March 24, 2026

She was great as the girlfriend to male comedians — Lenny Bruce and W.C. Fields — but she's also perfect as the mother of The Village People....


Goodbye to Valerine Perrine.


33 comments:

narciso said...

I think her first role was in slaughterhouse 5

Rory said...

She was an honest-to-gosh Vegas showgirl.

Howard said...

No mention of the TV play on CBS called Steambath where she exposed her breasts on national television. As a 13-year-old boy at the time it was quite a memorable moment.

Dave Begley said...

“Later that year, Perrine began a relationship with Hollywood hair stylist Jay Sebring. He invited her to a dinner party in Benedict Canyon, Los Angeles, but she was unable to attend after a last‑minute work conflict. The gathering was the one at which the Manson Family murdered six people, including Sebring, at the home of Sharon Tate.”

bagoh20 said...

I guess I'm slow, but I just noticed that the Village People characters are examples of not just men, but American men. Now I like them... a little.

Howard said...

From Wikipedia:

While living in Las Vegas, Perrine became engaged to gun collector and importer Bill Haarman, who died in a gun accident in January 1969, one month before their planned wedding.[17]

Later that year, Perrine began a relationship with Hollywood hair stylist Jay Sebring. He invited her to a dinner party in Benedict Canyon, Los Angeles, but she was unable to attend after a last‑minute work conflict. The gathering was the one at which the Manson Family murdered six people, including Sebring, at the home of Sharon Tate.[17]

According to The Hollywood Reporter, one performer at the now‑demolished Stardust joked, 'If you don’t like somebody, fix them up with Valerie and he’ll be dead within three months."[17]

Howard said...

Jinx, Dave

n.n said...

Eyes down here was a milestone in social progress. RIP

Howard said...

Duh, Bago. The Village People is an homage to the manly American working man that just so happens to turn on gay men of those days. This is why Trump embraced them with open arms and inspired the gayest dance move ever

Howard said...

Parkinson's is a cruel way to go.

RCOCEAN II said...

If you're a good looking girl and you find Dustin Hoffman sexy - now, that's acting!

Not an oldster. said...

LexLuthors's ladyfriend...

RCOCEAN II said...

I always liked her in "Superman" she was hilarious.

Birches said...

What the hell did I just watch? The 70's man.

Howard said...

By that logic, both Katherine Ross and Anne Bancroft deserved Oscars.

Yancey Ward said...

The first time I remember seeing her in anything was the film adaptation of Slaughterhouse 5 when I was around the age of 10 or 11- I had already read the book by that point and the movie was a disappointment but she shined through for that young boy that was me. Of course, not long after that I saw her in Superman as Eve Tesmacher- a small but absolutely rememerable role in a disappointing movie, too. It wasn't until I was in my mid 20s that I saw Lenny and she was outstanding in that movie- her nominations were well deserved. RIP Ms. Perrine.

Freder Frederson said...

No mention of the TV play on CBS called Steambath where she exposed her breasts on national television.

That was PBS not CBS. I was 11 years old too. I think it was only shown once, and a lot of PBS stations refused to carry it. I was lucky, as WTTW Channel 11 in Chicago did.

rehajm said...

…oh good lord - Bewbies!!! Okay…for me she was the female cop that pulled over Adrienne Barbeau with the zip up onesie and the countach

narciso said...

Superman was a great film even without the donner cut

William said...

She had some tangible assets that complemented and augmented her acting skills. Her most memorable role was in Superman, but,she was a welcome presence in every movie, especially the R rated ones.

Rabel said...

There's an extra Village Person/Baby in the opening scene?

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

Great hair!

Amexpat said...

As a male teenager, she made a big impression on me in Slaughterhouse 5. Just as I had envisioned the character when I read the book. Made me wanted to be abducted by aliens.

narciso said...

That was a veru strange film, it doesnt get played alot unlikd catch 22 with the other hottie

narciso said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Iman said...

RIP.

Iman said...

“I was lucky, as WTTW Channel 11 in Chicago did.”

I suspect that viewing inspired you and can only imagine the outrage (and whacks on your hands by Sister Elly Fant) when you gave it a shot at school, Fredo!

bagoh20 said...

"Duh, Bago. The Village People is an homage to the manly American working man that just so happens to turn on gay men of those days. This is why Trump embraced them with open arms and inspired the gayest dance move ever"

I said I was slow, but maybe I'm just not as tuned in to gay culture and this Trump guy as much as you are. I heard the name Trump before, but I'm not up on what gay guys like. I thought it was interior decorating.

Known Unknown said...

Interesting the Lenny sound design uses the filtered phone voice of Perrine when she is talking on screen into her receiver. Hoffman's voice sounds "normal" when he talks on screen.

Not sure I have ever encountered that before.

narciso said...

Susanne benton also in the boy and his dog

Lazarus said...

Valerie Perrine may have been the last person to be described as a "sex kitten" - and by the New York Times at that:

Valerie Perrine, or, The Return Of the Hollywood Sex Kitten
The New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com › 1974/12/01 › archives › val...
Dec 1, 1974 — She looks and sounds like a sensual Betty Boop, with her cherubic blue eyes, button nose and rosebud lips strangely coexisting with a ...


Perrine was in a controversial television production: "Steambath." I thought it was a series that got cancelled early, but it was a PBS one-off that many stations refused to carry. The afterlife as a steambath -- a little like Vonnegut's strange novel. Wikipedia tells us that Perrine inadvertently bared her breast in the show.

narciso said...

inadvertent...right

Oso Negro said...

no inadvertent left to go with it?

Post a Comment

Please use the comments forum to respond to the post. Don't fight with each other. Be substantive... or interesting... or funny. Comments should go up immediately... unless you're commenting on a post older than 2 days. Then you have to wait for us to moderate you through. It's also possible to get shunted into spam by the machine. We try to keep an eye on that and release the miscaught good stuff. We do delete some comments, but not for viewpoint... for bad faith.