Catherine Bach’s Road To Pop Culture Stardom!
My look at some of Hollywood’s most iconic stars continues with the career of Actress Catherine Bach, who turned a movie career into one of pop culture’s most enduring legends!
Catherine Bach began with small roles in a number of mainstream films in the mid-70’s like “Thunderbolt And Lightfoot” with Clint Eastwood and “Hustle” with Burt Reynolds. She was appearing in TV and films, building a fan base and a nice resume of credits.
Then, a leading role in a 1978 movie helped change her life forever…
“Crazed!” AKA “Nicole”
Bach played a young woman being manipulated by “Nicole”, an isolated widow who lives alone in her mansion. Nicole uses her body and fortune to manipulate everyone around her.
As one online review said:
“Catherine Bach gets topless, if that appeals you to the movie the this is one for you.”
Yes, Troma’s home video release spells it out for you!
That’s right: “Crazed” will forever be known as the film where Catherine Bach has a nude scene!
“Crazed!” wasn’t widely released in theaters, but the home video market was another matter, as Troma made sure everyone knew what the film’s biggest selling point was!
Creating The Iconic Daisy Duke!
One year later, Catherine go to an audition that turned her into a pop culture icon!
It all started when Bach auditioned for a leading role in a new TV show called “The Dukes of Hazzard”.
Although the Producers were apparently looking for a Dolly Parton look-a-like, she was hired on the spot.
According to wikipedia, Catherine’s thoughts on her character’s wardrobe made TV history:
Here’s what happened:
“One of the earliest costume ideas from the producers was that she wear a tight white turtleneck, go-go boots and a poodle skirt, but Bach asked if she could bring her own outfit, which was a homemade T-shirt, a pair of cut-off denim shorts and high heels. Bach had concerns about the appropriateness of the cut-off shorts at first, saying she could not wear them in a restaurant scene. When prompted by the producers to visit a restaurant across the street, Bach found the waitresses were wearing ‘little miniskirts that matched the tablecloths!'”
The rest was history…the show was a smash hit, and Bach’s Daisy Duke poster sold 5 million copies!
Another interesting piece of trivia: while she was starring on her show, her legs were insured for $1,000,000!
Bach continued to act in film and TV, and in 2012 she joined the cast of the CBS soap opera “The Young and the Restless.”
Catherine’s story reminded me of the story I posted the story of Judy Matheson, anther Cult Movie Queen who crossed over to an extensive TV career as well:
Matheson was in some terrific horror films and TV shows as well…see her story here:
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Bravo to Catherine Bach for a great career!
Categories: 70's Films, Cult Classics, Exploitation Films, JRsploitation, Nudity, sex kittens, Talent / Celebrites, Uncategorized
JR-Sploitation! 
I remember Daisy Dike, but that was all I knew about her. The film with Leslie Caron looks like a great cult film, John.
Best wishes, Pete.
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By the way, I just checked Amazon for the DVD, and it’s not available in the UK. It is sold on Ebay, but the price of $125 is crazy!
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OH NO! Not worth a tenth of that!
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Apparently the one-line review I shared is the best ting about the film, Pete…her topless is the film’s highlight!
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I can imagine that. 🙂
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By the way, Daisy Dike was a typo!
The U is next to the I. 🙂
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It’s actually kind of funny!
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Daisy Duke sure put plenty of ideas into my head as a teenager! 😉
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What an iconic role!
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