The enticing, voluptuous beauty of European import Greta Thyssen filled out the pages of movie magazines everywhere during the 1950s. Born in the early 1930s, she was a freshly-scrubbed brunette when she won the Miss Denmark crown in 1951. The subsequent attention had her packing her bags for Hollywood. At that time Marilyn Monroe had become an international sex symbol and Hollywood hopefuls were falling all over themselves to be just like her. Enter Greta, in a major, major transformation, as a statuesque, peroxide-blonde bombshell--competing against the whistle-blowing likes of Jayne Mansfield and Mamie Van Doren. With mouth-dropping measurements reported at 40-24-36, this pin-up favorite became the best piece of Danish pastry in town. She also had her eye out for films.Like Ms. Mansfield and Ms. Van Doren, Greta's movie career was a bust--literally. She bordered slightly on the seamy side and was offered such parts. Yet she proved a trooper and was qualified enough to handle a scattered amount of low-grade crimers, adventures and horror stories -- a few having since reached "cult turkey" status. Greta actually started off in the quality movie Bus Stop (1956), unbilled as a "cover girl." She also served as Ms. Monroe's double in the movie. Another bit film part in Accused of Murder (1956) led to a regular role as a busty "Pirate Girl" model on the TV quiz show "Treasure Hunt" (1956) starring wolfish host Jan Murray. She momentarily took a few male minds off the horrific The Beast of Budapest (1958) and did her scream queen schtick in Terror Is a Man (1959), in which she played vulnerable to a mad scientist-turned-panther-like creature à la "The Island of Dr. Moreau." Greta added the requisite hard-boiled touch to the noirish detective film Three Blondes in His Life (1961) opposite Jock Mahoney and showed up in Journey to the Seventh Planet (1962) as well, which was another John Agar sci-fi cheapie. On TV she played a fetching foil in a number of Three Stooges shorts (Joe Besser was the third Stooge at the time) and appeared in a few TV episodics, mostly crime stories, including "Dragnet" and "Perry Mason." Her film career ended dismally with the inane "comedy" Cottonpickin' Chickenpickers (1967), which pretty much says it all. Toward the end she appeared in a couple of wink-wink stage comedies such as "Pajama Tops" until the early 1970s. She then retired and moved to New York. All in all, Greta took advantage of the equipment she had, made it work for her, and got her "fifteen minutes."
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