Full-figured, hard-edged leading lady of the late 1950s and early 60s who, next to Jayne Mansfield, was one of the best known of the Marilyn Monroe imitators to emerge at that time. Van Doren, however, was not cast primarily in comedies like the more successful Mansfield; instead, she primarily appeared in schlocky "B" melodramas like "Guns, Girls, and Gangsters" (1958), "The Beat Generation" (1959), and "The Navy vs. the Night Monsters" (1966) and exploitation films like "High School Confidential" (1958), "Sex Kittens Go the College" (1960). Van Doren's minor cult status was acknowledged in
Played a small role in the Howard Hughes-Joseph von Sternberg debacle, "Jet Pilot", starring John Wayne and Janet Leigh; film was not released until 1957
1951
Initial film released, "His Kind of Woman"; billed as Joan Olander
1955
Played first female lead in a film, "Running Wild"
1956
First worked with producer (and sometime director) Albert Zugsmith, "Star in the Dust"
1960
Played Maybelle Perkins on the CBS comedy special (and series pilot), "Meet the Girls: The Shape, The Face and the Brain"
