Debra Paget (born August 19, 1933) is an American actress and entertainer who rose to prominence in the 1950s and early 1960s in a variety of feature films, including 20th Century Fox's epic Demetrius and the Gladiators, starring Victor Mature, Jay Robinson and Susan Hayward, a sequel to The Robe. She also appeared in Love Me Tender, the film début of Elvis Presley.
The Indian Tomb, The Ten Commandments, Broken Arrow, Princess Of The Nile, Love Me Tender, The Tiger of Eschnapur, The Haunted Palace, Prince Valiant, Bird of Paradise, Demetrius and the Gladiators, The Gambler from Natchez, Stars and Stripes Forever, White Feather, The Last Hunt, Anne of the Indies...
Star Sign
Leo
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Quote
1
I was pleased to learn a contemporary actress, Debra Winger, was named after me.
2
[on having to wear brown contact lenses for her part in The Ten Commandments (1956)] I've worn contacts three different times in movies, but they're awful to work in because the Kleig lights heat them up. I have to keep taking them off about every half hour, but they make my eyes the right color for [Cecil B. DeMille]. If it hadn't been for the lenses I wouldn't have gotten the part.
3
[on a sexy seduction scene with Ron Randell in Most Dangerous Man Alive (1961)] This was a very unusual part for me, you know, and that was one reason I did it. It was kind of a veer-off from what I usually did.
4
[Twentieth Century-Fox] was a wonderful place. It was like a separate little world of its own. I remember the huge buildings full of antique cars, stagecoaches and varied pieces of architecture. It was just incredible, and so much fun to wander through. There were New York, Western and Midwestern streets, a Roman square, the countryside . . . it was huge, and an extraordinary place.
5
There's a difference in the morality [of today]. I don't want to be embarrassed when I go to see something on the screen. I don't want to listen to foul language, watch a lot of violence or see something immoral. I prefer stories with sensitivity and family values; films that strive to lift you up to a higher place in life. Those types of films are few and far between today. As a result, I seldom go to the movies.
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Fact
1
She was pleased when she found out that actress Debra Winger was named after her, since Winger's father was a fan of Paget's.
2
Owned a chimpanzee named Lord Murphy as well as a mischievous Golden Gibbon she named Haji Baba she gave to Ralph Helfer, renowned animal trainer and Hollywood animal behaviorist who owned "Nature's Haven: Wild Animal Rentals" in Van Nuys, CA, at that time.
3
As of August 2004 she was retired and living in Houston, TX.
4
In 1987 she was give the Golden Boot Award by the Motion Picture and Television Fund for her work in westerns.
Never auditioned for The Ten Commandments (1956). The part of Lilia was the last of the lead roles to cast. Cecil B. DeMille instinctively asked her one day to report to Paramount to start work. He had followed her career and felt that "the hand of God" was on her.
performer: "The Washington Post", "Father's Got 'em!", "Caro nome", "When It's Springtime in New York", "The Bowery", "I'm Afraid" - uncredited
Belles on Their Toes
1952
performer: "Lazy", "Love's Old Sweet Song Just a Song at Twilight", "The Japanese Sandman", "Beans, Beans, Beans", "Doin' the Raccoon", "Sweet Georgia Brown"
Self
Title
Year
Status
Character
Praise the Lord
1988-2013
TV Series
Herself
The Juke Box Jury
1959
TV Series
Herself
The Steve Allen Plymouth Show
1959
TV Series
Herself - Dancer
It Could Be You
1957
TV Series
Guest Appearance
Premiere Performance
1957
TV Series
Herself
The Tony Bennett Show
1956
TV Series
Herself
Texaco Star Theatre
1956
TV Series
Herself - Actress
The Colgate Comedy Hour
1954-1955
TV Series
Herself - Actress
Archive Footage
Title
Year
Status
Character
Elvis Found Alive
2012
Herself
Cinemassacre's Monster Madness
2007
TV Series documentary
Helene (segment "The Case of M. Valdemar")
Budd Boetticher: A Man Can Do That
2005
TV Movie documentary
Sharain
René Deltgen - Der sanfte Rebell
2004
TV Movie documentary uncredited
Elvis at the Movies
2002
Video documentary
Herself
Early Elvis: From Country Boy to King of Rock and Roll
2002
Video documentary
Herself
The Definitive Elvis: The Hollywood Years - Part I: 1956-1961
2002
Video documentary
Herself
Presley
1987
TV Mini-Series documentary
Cathy Reno
This Is Elvis
1981
Cathy Reno (segment "Love Me Tender") (uncredited)
$1.9 Million
