You’d have to try really hard to forget the gorgeous Varla in Russ Meyers’ film
Faster, Pussycat!
Kill!
That’s because she was played by Tura Satana and one has to look around real hard to find
a woman as stunning as she was.
She had a voluptuous body, a badass attitude, and a feminine charm that made her one of
the sexiest women to ever grace the screen.
But did you know that Tura Satana had an on-set affair against her director’s orders?
And that was just one of the many crazy incidents that defined her wild and exciting life!
Tura Satana was an incredible actress and is an inspiration to anyone pursuing their
dream.
Her life and legacy should never be forgotten…
Join FactsVerse to learn about Tura Satana’s unique life and career path…
EARLY LIFE AND CAREER
Tura Satana was born on the tenth of July, 1938, in Hokkaido, Japan.
Her birth name was Tura Luna Pascual Yamaguchi.
Her father was a prominent Japanese film actor though he was ethnically Filipino.
Her mother was a circus performer and was of Scots-Irish and Cheyenne background.
This rather unique ethnic mix is what gave Tura her unique and beautiful look.
It was her beautiful face that drew men in.
As she grew older, her gorgeous physique would draw men in, and her particularly large bust
was part of her incredible sex appeal.
But, we’re getting ahead of ourselves…
At a young age, Tura and her family moved to the United States where her mother was
originally from.
During the Second World War, she and her father were placed in Manzanar internment camp – a
terrible fate that many Japanese citizens and Japanese-Americans alike had to endure.
As her mother wasn’t Japanese, Tura and her father were kept in the internment camp
and Tura wasn’t allowed to see her mother until the end of the Second World War.
Following the end of the War, the family moved to Chicago.
Tura recalled in various interviews that she grew up in a multiracial neighborhood and
name-calling and fights were a huge part of her growing up.
She became used to hearing racial epithets hurled at her and would get into fights on
the way to school and on the way back!
One of the most horrific incidents in her life happened just before her tenth birthday.
She was walking home from school when she was kidnapped and later sexually assaulted
by 5 men.
These 5 men were never punished for their horrendous crime and the incident naturally
haunted Tura for her life.
However, her father raised her to be tough and decided she needed to learn how to fight
so that she wouldn’t experience such horrors ever again.
She studied martial arts including Karate and Aikido.
It’s reported that as an adult she hunted down those men and gave them a thrashing they
deserved!
As she grew older, she often got into trouble as she formed a gang with many of the local
girls from the neighborhood.
She had a brief marriage during her teens which her parents arranged for her.
She left her husband after only nine months.
She spent a few months in Los Angeles when she was fifteen to try her luck at burlesque
dancing.
Naturally, she had a fake ID and somehow managed to fool the clubs.
She also appeared as a model briefly and some of her photos were used in a Harold Lloyd
film.
She returned to Chicago and became an exotic dancer at the Club Rendezvous.
It's reported that she even had a brief relationship with Elvis Presley who saw her dance one night.
She gained a reputation as a beautiful and talented exotic dancer and soon began traveling
the country to perform.
Harold Lloyd was particularly fond of her and encouraged her to pursue a career in cinema.
Before we tell you more about Tura Satana’s life and career, please like this video and
subscribe to FactsVerse for more interesting stories about pop culture and your favorite
celebrities, and more fascinating biopics!
Now, let’s get back to the video…
TURA’S ACTING CAREER
Adopting the stage name Tura Satana, she decided to pursue a film career as the 1960s approached.
And she couldn’t have chosen a better time to get started.
Films that revolved around sexuality were becoming more popular during the decade and
a buxom beauty such as Tura was perfect for such films.
Her debut was in the small role as Suzette Wong in the Billy Wilder film Irma La Douce.
While not the main role, her appearance was enough to get her noticed by more filmmakers
and producers alike.
She had a brief role as a stripper in the film Who’s That Sleeping in My Bed?
She also appeared as a showgirl in the TV series The Greatest Show on Earth.
But perhaps one of the earliest roles to showcase her talents was in the 1964 episode “The
Finny Foot Affair” in The Man From U.N.C.L.E.
In this episode, she played a character named ‘Tomo’ and this was one of her first speaking
parts.
