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Acquanetta
Acquanetta standing in a leopard skin top
Acquanetta in costume for Tarzan and the Leopard Woman, 1946
Born Mildred Davenport
July 17, 1921 (1921-07-17) (age 102)
Newberry, South Carolina, U.S.
Died August 16, 2004(2004-08-16) (aged 83)
Ahwatukee, Arizona, U.S.
Occupation Actress
Years active 1942–1953
Spouse Luciano Bashuk (m. 1948; div. 1950)
Henry Clive (m. 1950; div. 1953)
Jack Ross
(m. c. 1955; div.)
Children 5

Acquanetta (born Mildred Davenport; July 17, 1921 – August 16, 2004),[lower-alpha 1] nicknamed "The Venezuelan Volcano", was an American B-movie actress during the 1940s and 1950s. Acquanetta was most known for her "exotic" beauty.

Early years[]

The facts of Acquanetta's origins are not known with certainty.[3][4] Although accounts differ (some giving her birth-name as Mildred Davenport, from Norristown, Pennsylvania),[3][5][6] Acquanetta claimed she was born Burnu Acquanetta, meaning "Burning Fire/Deep Water", in Ozone, Wyoming. Orphaned from her Arapaho parents when she was two (or three),[7] she lived briefly with another family before being taken in by an artistic couple with whom she remained until she made the choice to live independently at the age of fifteen.[4] Other accounts suggest she was a light-skinned African American who concealed her heritage due to the racial discrimination of the era;[8][9] her career was followed closely by the African American press. In 1942, Life magazine noted her mysterious origins, but reported that she had lived with a Spanish family in Spanish Harlem posing as a Venezuelan before moving to Mexico, then Venezuela to obtain citizenship. The article suggests that the Arapaho orphan story was invented because she was unable to produce any identification for the Screen Actors Guild.[7]

According to the 1940 US Census, she had five siblings, including a sister, Kathryn Davenport,[5][10] and a brother, Horace Davenport, who was, according to the Pennsylvania Bar Association, "the first African-American judge in Montgomery County."[5][11]

Film career[]

Acquanetta started her career as a model in New York City[3][6] with Harry Conover and John Robert Powers.[5] She signed with Universal Studios in 1942 and acted mostly in B-movies, including Arabian Nights, The Sword of Monte Cristo, Captive Wild Woman and Jungle Woman,[12] in which Universal attempted to create a female monster movie series with Acquanetta as a transformative ape. After her contract with Universal expired, Acquanetta signed on with Monogram Pictures but did not appear in any movies; she then signed with RKO where she acted in her only big-budget movie, Tarzan and the Leopard Woman.[5]

Personal life[]

In 1947, Acquanetta and "Mexican-Jewish millionaire" Luciano Baschuk had a son, Sergei (variously Sergio), who died of cancer in 1952 at age five,[13][14] after the couple's bitter divorce in 1950,[15] where she lost her suit for half his fortune when no record of their marriage could be produced.[5] In 1950, Acquanetta married painter and illustrator Henry Clive, who was 40 years her senior, and returned to acting.[5][6] The couple were divorced in 1953.[16] That year she retired from films and became a disk jockey for radio station KPOL (AM) in Los Angeles.[5]

By 1955 she had married Jack Ross,[17][18] a car dealer who later ran for governor of Arizona in 1970 and 1974. The couple settled in Mesa, Arizona,[19] and she returned to a degree of celebrity by appearing with Ross in his local television advertisements,[12] and also by hosting a local television show called Acqua's Corner that accompanied the Friday late-night movies.[5] The couple were prominent citizens, donating to the Phoenix Symphony and the construction of Mesa Lutheran Hospital and founding Stagebrush Theatre.[3] She and Ross had four sons together, Lance, Tom, Jack Jr. and Rex, before divorcing in the early 1980s.[19][20] In 1987, Acquanetta sold the Mesa Grande ruins to the city of Mesa.[3] An apocryphal Phoenix legend has Acquanetta, upon learning of her husband's infidelity, filling the interior of his Lincoln Continental convertible with concrete.[3][21]

