Seven Things to Know about Yvonne Craig

1. Yvonne Craig studied ballet at age 16 as the youngest member of The Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. After three years, she left the company and wound up cast opposite Patrick Wayne (John's son) in 1959's The Young Land. Craig occasionally got opportunities to display her dancing skills in film and TV, most notably as a Russian ballerina dancing with James Coburn in the spy spoof In Like Flint (1967).

2. In the 1959 pilot episode of The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, Yvonne Craig appeared in the opening credits in which Dobie (Dwayne Hickman) peeks through a hole in a fence at her and Myrna Fahey. When the series was picked up, that opening was replaced with an animated sequence of Dobie and the girls. Still, Yvonne guested on Dobie Gillis five times, playing characters such as rich girl Linda Sue Faversham.

Batgirl with the Boy Wonder.

3. In 1968, ABC considered launching a Batgirl TV series with Yvonne Craig as the title character. A short "pilot" was produced, which also featured Batman (Adam West) and Robin (Burt Ward). Batgirl saves the Dynamic Duo from the Killer Moth, who traps them in a cocoon. When ABC rejected the idea of a separate series, Yvonne Craig's Batgirl was incorporated into the last season of Batman. For many years, the Batgirl pilot was available only on bootleg copies, but it was included as a bonus feature in a 2014 Batman boxed set.

4. Craig embraced her role as Batgirl. In a 2015 CNN interview, she stated: "I hear from women that I was their role model. When I was a little girl, I realized that girls could kick butt just like guys." She also found the experience to be a rewarding one. "I got to work with people that I would never have the chance to work with. We had Ethel Merman. I would never have met Milton Berle, I got to work with him, and he was a delight."

As Marta in Star Trek.

5. Yvonne Craig was a frequent guest star in 1960s and 1970s TV series, appearing in shows such as The Courtship of Eddie's Father, My Three Sons, 77 Sunset Strip, and Ben Casey (with one-time boyfriend Vince Edwards). She also starred in a third season episode of the original Star Trek series called "Whom Gods Destroy." She played a green-skinned female Orion--but she's not the green woman shown in Star Trek's closing credits. That's Susan Oliver in the guise of another Orion from the famous two-part episode "The Menagerie."

With Elvis in Kissin' Cousins.

6. Yvonne Craig and Deborah Walley shared several connections. Each of them appeared in a Gidget movie: Yvonne had a small role in the 1959 original and Deborah played the lead in Gidget Goes Hawaiian (1961). Deborah Walley appeared in the Beach Party movies Beach Blanket Bingo and The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini; Yvonne Craig appeared with Walley in the Frankie Avalon comedy Ski Party (1965). Yvonne starred with Elvis in two films: It Happened at the World's Fair (1963) and Kissin' Cousins (1964). Deborah Walley appeared with Elvis in Spinout (1966). Later in their careers, each actress voiced characters in animated TV series: Walley in Chip 'n' Dale Rescue Rangers and Yvonne Craig in Olivia. 

7. Yvonne Craig was married twice. The first marriage was to singer Jimmy Boyd ("I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus") and lasted two years. She was later married to real estate investor Kenneth Aldrich from 1988 until her death in 2015 from breast cancer that had spread to her liver. In between her two marriages, Craig supposedly dated Robert Vaughn, Bill Bixby, Vince Edwards, Mort Sahl, and Elvis Presley. In 2000, she published her autobiography From Ballet to the Batcave and Beyond.

Some Like It Cold in "Ski Party"

Technically, I suppose that Ski Party doesn't qualify as part of AIP's Beach Party series. There's no Annette (except for a cameo), no beach (except for a scene at the climax), no Eric Von Zipper, and no aging classic film star. And yet...it features many Beach Party regulars (including the stars), the trademark bouncy tunes, a rock'n'roll legend (James Brown!), a pop chanteuse (Lesley Gore!), and--despite all the snow--plenty of bikinis. Okay, maybe it is a Beach Party movie!

Frankie Avalon and Dwayne Hickman.

Frankie Avalon and Dwayne Hickman star as Tod and Craig, two college chums trying to connect with a couple of curvy co-eds. Despite being a self-described "nice clean-cut American boy with a C+ average," Tod can't get even get a kiss from girlfriend Linda (Deborah Walley). Even worse, when Tod and Linda double-date at a drive-in with Craig and Barbara (Yvonne Craig), the girls giggle together in the convertible's backseat--leaving the guys to console one another in the front seat. Later, when Tod mentions Freddie, the campus's resident chick-magnet, Linda melts dreamily ("Ooh, ahh, Freddie..." she sighs).

Dwayne and Frankie as girls.

When the girls join Freddie and "the gang" on a trip to a ski resort, Tod and Craig tag along, too--even though neither can ski. After blundering through their first ski lesson with the guys, Tod decides they might have better luck in the girls' class. To earn admittance, he and Craig disguise themselves (none too well) as English exchange students Jane and  Nora. They soon become the most popular guests at the ski lodge! The other girls invite them to a pajama party and Freddie decides that Nora/Craig is his soul-mate. Yes, my friends, Ski Party is the Beach Party-equivalent of Some Like It Hot!

The most enjoyable aspect of Ski Party is Frankie Avalon's role reversal. In the Beach Party films pairing him with Annette, Frankie's character cringes at the mention of marriage and flirts openly with other females (though he ultimately remains faithful to Annette). In Ski Party, Tod desperately chases Linda, even though she essentially admits there's spark between them. He's a much more sympathetic character than any of Avalon's prior Beach Party protagonists.

The Swedish ski instructor fends off an amorous Frankie.

Freed of the romantic lead responsibility, Avalon turns in a surprisingly funny performance. His best scene has Tod, who has broken his leg ski jumping, hobbling several miles on crutches through a blizzard to reach the home of Nita, the pretty Swedish ski instructor (Bobbi Shaw). His expectation is that Nita will be "easier" because she's Swedish. However, Nita has learned a few things from the other girls at the ski lodge:

Nita:  I want you should talk to me and treat me like you would the American girls.

Tod:  The American...Nita, I that we were going to...

Nita:  No, no, no. First, we talk. And then candy. Then more talk. Then we can hold hands. Then you ask for the kiss on the cheek. Then maybe the kiss on the cheek. Then...then what comes next?

Tod:  (utterly crushed) I don't know. That's as far as I ever got.

As Avalon's co-star, Dwayne Hickman channels Jack Lemmon from Some Like It Hot, pulling off a nice homage with some amusing scenes as Nora. As Craig, he effectively reprises his unlucky-at-love Dobie Gillis persona (he starred in the TV series for four years). Alas, the normally charming Deborah Walley and Yvonne Craig do not fare as well, primarily because their characters just aren't very likable.

James Brown doing his moves.

Musician Marshall Crenshaw, author of Hollywood Rock: A Guide to Rock'n'Roll in the Movies, considers the Ski Party soundtrack to be "the best in an any AIP beacher." It's hard to argue. Lesley Gore sings one of her biggest hits "Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows" (written by Marvin Hamlisch). The Hondells play "The Gasser" and the title tune. And, best of all, James Brown and the Fabulous Flames deliver a dynamic performance of "I Got You (I Feel Good)."

Annette cameos as a college
professor in Ski Party.

Yet, while Ski Party features good music and pleasant performances, I must admit that I miss Annette Funicello and Harvey Lembeck. Her sweetness and his silliness were essential elements of the best Beach Party movies and, for that reason alone, I've decided that Ski Party is almost part of the BP series--but not quite.