It brought her greater recognition not just for her acting but also for her ravishing
beauty.
It was clear that she was destined for more than supporting roles alongside big-name actors
or the occasional TV appearances.
She HAD to become the star of a feature-length film.
Her fate changed in 1965 when she was cast as Varla in the now cult classic “sexploitation”
film Faster, Pussycat!
Kill!
Directed by Russ Meyer.
Russ Meyer made many over-the-top sexploitation films which became huge hits and are now widely
regarded as classics.
Many great directors such as Quentin Tarantino and Pedro Almodvár have cited Russ Meyer
as an inspiration.
As one can expect, anyone who starred in a Russ Meyer film was bound to become a star.
And that’s exactly what happened with Tura Satana after the film was released.
While Russ Meyer was known to be a rather strict director, Tura wasn’t afraid to challenge
him and offer her own input with the film.
In fact, against his orders, she even had an on-set affair with the assistant cameraman
Gil Haimson!
However, her stubbornness didn’t affect her relationship with Russ Meyer and the two
clearly loved working together and had great chemistry.
Varla is arguably one of the best characters to feature in an American B-movie and Tura
Satana became an icon for women in film.
In the film, she was tough and beautiful – a combination that was becoming increasingly
popular among female characters in the 1960s and would continue in the 1970s – particularly
with blaxploitation cinema.
Four years later, she acted in the exploitation film The Astro Zombies directed by Ted V.
Mikels.
Her character, Satana, was a supporting character but she managed to steal the show and was
still a huge star.
While critics have dismissed the film with some even deeming it the worst film ever made,
it remains a cult classic.
In 1973, Tura Satana rejoined Ted V. Mikels and appeared in the film The Doll Squad.
This film was a huge hit among B-movie fans and it’s often touted as the inspiration
for the TV series Charlie’s Angels!
Tura retired from acting following this film.
However, even with her short career, she had become such a huge star that she made cameo
appearances in the 2000s!
She appeared in a remake of The Astro Zombies in 2004 called Mark of the Astro-Zombies.
She also appeared as a Judge in the exploitation film Sugar Boxx which was inspired by many
of the great exploitation films of the 60s and 70s.
Her final film role was in Astro Zombies: M3 – Cloned which was released in 2010.
She would often make appearances at conventions and events to discuss her life and career.
And yes, till the day she died, she remained a sex symbol.
She’s still one now…
TURA’S LIFE AND LEGACY
While not much is known about her personal life as her stardom grew, it’s clear that
she had a few tumultuous relationships.
Tura was shot by a former lover following the release of The Doll Squad.
She luckily survived but decided to step out of the limelight.
She spent a few years working as a dispatcher for the LAPD.
In the early 1980s, she suffered from severe back injuries due to a car accident.
She spent several years in and out of hospitals to treat her back.
She had two children from one relationship and was married to a LAPD officer for almost
20 years until his death in the year 2000.
She died on February 4, 2011, in Reno, Nevada due to heart failure.
She was 72 years old.
She was survived by her daughters and her sisters.
Tura Satana had a rather short entertainment career but she made the most of it and managed
to make her mark.
While she’s often associated with Russ Meyer – she only appeared in 1 of his films!
But that was one of his biggest hits and he often gave her the credit for its success.
He would later state in interviews that he regretted not hiring her for more projects.
But while we didn’t get to see more projects from Tura Satana she gave her all to her work
and was truly a remarkable entertainer and human being…
Oh, by the way – if you’re a fan of Tura Satana’s there’s an upcoming film about
her life coming up – based on her own memoirs.
It’s written and directed by Cody Jarrett who directed Sugar Boxx.
Keep your eyes out for the film!
So, now let’s hear from you:
Are you a fan of Tura Satana?
Was she your favorite of the pussycats?
Here’s what we’d like to know:
Do you think Tura Satana is widely known by the younger generations?
Or do Tura’s fans need to promote her incredible body of work to introduce her legacy to a
newer audience?
Let’s hear your thoughts in the comments.
If you liked this story, be sure to hit the ‘like’ button and be sure to Subscribe
to FactsVerse for more great stories!
Hit the bell icon to receive regular notifications!
We’ll see you in the next video!