Acquanetta wrote a book of poetry, published in 1974, titled The Audible Silence.[3][5][22] She did not smoke, and did not drink alcohol, tea, or coffee.[5]

Acquanetta succumbed to complications of Alzheimer's disease on August 16, 2004, at Hawthorn Court in Ahwatukee, Arizona. She was 83.[23] She is buried in Paradise Memorial Gardens in East Shea, Scottsdale, Arizona.[24]

In popular culture[]

In 1987, the all-female band The Aquanettas adopted (and adapted) their name from hers.

Acquanetta's obituary inspired the composer Michael Gordon to collaborate with librettist Deborah Artman on the opera Acquanetta (2005/2017). Produced by Beth Morrison Projects, the chamber version received its world premiere at the Prototype Festival in Brooklyn, New York, in January, 2018.

Opera[]

Acquanetta, based on her life,[25] premiered as a Grand Opera in 2006 in Aachen, Germany.[26] The chamber version of Acquanetta had its world premiere at the 2018 Prototype Festival,[27] followed by a subsequent run at Bard SummerScape in 2019.[28]

Filmography[]

Acquanetta filmography
Year Film Role Notes
1942 Arabian Nights Ishya (uncredited)
1943 Rhythm of the Islands Luani as Burnu Acquanetta
Captive Wild Woman Paula Dupree – the Gorilla Girl
1944 Jungle Woman Paula Dupree – the Gorilla Girl
Dead Man's Eyes Tanya Czoraki
1946 Tarzan and the Leopard Woman Lea, the High Priestess
1951 The Sword of Monte Cristo Felice
Lost Continent Native Girl
Callaway Went Thataway Native Girl with Smoky Uncredited
1953 Take the High Ground! Bar Girl Uncredited
1989 Grizzly Adams – The Legend Never Dies[29] Direct-to-video release

Notes[]

  1. Some sources, including Social Security records, give her year of birth as 1920.[1][2]

References[]

