Celebrating Cult Actress Turned Filmmaker Monica Tidwell!
My “2021 Sex Kitten Countdown” has profiled many of my favorite Cult Movie Queens – some very well known, others less so – and this edition looks at the empowered career of Monica Tidwell!
Monica was born in Shreveport Louisiana in 1954. As with many of the Actresses of that era, her entry into entertainment came thanks to Playboy magazine!
Monica burst onto the scene as Playboy’s Playmate of the Month in November 1973, when she was 19 years old.
She made her film debut in this cult shocker:
It was Director James Glickenhaus’ first film “The Astrologer” A/K/A “The Suicide Cult” – check out the trailer:
Next up was a role in “Nocturna”:
“Nocturna” was called “the Xanadu of Vampire Movies” in an online review!
Nocturna, Dracula’s granddaughter, falls in love with a disco guitarist and follows him to the Big Apple, where she takes up residence with Drac’s ex. The Count and his lovelorn henchman soon follow to bring Nocturna home to Transylvania!
There are very few pics from these films, so enjoy more of Monica’s terrific Playboy pictorial!
She also had roles in “The Yum Yum Girls” and as newcomer Willem DaFoe’s girlfriend in “New York Nights’.
She starred in the title role of the film “Robin” in 1979, but after one more role 5 years later, she was out of the acting business.
It was the next phase of Monica’s career that took her behind the camera – both producing and directing!
Monica Tidwell was the primary producer of the Off- Broadway play “Mindgame” which was directed by the iconic Ken Russell.
Tidwell’s return to the screen came when she produced, directed and starred in the short film “Rawdon’s Roof”, which won several awards!
She followed it up with another short horror film:
Bravo to Tidwell for making a return to filmmaking with this short movies!
Monica is one of many iconic Playmates who went off to have empowered careers away from the camera:
Shelly Jamison was a Playmate – which cost her a job as a News Anchor! That’s OK, she ended up doing so much more!
Click here to see her story:
And this legendary Playmate became a Stunt Woman – for Chuck Norris!
tI’ve got the story of Karen Price – from Playmate to Sunt Woman!
Denise McConnell became a Private Eye!
Click here for her wild story:
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Categories: 70's Films, Artsploitation, Books / Media, Classic Horror, Exploitation Films, Grindhouse, JRsploitation, Nudity, sex kittens, Talent / Celebrites
JR-Sploitation! 
Unsurprisingly, I haven’t heard of any of those films. But well done to her for moving on to becoming a film-maker in her own right.
Best wishes, Pete.
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She’s the reason I do this countdown…to spotlight some of the lesser known cult movie stars who appeared in that wacky time of cinema…”Yum Yum Girls?” Imagine someone trying to make that today!
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