Connie Stevens

Connie Stevens (1938) is an American actress and traditional pop singer. She began her career in 1957, making her feature film debut in Young and Dangerous, before releasing her debut album, 'Concetta', the following year. In 1959, Stevens gained widespread recognition for her portrayal of Cricket Blake on the TV series Hawaiian Eye. Stevens continued to appear in film and television throughout the 1970s and 1980s.


Spanish postcard by VyA, no. 126. Photo: Warner Bros. Connie Stevens and Grant Williams in Susan Slade (Delmer Daves, 1961).


West German postcard nu Krüger, no. 902 / 238. Connie Stevens and Gary Clarke in the teen-oriented sports car club and motorcycle gang film Dragstrip Riot (David Bradley, 1958).

Young and dangerous

Connie Stevens was born Concetta Rosalie Ann Ingolia in 1938 in Brooklyn, New York, to a family of musicians. She was immersed in the world of entertainment from a young age.

After moving to Los Angeles at age 15, she began her career as a movie extra and singer in various groups, including The Foremost and The Three Debs.

Her feature film debut came in Young and Dangerous (Arthur Dreifuss, 1957), and she co-starred in more mediocre teen dramas such as Eighteen and Anxious (Joe Parker, 1957), The Party Crashers (Bernard Girard, 1958) with Bobby Driscoll, and Dragstrip Riot (David Bradley, 1958) with Gary Clarke and Fay Wray.

Then Connie Stevens caught the eye of Jerry Lewis, who cast her in a supporting role in the musical comedy Rock-A-Bye Baby (Frank Tashlin, 1958).

These early roles paved the way for a contract with Warner Bros., the studio that would propel her to stardom and establish her as a prominent teen idol in American pop culture.


Vintage postcard.

A resourceful photographer and singer at a Honolulu detective agency

Connie Stevens is now best known for her work in television and music. Her most iconic role was that of Cricket Blake, a resourceful photographer and singer at a Honolulu detective agency, in the series Hawaiian Eye, which aired from 1959 to 1963.

The show made her a household name and provided a platform for her burgeoning singing career. A duet with fellow Warner Bros. star Edd Byrnes, 'Kookie, Kookie (Lend Me Your Comb)', became a major pop hit, reaching number 4 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1959.

She achieved even greater solo success with her single 'Sixteen Reasons' (1960), which soared to number 3 on the US charts and number 9 in the UK, becoming her signature song.

Her albums, such as 'Concetta' (1958) and 'Connie Stevens as Cricket in the Warner Bros. Series Hawaiian Eye' (1960), further showcased her vocal talents and solidified her place in the music industry.

Throughout the 1960s, she continued to appear in films for the studio, often opposite heartthrob Troy Donahue, including the dramatic Parrish (Delmer Daves, 1961), where she played a rural girl, and the title role as an unwed mother in Susan Slade (Delmer Daves, 1961).


West German postcard nu Krüger, no. 902 / 239. Connie Stevens and Gary Clarke in Dragstrip Riot (David Bradley, 1958).

Forever Spring

After Hawaiian Eye ended, Connie Stevens starred in another sitcom, Wendy and Me (George Burns, 1964–1965), where she played the title character opposite George Burns, who also produced the show.

Her film career continued with a variety of roles in the 1960s and 1970s, including the lead in the Horror film Two on a Guillotine (William Conrad, 1965), a featured part in the crime drama The Grissom Gang (Robert Aldrich, 1971) and the title role in the crime thriller Scorchy (Howard Avedis, 1976).

In 1969, she toured with the Bob Hope USO shows to entertain American troops overseas. Stevens later launched a cosmetics line, 'Forever Spring', which brought her significant financial success in the 1990s.

There was also innocuous fun in such sporadic films as Grease 2 (Patricia Birch, 1982), starring Michelle Pfeiffer and Back to the Beach (Lyndall Hobbs, 1987) with Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello. Stevens also ventured behind the camera, writing, producing, and directing the feature film Saving Grace B. Jones (Connie Stevens, 2009), a project based partly on her own childhood experiences.

In recent years, after suffering a stroke in 2016, she has maintained a lower profile, though she has made occasional public appearances and was involved in the film By the Rivers of Babylon (Albert Sandoval, 2025). Connie Stevens has two daughters, actresses Joely and Tricia Leigh Fisher, from her second marriage to singer Eddie Fisher.


Spanish postcard by CyA, no. 127. Photo: Warner Bros. Troy Donahue and Connie Stevens in Susan Slade (Delmer Daves, 1961).


American postcard by Mike Roberts Color Production, Berkeley, California, no. SC12345. Connie Stevens appeared at John Ascuegel's Nugget, Sparks (East Reno), Nevada. Stevens performed here with Sammy King and musical conductor Mitchell Ayres, from 21 August till 3 September, year unknown.

Sources: Greg Prato (AllMusic), Wikipedia and IMDb.