Fabulous Photos of Valerie Allen in the 1950s and ’60s

Born 1936 in New York to theatrical parents, Valerie Allen attended Los Angeles City College before seeking a career in show business. She was discovered by a talent scout from Paramount while performing as a chorus girl in Las Vegas in 1955. However she was not given a screen test for two years. After a series of undistinguished parts, the studio let her contract lapse. During that time, she dated Earl Holliman and Jack Haley Jr. Allen met future husband Troy Donahue when she auditioned for his film Come Spy With Me (1967).

After marrying Troy Donahue in 1966, Allen did some theater with her husband, but her career never really took off. She did the pilot for a sitcom Medicine Man, with Ernie Kovacs and Buster Keaton. It was picked up for 13 episodes, but production was ceased when Kovacs died in an automobile accident.

In 1968, Allen divorced Donahue. Besides money, in the divorce settlement Donahue gave her his membership in The Factory, an exclusive Beverly Hills disco.

Allen was offered a job at RCA, and began a career as a writer. She wrote soap operas, and eventually became an RCA executive. She lived out the remainder of her life at the Motion Picture and Television Fund House in Woodland Hills, California and died in 2013 at the age of 77.

Take a look at these fabulous photos to see the beauty of young Valerie Allen in the 1950s and 1960s.