  1. "U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007". https://www.ancestry.com.au/inst/discoveries/PfRecord?emailId=N-b26a8013-1bc9-40f6-902c-7e54c01001f2&collectionId=60901&recordId=44399545&ahsht=2020-01-23T01:29:16&language=en-AU&ahsh=da3c9bf03a29a46e78280780e73460cc. 
  2. Wollstein, Hans J.. "Acquanetta: Biography" (in en-us). https://www.allmovie.com/artist/acquanetta-p211. 
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 "Acqua Blues". Phoenix New Times. September 2, 2004. http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/2004-09-02/culture/acqua-blues/. 
  4. 4.0 4.1 "Billed As Venezuela Beauty,' Indian Girl Hoaxed Filmdom". The Milwaukee Journal. July 20, 1942. https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=kzUdAAAAIBAJ&pg=3234,1835551&dq=acquanetta&hl=en. 
  5. 5.00 5.01 5.02 5.03 5.04 5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 5.09 5.10 Richard Beland (2009-10-15). "Jungle Frolics: Acquanetta". http://junglefrolics.blogspot.com/2009/10/acquanetta.html. 
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 "Hollywood Jungle Girl - The Actress Aquanetta". Jet Magazine. February 14, 1952. https://www.flickr.com/photos/vieilles_annonces/2577937872/lightbox/. 
  7. 7.0 7.1 Template:Cite magazine
  8. Freulich, Roman; Abramson, Joan (1971). Forty Years in Hollywood: Portraits of a Golden Age. New York: Castle Books. pp. 73-74. https://archive.org/details/fortyyearsinholl00freu. 
  9. Bojarksi, Richard (September 1971). "John Carradine, the Master Villain". For Monsters Only 1 (9): 52–53. https://archive.org/details/For_Monsters_Only_v01n09_1971-09_Major_D/page/n45. 
  10. Annonces, Vieilles. "Actress Acquanetta's Sister Marries in Tokyo - Jet Magazin…". Flickr. https://www.flickr.com/photos/vieilles_annonces/1217063237/. 
  11. "Horace Davenport, groundbreaking Montgomery County senior judge, dies at 98". The Pottstown Mercury. April 5, 2017. https://www.pottsmerc.com/news/horace-davenport-groundbreaking-montgomery-county-senior-judge-dies-at/article_95c904bf-4566-55c7-a229-9825aab84c70.html. 
  12. 12.0 12.1 "Acquanetta, Movie Actress". Beaver County Times. August 18, 2004. https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=EWgyAAAAIBAJ&pg=4390,4777538&dq=acquanetta&hl=en. 
  13. "California, County Birth and Death Records, 1800-1994". https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QG2Y-8K9K. 
  14. Annonces, Vieilles. "Actress Acquanetta to Collect $4,000 in Son's Death - Jet …". Flickr. https://www.flickr.com/photos/vieilles_annonces/3035163739/. 
  15. Annonces, Vieilles. "Actress Acquanetta Has Child - Jet Magazine Aug 5, 1954". Flickr. https://www.flickr.com/photos/vieilles_annonces/1298720031/. 
  16. "Actress is Sued by Insurance Company". Argus-Leader (South Dakota). March 15, 1953. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/38929758/acquanetta_wife_of_henry_clive_sued/. 
  17. "Acquanetta Wins Lawsuit Over Death of Her Son". Los Angeles Times: pp. 39. November 29, 1955. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/42709894/. 
  18. Stanley, John (April 7, 2013). "B-movie Star was A-list Arizonan". Arizona Republic: p. T2. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/42692939/. 
  19. 19.0 19.1 Cone Sexton, Connie (2013-02-15). "A Life Remembered: Jack Ross, iconic Arizona car dealer". The Arizona Republic. http://archive.azcentral.com/thingstodo/living/articles/20130215arizona-people-life-remembered-jack-ross.html. 
  20. "Acquanetta, Actress known as 'The Venezuelan Volcano'". The Independent. August 19, 2004. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/acquanetta-550306.html. 
  21. "Best of Phoenix 2014: Legend City / The Many Mysteries of Acquanetta (and Jack Ross)". Phoenix New Times. September 25, 2015. http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/2014-09-25/best-of-phoenix/legend-city-the-many-mysteries-of-acquanetta-and-jack-ross/full/. 
  22. Acquanetta; Illustrated by Emilie Touraine (1974). The Audible Silence. (1st ed.). Flagstaff: Northland Press. ISBN 9780873581196. 
  23. "Acquanetta, 83, A Star of B Movies". The New York Times. August 23, 2004. https://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/23/arts/acquanetta-83-a-star-of-b-movies.html. 
  24. Resting Places: The Burial Places of 14,000 Famous Persons, by Scott Wilson
  25. Brantley, Ben (14 July 2019). "Review: In 'Acquanetta,' a Cult Movie Star's Eyes to Die For". https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/14/theater/acquanetta-bard-summerscape-review.html. 
  26. "ACQUANETTA | Beth Morrison Projects" (in en). https://www.bethmorrisonprojects.org/acquanetta. 
  27. "Acquanetta". 9 January 2018. http://prototypefestival.org/shows/acquanetta/. 
  28. "Acquanetta at Bard College" (in en). https://fishercenter.bard.edu/events/acquanetta/. 
  29. Mank, Gregory William (2015). Women in Horror Films, 1940s (illustrated ed.). McFarland & Co. p. 218. ISBN 9781476609553. 

Further reading[]

  • Price, Michael H.; Wooley, John (3 September 2018). Fantasies in the Sand: Birth of the Beach Party Box-Office Bonanza. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. ISBN 978-1723281068.  — Features Acquanetta and her connection to the beach party films

External links[]

Th UniversalMonsters This page uses content from Wikipedia. The original article was at Acquanetta.
The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with Universal Monsters Wiki, the text of Wikipedia is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
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