Pamela Austin

Pamela Joan Austin (born Akert; December 20, 1941) is an American retired actress.

Pamela Austin
Born
Pamela Joan Akert

(1941-12-20) December 20, 1941
OccupationActress
Years active1961–1988
Spouses
Charles W. Britt
(m. 19631964)
    Guy Franklin McElwaine
    (m. 19651967)
      Leopold S. Wyler
      (m. 1974)

      Early life

      Austin was born in Omaha, Nebraska. She spent part of her childhood in Europe, as her father served a tour of duty with the Air Force there. Austin studied dancing at Sacramento State College, and found work with the Tony Martin nightclub act upon arriving in Hollywood.[1]

      Career

      In addition to appearing in two Elvis Presley films, in 1964-1967 Austin gained fame for a long series of popular automobile television commercials (and print ads) for Dodge (the Charger, Coronet, Polara, and other models). As the perky "Dodge Rebellion Girl", she appeared in around twenty commercials as a damsel in distress — menaced by sharks, falling from a drawbridge, a roof, a cargo plane, etc. Her tag line at the end of each ad was "The Dodge Rebellion wants you!"

      The ad series led to numerous film and television offers and a three-page profile in TV Guide (August 20–26, 1966). By 1968, Dodge executives felt Austin's popularity was overshadowing the cars and began a new "Dodge Fever" campaign with a different model, Joan Anita Parker.

      In August 1967, she starred in the adventure-comedy film The Perils of Pauline based on the silent cliff-hanger serial. Posters for the film referenced her Dodge commercials: That "Rebellion Girl" is dodgin' unbelievable perils...[2]

      In 1968, she was a semi-regular on the hit comedy series Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In during its first season. Austin performed in various comedy sketches, song-and-dance numbers, and pre-filmed segments, including an early music video for "Buy For Me The Rain" by The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.[3]

      Filmography

      Films

      Television

      Personal life

      Austin married Charles W. Britt in Santa Clara, California on October 27, 1963; they had one child, a son, Beau C. Britt (born June 17, 1964). Austin and Britt divorced later that year.

      Her second marriage was to Guy Franklin McElwaine (a Hollywood press agent) in Los Angeles on July 17, 1965. They divorced in June 1967. She married Leopold S. Wyler in Los Angeles on January 9, 1974.[1]

      References

      1. "Pamela Austin profile". glamourgirlsofthesilverscreen.com. Retrieved April 19, 2012.
      2. Filmography, nytimes.com; accessed January 6, 2017.
      3. Pamela Austin at IMDb
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