Newt's John Wayne Site

Director Martin Scorese, in a review of El Dorado, wrote, "And there's a lovely performance by Charlene Holt, whom Hawks had also cast in two earlier pictures (she had an easygoing manner and a likably husky voice, and if she'd been born a couple of decades earlier, she probably would have been a big star)."

Holt, a former "Miss Maryland", nonetheless had enjoyed a rewarding modeling career prior to her work in films and on TV. She reportedly caught Howard Hawks' eye when the director saw her in a lipstick commercial. After her debut appearance in the Sandra Dee-Bobby Darin comedy, If a Man Answers (1962), Holt went on to appear in such films as Days of Wine and Roses (also 1962), Man's Favorite Sport? (1964), Red Line 7000 (1965), Zigzag (1970), and the TV movie Wonder Woman (1974). Her televisiion series appearances included guest roles on Hawaiian Eye (1962), The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (1963), Perry Mason (1965), It Takes A Thief (1968), and CHiPs (1980).

Following the filming of El Dorado in 1966, Holt married millionaire builder William A. Tishmen and the couple enjoyed traveling and collecting antiques and artwork for their lavish home in Trousday Estates, above Beverly Hills, California. Her last screen appearance before retiring was in 1980s Melvyn and Howard. You can view her filmography here, courtesy of IMDB.com.