The long and short of it at this point is to say that Valerie Perrine has been retired since 2016 and has been dealing with the onset of Parkinson’s disease. A lot of people might recognize her from Superman and Superman 2 as Eve Teschmacher, the assistant and love interest of Lex Luthor. The seductive actress was at her best when on screen most times though she was nominated for Razzie at one point in her career, which isn’t something that most actors really want to hear. All the same though she has managed to be nominated for a good number of awards throughout her career and did win a few as well. She was actually the first woman to show a full image of her naked breasts on TV back in the 70s as well, though the coverage was pretty limited and it’s likely that a lot of people don’t remember to this day. It is a hope that those in the business recognize this however since people like Valerie are those that have paved the way for a great many things in movies and in TV that people are able to do now. While it’s true that a lot of things have changed since her day there are still plenty of things that those enjoying their career in the spotlight can be thankful for that is due to actors that are now retired, long gone, or are still somehow connected to the business.
Jill Di Donato of Vice actually states that Valerie was underrated for her time and might even be so today since it does feel as though asking about her using her given name might create a lot of strange looks that indicate that people don’t know her by name. Mentioning her work in Superman 1 and 2 however might create a bit more understanding since a lot of people tend to go by movies and accomplishments instead of remembering a person for who they were. True fans of Valerie’s can no doubt list her many accomplishments, but most others would have to be reminded that she even existed. That’s how show business tends to move at times, remembering those that were larger than life and could pull in the number of fans that made it impossible to forget them, or leaving those that didn’t tend to draw in as much attention to be slowly but surely forgotten as time goes on. Thankfully Valerie lands somewhere in the middle since she did plenty to be remembered for, but not quite enough to be counted among the many legends that she helped to elevate in her time. Show business is cruel kind of mistress at times as it builds some people up and allows others to fall by the wayside.
Funnily enough it’s her body and her looks that managed to get her an audition and then launched her fame since after leaving school due to the tedious nature of it she became a Las Vegas showgirl, a profession that allowed her to put her best attributes forward and eventually got her noticed in a way that would begin the career that she would become known for. Valerie has never been a brainless showgirl that could barely add two and two and make four, but she has been known for her seductive and sultry body for much of her career until age began to wear on her a bit and things started to turn around in a way that was only natural. For a while she was considered the ‘thinking man’s sex symbol’, which could be taken in a few different ways if we’re being fair. All in all Valerie’s career had a lot to do with her looks for a good long while, and anyone saying otherwise needs only to look at her biography to realize that she was thankfully comfortable in exposing herself in such a way so long as she wasn’t fully nude. Valerie has been described as being sexually free and very laid back in a time when the idea of showing anything sexual on TV and even in movies was still a risky proposition at times. One thing it would appear she never had a problem with was being shy when it came to being topless, as it sounds as though she had a great time with her career and made the most of it.
As of now a lot of people might not know who Valerie Perrine is but it’s a hope that her career won’t be forgotten and that she’ll be considered to be one of the more memorable individuals that people will continue to remember given that she was someone that had a very different outlook on show business when she arrived. Hopefully she won’t be known just for her comfort with nudity, but also for her ability to shine in a way that a lot of people aspire to.
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