Darlanne Fluegel, a stunning model in the '70s who turned to acting, died December 15, 2017, after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease, her family confirmed on January 8, 2018.
Classic Laura Mars scene; the film's aesthetic was borrowed from Helmut Newton (1920-2004) (GIF via Columbia)
She was 64.
Fluegel, who passed away at her Orlando home, had been diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's 10 years prior to her death.
Many More Darlanne Fluegel Images HERE!
From 1974 until her retirement from the industry in 1981, Fluegel was an in-demand model, a profession that helped her segue into films when she accepted the role of happy-go-lucky model Lulu in the Faye Dunaway (b. 1941) thriller Eyes of Laura Mars (1978) — a scantily clad go-getter who winds up on the wrong end of an icepick wielded by a maniacal serial killer.
Lulu flirted even when being interrogated about a grisly murder (Image via Columbia)
Space cadet in Battle Beyond the Stars (Image via New World)
The role was dripping in '70s style, as was the movie, which is more fondly remembered for its audaciously chic fashions and then-au courant disco soundtrack than for its plot or acting.
With Sly Stallone (b. 1946) in 1989's Lock Up (Image via TriStar)
Fluegel went on to star in the low-budget Battle Beyond the Stars (1980) and the Fred Williamson (b. 1938)-directed The Last Fight (1983) before landing a series of solid roles in films and on TV that marked her flowering as a legit actress — Once Upon a Time in America (1984), To Live and Die in L.A. (1985), Running Scared (1986) and a gig as Kirk Douglas's (b. 1916) girlfriend in Tough Guys (1986).
Fluegel's first starring role was in the indie flick Freeway (1988). She was also a familiar face to TV fans as Julie Torello on Season 1 of Crime Story (1986-1987), as Officer Joanne Molenski on Hunter (1990-1991) and as Lacey on Wiseguy (1990).
The roles dried up for her by 1996. She made one more appearance, in the short No Worries (2008) before withdrawing from the business.
