Missing in Time

While writing my last post I got myself thinking of how frequently we find an actress in some old cheesy movie or TV series that immediately grabs our attention, fills a void we didn't know was there, and then simply disappears down the mad whirlwind of time never to be seen again.

Coraly Zahonero in THE MIRACLE OF ALICE AMES (1989)

Case in point: Coraly Zahonero, the French actress that so sensuously played Alice Ames, a young hooker suffering from stigmata while having sex, in the curious episode The Miracle of Alice Ames (1989) from the TV Series The Hitchiker (1983-1991). Young Coraly plays the title character with a mixture of innocence and pathos, clearly prefiguring the talent that would bestow on her the Prix Daniel Sorano in 1995 for her role in La Double Inconstance. Although she was never to be seen again in a horror or erotic role, we can see more of her in R.I.S, police scientifique (4 seasons, 2006-2009), and several other TV series and films (as well as several plays).

Joanna Pang in THE SECRET OF ISIS (1975-1976)

But what about Joanna Pang, the hotty teenager that played Cindy Lee on the children's TV Series The Secret of Isis between 1975-1976? With full pouty lips, doey eyes and a figure at fifteen capable of obfuscating the mini-skirted toga clad Isis (JoAnna Cameron), she must have been the wet dream of many a horny teen. Sadly she practically disappeared after the series was cancelled, being glimpsed in minor roles in only three more films between 1979 and 1984. Having played the role of an adventurous teen that frequently beat the boys at their own dares and capable of taking care of herself in some dangerous situations, she clearly deserved more and better work..

Andree Maranda in THE TOXIC AVENGER (1984)

And then we have Andree Maranda, who played the sultry blind girlfriend of the Toxic Avenger in the 1984 cheesy Troma classic of horror and laughs, never to be heard of again. And yet, she burned her place in our retinas in that movie, dig her hole in our hearts with her joyful interpretation of a dumb girl with a heart of gold, even when being bent over a table to be anally raped in one of the most inanely funny jokes of the film.

Three girls, three faces, three bodies that will live forever in our memories, preserved in eternal youth on the plastic museum of our video libraries. In a way, they gain a kind of immortality that even the great writers and historic figures lack: they live forever young, firing our dreams with unfulfilled promises.