Her sultry swagger could light up a drive-in screen. With showy roles in titles such as Attack of the Giant Leeches, I, Mobster, Juvenile Jungle and, most notably, as the slatternly romantic rival of an outsized Allison Hayes in Attack of the 50 Foot Woman, Yvette Vickers delivered the sensual goods while simultaneously attempting to break free of the stereotype, and flesh out her resume with "A" movie roles.

"I did a myriad of TV shows," she recalls of this early period of struggle, "like Dragnet. Jack Webb became very, very supportive. Maybe he was flirting and I didn't even know it. I was so stupid. He used to get me coffee in the morning when I came on the set. I thought, 'Gosh, what a sweet guy.' I thought he did that for everybody. It was years later that I realized he didn't do that for everybody. I would have been much better off getting together with a solid guy like that than the ones I ended up with."