coming
1966
Alison Palmer
Known for movies
The Russians Are Coming the Russians Are Coming (1966) as Alison Palmer
$18 Million
