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Ann-Margret: Las Vegas
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Of all Elvis' leading ladies, Ann-Margret will always be Number One. Not because she was the sexiest, or the best actress (although she certainly qualifies on both counts!), or because "Viva Las Vegas" was that great of a film (but for an Elvis film, it's pretty good!), but because the on-screen chemistry between them was NOT ACTING. It's probably why Viva Las Vegas is still one of the best-remembered of both Elvis' and AM's films. Watching the film today, what comes across is two talented stars at the peak of their confidence, enjoying each other's company, and having fun! And that's pretty much what was happening off-screen, too! But don't just take my word for it; get it straight from the source ("Ann-Margret: My Story").
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Dismissed early in her career as a mere "sex kitten," Ann-Margret would prove a tremendous talent, not only as a singer and dancer, but ... as a fine dramatic actress, first in films and later on TV. The red-headed siren and native of Sweden made her national TV debut on "Ted Mack's Amateur Hour" in 1957, and though she did not win, it was just a matter of time before the world sat up and took notice. George Burns discovered the still-teenaged cabaret performer singing and playing the maracas in the lounge of the Dunes Hotel in Las Vegas, hiring her for $100 per night for ten nights to perform in his Christmas show at the Sahara Hotel's Congo Room. After landing a recording contract with RCA and capturing the eye of Hollywood, she made her feature debut as Bette Davis' daughter in Frank Capra's wet-blanket remake "A Pocketful of Miracles" (1961). Though her second film, the remake of "State Fair" (1962), was a bomb, Ann-Margret became the "Hottest Name in Town" when she sang the Oscar-nominated "Bachelor in Paradise" at the 34th annual Academy Award presentations.
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Ann-Margret's career faltered in the mid-'60s thanks to a string of forgettable pictures like Made in Paris (1966) and Kitten With a Whip (1964). (One of the few highlights of this period... was her appearance in Elvis Presley's Viva Las Vegas in 1964, which led to an offscreen relation with The King.) Her career in doldrums, Ann-Margret marshalled a comeback in the early '70s thanks to the tireless efforts of her husband and manager, former actor Roger Smith. Sold-out Las Vegas and concert performances were part of her career turnabout, although the most crucial aspect was her Oscar nomination for a difficult role in 1971's Carnal Knowledge. But the comeback nearly ended before it began in 1972 when the entertainer was seriously injured in a fall during her Vegas act. With the help of physical rehabilitation and plastic surgery (not to mention the loving ministrations and encouragement of Smith), the actress made a complete recovery and went on to even greater career heights. She received her second Oscar nomination for her bravura performance in the rock-opera film Tommy (1975), where, in one of the high points of '70s cinema bizarre, she sang a number while swimming in baked beans.
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While performing in the lounge of the Dunes Hotel in Las Vegas, Ann-Margret was given the opportunity to audition for Hollywood veteran George Burns. Immediately after, he invited her to perform for a 10-night engagement at the Sahara Hotel, where the 18-year-old earned rave reviews. A succession of offers followed, including a record contract from RCA, and a seven-year film contract from 20th Century Fox.
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On April 9, 1962, Ann-Margret appeared on the Academy Awards telecast to sing one of the year's nominated songs, the title theme from Bachelor in Paradise. Her torrid song-and-dance routine stopped the show and increased her stardom exponentially. RCA tried to take advantage of that notoriety by sending her back to the studio and titling the resulting album The Vivacious One, but the record was not successful. She had more luck on the silver screen, where she was cast in the film adaptation of the stage musical Bye Bye Birdie, a send-up of Elvis Presley, in which she played a Midwestern teenager who wins the chance to bestow "one last kiss" on a Presley-like teen idol before he goes into the Army. Her part was built up considerably from what it had been on Broadway, as she opened and closed the film singing a newly written title song, had another solo on "How Lovely to Be a Woman," and joined other cast members on half a dozen other songs. "Ann-Margret...is a wow," wrote Variety, and when Bye Bye Birdie opened in April 1963, it was a hit, its soundtrack album peaking at number two and remaining in the charts over a year.
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This is the decade in which Ann-Margret grows up. The eighties begin with her winning her first Las Vegas Entertainer of the Year Award. She tours the country with her Vegas act Her film career is full speed ahead, and she stars in her first of several critically acclaimed TV Dramas, and is nominated for three Best Actress Emmy's. She's in charge of her career and Roger's battle to survive.
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