Actress Stella Stevens of ‘Nutty Professor’ and ‘Poseidon Adventure’ dies at 84
By Jay Croft and Melissa Alonso, CNN
Actress Stella Stevens, who appeared in a string of movies in the 1960s and ’70s including “The Nutty Professor” and “The Poseidon Adventure,” died Friday from Alzheimer’s disease at 84, said her son, actor and producer Andrew Stevens.
She “had been in hospice for quite some time with stage seven Alzheimer’s,” her son told CNN.
“Alzheimer’s is an insidious disease which affected not only my mother, but my grandmother and great aunt. Hopefully my mother’s work will be remembered for her collaborations with some of the entertainment industry’s biggest icons,” Andrew Stevens said.
His mother had more than 200 movie and TV roles, according to an obituary from the Golden Globes, which awarded her New Star of the Year in 1960 after her debut in “Say One for Me” with Bing Crosby and Debbie Reynolds.
Her most famous roles came in 1963’s “The Nutty Professor” with Jerry Lewis and 1972’s “The Poseidon Adventure,” in which she was promoted as part of an “all-star cast” headed by Gene Hackman and Ernest Borgnine.
Her other films included “Girls! Girls! Girls!” with Elvis Presley. She followed her film career with many TV roles in “Police Story,” “Love Boat,” “Flamingo Road” and others.
Stella Stevens is survived by her only son and three adult grandchildren.
Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported the date of Stevens’ death.
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