Marlene Schmidt

Acting · Production

Born September 7, 1934, Breslau, Germany

Fled East Germany in 1960 to live in Stuttgart and work as an electronics engineer. Soon after, she entered a beauty contest on a whim and ended up winning the title of Miss Germany. That led to being crowned Miss Universe in 1961. She married actor Ty Hardin in 1962, but the marriage only lasted 3 years. In 1969, she married Iraqi-born filmmaker Howard Avedis. Their partnership resulted in numerous drive-in hits and cult classics, including The Stepmother (1972), The Teacher (1974) and Mortuary (1983). Marlene always produced, sometimes wrote and usually appeared in supporting roles in these productions.

Filmography

• Shoebox Zoo — Line Producer
• 1988Kidnapped — Secretary, Producer
• 1984They're Playing with Fire — Gas Station Customer, Writer, Producer
• 1982Mortuary — Lois Stevens, Writer, Producer
• 1981Separate Ways — Pat Ingram, Executive Producer, Story
• 1978Texas Detour — Lady Bartender, Executive Producer
• 1978The Fifth Floor — Night Nurse, Story, Executive Producer
• 1976Scorchy — Claudia Bianco, Executive Producer
• 1975Dr. Minx — Harriet Thomas
• 1975The Specialist — Elizabeth Bounds, Screenplay, Executive Producer
• 1974The Teacher — Alice Roberts, Associate Producer
• 1972The Stepmother — Sonya Hill, Associate Producer
• 1968Destiny — Afsaneh, Producer
• 1968Farewell, Lebanon
• 1968The Red Plain — Betty