Jennifer North Polar
"Jennifer North - a clothes-horse, a statuesque, amply-bosomed, stunning, flashy show-girl. She is so stunning that she needs no other talent to find international fame. So I dress her daringly. I tried to go the limit with her clothes and dressed her extravagantly. In one scene, we practically have to sew her into her gown."
Many believe the character was based on Marilyn Monroe, who had died less than five years earlier. In reality, Sussan combined several tragic blondes, including Monroe, Mansfield, and starlet Carol Landis.
Established actresses were leery of auditioning for Jennifer North's role, so it was an eclectic list of hopefuls that did. Names included Playboy model June Wilkinson, Andy Warhol film star Baby Jane Holzer, and two of Sussan's choices, Raquel Welch and Tina Louise. A Broadway actress, Louise was best known for playing Ginger Grant on Gilligan's Island. After three seasons, the network canceled the series, freeing up the actress for filming. However, Jackie says, "They [20th] tell me she's too old – imagine too old at 30." Sussan added, "That new girl, Raquel Welch, looks the part." but Earl Wilson revealed the Fox starlet missed out due to her wanting billing over Parkins and Duke.
Shortly before filming began, producers hired Sharon Tate, a former Texas beauty queen turned actress. Tate's resume consisted of various guest spots and bit roles on television in such shows as "The Beverly Hillbillies," "Mister Ed" and "The Man From U.N.C.L.E." Her film credits before Dolls included Eye of the Devil and The Fearless Vampire Killers.
The second sketch is the same outfit with a (barely seen) hat.
While most of his designs for the actress were luxurious and comfortable, the bejeweled and feathered headdress he designed was nicknamed by Tate "My ten-pound headache. The sequence took two days to shoot, with me walking around under that leaded glitter, nine steady hours. I'm surprised any of the stills they took of me turned out okay. I was emoting when they made them. I'm just feeling sorry for myself."
Similar in pose to Travilla's stewardess uniform sketches, possibly designed before Tate was signed for the role.
Two different coat designs for Tate's character not seen in the film.
A variation on the giraffe print jumper worn in the film.
Travilla gushed to Silver Screen Magazine, "Sharon Tate is divine, a real find. Just wait and see what happens when the critics and public see her in Valley of the Dolls. Sharon has everything Marilyn Monroe had and more. She has the fascinating, yet wholly feminine strength of a Dietrich or a Garbo….a classically beautiful face, an exciting figure, the kind of sex appeal and personality appeal to become as glittering a star as Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, Rita Hayworth, Lana Turner, Elizabeth Taylor."
According to Travilla's business partner Bill Sarris, she became quite close to the actress during filming, even giving her rides home from the studio. Tate repaid the favor when she appeared with Travilla at the Beverly Hilton and the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Ladies Guild benefit fashion show, which was the first public showing of costumes from the film. After Monroe, Tate was his favorite actress he had ever worked with. This sentiment showed when he told the press weeks after her tragic murder:
"I felt that way about Sharon Tate when I first saw her on the Valley of the Dolls set. She, too, had amazing beauty—a more classical beauty than Marilyn's—perfect beauty, a faultless, exciting figure, sex appeal, and with it the same defenseless childlike quality that Marilyn had. "A gentleness that made you want to protect and take care of her. And she could act, too. Mark Robson, the director, and I had tears in our eyes as we watched the rushes of one of her scenes. She was a hard worker. Yes -- Sharon could have been a big star."
One only needs to see her final scene to realize the talent Sharon had and indeed would have built upon had things not turned out the way they did. Seriously, get a copy of "VOD" and see how the camera loved Tate as it did Marilyn, and you'll understand Travilla's conclusion.
Tate plays around wearing two of Susan Hayward's costumes.
Miriam Polar
Played by actress Lee Grant, Miriam Polar was the agent/sister of Jennifer North's husband Tony. Watching out for her brother's career and money, Miriam spent very little on herself, knowing the future medical expenses of her brother's crippling disease she's managed to keep secret - for now. Travilla conveyed her frugal ways yet managed to keep her somewhat stylish in simple designs and muted earthtones. Grant brought a touch of sympathy to a woman almost as cold but not as successful as Helen Lawson.
No sketches of Miriam's wardrobe have ever appeared.
Her most memorable line is: "I'm gonna heat up the lasagna."
However, she had a huge fan in Sharon Tate, according to author Greg King. "She frequently commented on her admiration for Lee Grant, with whom she had played several dramatic scenes. Tate said, "I learned a great deal about acting in [Valley of the Dolls], particularly in my scenes with Lee Grant...She knows what acting is all about, and everything she does, from little mannerisms to delivering her lines, is pure professionalism."
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