Tura Satana

Tura Satana, Cult Actress, Is Dead

Tura Satana, the actress whose authoritative presence, exotic looks and buxom frame commanded the attention of viewers of Russ Meyer’s 1965 cult movie “Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!”, died on Friday evening in Reno, Nev.

The death was announced by her longtime manager, Siouxzan Perry, who said the cause of death was believed to be heart failure. Ms. Perry said Ms. Satana was 72 when she died, though other sources listed her birth year as 1935.

Born Tura Luna Pascual Yamaguchi in Hokkaido, Japan, to a father of Japanese and Filipino descent and a mother who was Cheyenne Indian and Scots-Irish, Ms. Satana spent part of her childhood in the Manzanar internment camp near Independence, Calif., before her family settled in Chicago.Her Asian background and looks and the fact that she developed early led to frequent harassment and assaults, and she led an itinerant lifestyle, working as an exotic dancer and nude model. She even posed for erotic photographs taken by Harold Lloyd, the former silent comedian, who suggested she pursue an acting career. ( Read Tura Satana more... )

Remembering Tura Satana of Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! 5 Fascinating Things About Her

Tura Satana has a unique place in film history. She starred in one of the biggest cult films of all time, Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! Her natural, shall we say, assets were a perfect match for Russ Meyer’s infamous girl gang saga. And this week we lost the woman who breathed life into the vixen Varla in the film. But Tura Satana wasn’t just a bodacious B-list actress and model who also had roles in Irma la Douce, Our Man Flint and The Astro-Zombies . She led a dramatic and extremely fascinating life. Here are 5 facts about the late Tura Satana.

She was an exotic beauty thanks to her actor father who was of Japanese/Filipino decent and her mother who was American Indian (Cheyenne) and Scottish-Irish. ( Read Tura Satana more... )

The 27 Underground Filmmakers of “Dark Stars Rising”

Shade Rupe loves underground film. He’s spent several decades supporting it as a publicist, acquisitions agent and producer, but he found his greatest expression of fandom in the art of the interview.

His new book, “Dark Stars Rising: Conversations From the Outer Realm,” contains 27 casual conversations with established directors and actors from several generations of transgressive cinema. Beginning with a conversation between the teenage Rupe and Divine, the compilation includes elder veterans of the craft such as Alejandro Jodorowsky and more recent cult directors like Crispin Glover and Gaspar Noé. Rupe spoke with indieWIRE about the inspiration behind the book and the counterculture that made it possible. ( Read Tura Satana more... )

Ha muerto Tura Satana, la Varla de 'Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!'

A las 5:00 de la tarde del pasado viernes día 4 de febrero de 2011, moría Tura Luna Pascual Yamaguchi, más conocida como Tura Satana, en la ciudad norteamericana de Reno, Nevada. La actriz, que encarnó el personaje de Varla en la película "Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!" dirigida por Russ Meyer en 1965, contaba con 76 años de edad, aunque las causas de su muerte no se han hecho públicas. ( Read Tura Satana more... )

R.I.P. Tura Satana

There are many tributes out there right now, but I want to direct you to this piece Kimberly Lindbergs wrote about her back in 2007. It is a fantastic tribute to this icon, beloved by so many. Tura Satana. This was a gorgeous woman with real hard-life experience, events that would sink even the strongest of us (growing up in a Japanese-American internment camp, raped at the age of 9, reform school as a teen, gang life, etc.) and she had great natural talent as an actress. She is unforgettable. ( Read Tura Satana more... )

Movie/Pop Culture Icon Tura Satana: A Fast Pussycat Takes her Final Bow

Some of you are scratching your heads and going, “WHO?” but the rest of us are mourning the death of iconic actress Tura Satana, best known for her starring role in the Russ Meyer cult classic film, Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill! Ms Satana was a model and exotic dancer who was hand picked by Meyer to star as Varla, a tough, karate chopping, vengeance seeking, leather clad leader of an all-girl gang.

The 1965 film was beloved by exploitation film buffs around the world and was championed by John Waters and obviously very influential on the career of Quentin Tarantino. “Pussycat” was the high water mark of Ms Satana’s film career, appearing in only a handful of similar low budget films in the years following its release. ( Read Tura Satana more... )

Rest in Peace: Tura Satana

Sad news to report today. Another genre icon is no longer with us. One who helped pave the way in film for strong female characters thus inspiring women everywhere. It's with a really heavy heart that we report that the great and always sexy Tura Satana is no longer with us.

Details are extremely slim at the moment and we will update once we have more, but according to Macabre Marilyn's Some Like it Haute Blog the legendary Tura Satana passed away yesterday at 5:00pm PST in Reno Nevada. She was 76.

Best known for her role as Varla in Russ Meyer's Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!, a part she lent her voice to to recreate recently in Rob Zombie's The Haunted World of El Superbeasto, Tura truly left her mark in the industry and we've no doubt it will be there as long as film endures. ( Read Tura Satana more... )

RIP Tura Satana

As I type this there doesn't seem to be any official confirmation that Tura Satana has died and usually I like to wait on these things until it is made official but.. With someone like this the idea that someone would say that she passed away as a joke would be too cruel.

I had met Tura at a Cinema Wasteland convention in which several of the stars from Russ Meyer's Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill! At the time she was very lively and upbeat and glad to meet all her fans. This of course was a couple years ago so I am not sure what her health conditions could have been. Apparently no one else does either since the only news of her death is that she passed away yesterday at 5:00pm PST in Reno Nevada. She was 76. ( Read Tura Satana more... )

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