The Celluloid Casket: Case #12: Regina Carrol

However, her real career began when she met exploitation director (and frequent producer) Al Adamson during auditions for ‘Satan’s Sadists’ (1969). Adamson fell head over heels in love with the actress – and the feeling appeared to be mutual. ‘Satan’s Sadists’ was their first film together and is considered by many to be the ‘Citizen Kane’ of biker flicks. In the Independent-International film she costarred with Russ Tamblyn as “Anchor”, leader of the gang. She was biker squeeze Gina and has her most notable scene when she tries to seduce her man with an erotic table dance. It was in this movie too that she started the tradition of having her father (Barney Gelfan) cast in bit parts.

Two years later she starred in Adamson’s ‘Dracula vs. Frankenstein’ with Lon Chaney Jr. and J. Carrol Naish (both in their final screen performances). Regina plays showgirl Judith Fontaine out to find her missing sister – you guessed it…Joan Fontaine -- who Chaney offed with an axe early into the film. In this outing Ms. Carrol even lip-synchs a sappy love song called ‘No More Mail Until Tomorrow’. Rounding out the campy cast is Anthony Eisley, Jim Davis, and the man himself, Forrest J. Ackerman as Dr. Beaumont.

In 1972 Al Adamson and Regina Carrol finally wed after two years of living together. Their film collaboration made that same year was the critically panned ‘Blood of Ghastly Horror’. In this a serial killer (a Vietnam Vet who the government has implanted with a homicidal chip) must be stopped! Regina stars as Susan Vanard alongside Tommy Kirk, John Carradine, Kent Taylor, and Roy Morton. In 1974 the happy couple made ‘Blazing Stewardesses’ starring Regina Carrol, Marilyn Joi, and Connie Hoffman as the title “fly girl” characters. In it the sky sweeties want some time off and head to a ranch out west for some R&R only to discover that this ranch is right next door to a whorehouse run by Madame Honey (Yvonne DeCarlo!! Who also sings!!). This drive-in perennial (often at the tail end of a triple bill) featured Bob Livingston, Don “Red” Barry, and Geoffrey Land.

Her final movie appearance was in Al’s 1982 film ‘Carnival Magic’ about an intelligent circus chimp. Regina Carrol had several interests and projects aside from acting and dancing. She also had her own local TV “chat show” in Las Vegas called (yup!) ‘The Regina Carrol Show’ in which she discussed a variety of topics with guest celebrities. She even wrote an entertainment column for The Las Vegas Panorama.

After her cancer diagnosis Regina refused to appear on film, though she did several performances of her one-woman stage show homage to dancer Isadora Duncan in Palm Springs . She lost her long and painful battle with cancer on November 4^th, 1992 in St. George Utah. Husband Al was devastated with her passing. The one of a kind screen sensation Regina Carrol was only 49 years old.