Friday the 13th Victim, Chelsea

It's that day again and here we have Camp Crystal Lake visitor Chelsea, played by Willa Ford, getting skewered from above and providing viewers with a brief posthumous breast flash, in the 2009 remake of Friday the 13th.

Unlike many of the actresses who've played hapless victims of Jason Voorhees, Miss Ford is not and probably will not, end up in the "Whatever Happened to..?" file. Although her official website looks pretty old-style and hasn't been updated since 2012, the now-34 year-old singer-turned-actress, who used to go by "Mandah," has stayed busy since she began her career in 1999. Check out her IMDB page for her other credits.

Burlesque Queen Noel Toy

The above circa 1940 video of Chinese-American burlesque queen Noel Toy performing her famous fan dance, makes it clear to see why she was was often billed as “The Chinese Sally Rand.”

Undoubtedly the most famous Asian-American Burlesque performer of her time, Miss Toy began her show biz career as a photographer’s nude model at the Golden Gate International Exposition in 1939. Since Asian nude models were a rarity at the time, word soon spread around the San Francisco Bay Area and Noel was contacted by the owner of “Forbidden City,” a once-popular nightclub in San Francisco’s Chinatown. Believing Noel was just what he needed to spice up his club, the owner offered her 50 dollars a week (good money for that time) to headline at Forbidden City, which was where she first became known as the Chinese Sally Rand. There, she made famous her fan and “bubble dances,” the latter in which she used large balloons, rather than fans. According to Miss Toy, some customers were successful in popping her balloons with their cigarettes, “but they also go it on their bill.”

Mary-Madison Baldo

Filmmaker and actress Mary-Madison Baldo (who'll ask you to call her Madison, not Mary) has all the makings to realize her dream of hearing her name announced at the Oscars someday. Besides her talents, the not-quite-21-year old filmmaker has the drive, focus, and positive attitude needed to succeed in her field. Of course, her looks don't hurt either, and have landed her some modeling jobs, most notably for Northern California-based Soul Clothing & Co.

A native New-Yorker who now lives and goes to school in the San Francisco Bay Area by way of Los Angeles, Madison and her partner started their own production company last year, entitled Bardo-Bretow Pictures. She's currently in production with two of her own; The Glittering Girl and Snake Eyes, both of which she'll also be working on in front of the camera, as well as behind.

A recently completed solo project of Madison's, which the above photo is from, is her submission for Team Oscar 2015, an annual competition for young filmmakers, put on by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. If hers is one of the six winning videos selected, you'll see her on stage as an Oscar Bearer on award night. What follows is my recent interview with the very charming lady, in which she reveals, besides her passion for filmmaking, she also dreams of being a roller derby queen and has some very good taste in music.

2014 Christmas Compilation

With Christmas around the corner, here are a selection of some of the lovely and talented ladies whose interviews and featured articles have graced the pages of this site, decked out in the spirit of the season. Starting it off is actress and talk show hostess Michelle Tomlinson who could have, but did not bake that pie herself. A big thanks to all the ladies here, especially to the ones who took the time and effort to take a photo exclusively for this feature. Happy Holidays!

Sarah French - Santa's Helper

Actress and model Sarah French gets us into the Christmas spirit with some very recent holiday photos. Besides making the move to Los Angeles early next year, Sarah will have a lot going on in 2015. Several films she stars in (Zombie Dollz, Insectula, Hollywood Apocalypse, and Bad Habit, to name a few) are slated for release within the next few months and two more she recently completed (A Cursed Coven, and Chainsaw Maidens) should be out later in 2015. She's currently working on Marilyn: Zombie Hunter, which was the focus of this October article.

Stephanie Hsu and Alice Lee for Discover Card

This currently airing 30-second spot for Discover Card has Stephanie Hsu as a Discover cardholder calling to ask a representative, played by Alice Lee, about her cashback bonus.

If one didn't know otherwise, one might assume that it's the same actress playing both roles in this commercial, as both ladies look very similar. Why did the producers of this ad hire two girls who look alike? Did they want viewers to think there are twins here like in that other Discover Card commercial (with Sinab and Meltem Gulturk)? Perhaps they wanted viewers to think it is the same girl in both roles because of Discover Card’s ad slogan; “At Discover, we treat you like you’d treat you.” Maybe Stephanie or Alice can say for sure. Stephanie's on Twitter and so is Alice.  Also see more of Stephanie at her official website. You may have also caught her playing a not-too-concerned babysitter in another recent commercial for Nest smoke alarms. It’s wrong, but funny.

More James Girls

Known for photographing outrageously sexy models who look as if they only exist in fantasies, artist and photographer Mike James has an unmistakable style. With the popularity and all the good feedback we've received from the July feature on Mike's gorgeous models, known as the "James Girls," I knew a follow-up was definitely in order.

As with all of Mike's former and current models I've corresponded with, the ladies who gave me their comments for this feature, speak very highly of Mr. James, personally and professionally, as he does of them. The James Girls included in the first article can all be considered current James Girls, as they have all done recent shoots with Mike and plan to again. Just two of the ladies featured in this piece fall into that category. Unfortunately, the others now currently reside in the "Former James Girls" file but there's hope they may again appear before his camera.

The vision in red above is one of Mike's current favorites, Mala Mastroberte, from a very recent shoot entitled "Red Devil." Mala is one of the two ladies in this article who currently models for Mike and graciously responded to my request for her comments on what it's like to work with him. Of course, it goes without saying who all the photo credits in this article go to.