Connie Stevens

Connie Stevens, an American actress and traditional pop singer, was born in Brooklyn and moved with her father to Los Angeles in 1953. She started her career a few years later, first appearing on screen in Young and Dangerous in 1957. She put out a debut album, Concetta, in 1958, then landed a supporting part in the Jerry Lewis musical comedy Rock-a-Bye Baby, which opened doors for her. Her fame grew with the role of Cricket Blake on Hawaiian Eye, a detective series that ran from 1959 to 1963. Around that time her song Sixteen Reasons became a radio favorite, reaching number three on the Billboard Hot 100 and number nine in the UK. She went on to appear in many films and television shows, including Love Is All There Is (1996) and Tapeheads (1988), and in 2009 she directed, wrote, and produced the feature Saving Grace B. Jones.