Full Name Arlene Howell Name Arlene Howell Other names Eurlyne Howell Role Television actress | Spouse Paul LaCava | |
Born October 25, 1939 (age 84) Delhi, Louisiana, U.S. ( 1939-10-25 ) Title(s) Miss Louisiana USA 1958 | ||
Arlene Thotwell (born October 25, 1939) was an American television actress from northern Louisiana who had won the title of Miss USA of 1958. Winning the pageant gave her national recognition and acting opportunities.
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Early life and education
She was born Eurlyne Howell in 1939 on Turkey Creek, in Delhi, Louisiana. Actor Earl Holliman was also born in this town. She has two sisters. They attended local schools. Howell graduated from Bossier High School, class of 1957, in Bossier City, Louisiana. She studied speech and dramatics at Centenary College of Louisiana.
Beauty pageant and acting career
Howell entered the state level of the Miss USA beauty pageant, hoping to earn some money to support her work in an acting career. After winning Miss Louisiana USA, she became the first of three titleholders from the state to win the Miss USA crown, when she won the Miss USA Pageant in Long Beach, California, in July 1958. That same week, she competed in the Miss Universe Pageant and placed as third runner-up.
In 1959, shortly before her 20th birthday, Howell was cast as secretary Melody Lee Mercer in the ABC/Warner Brothers crime drama Bourbon Street Beat. The series is set in New Orleans. Studio publicity at the time emphasized Howell's Louisiana roots, but the program was produced in Los Angeles.
Howell also played Cindy/Ladybird in several episodes of Maverick. She was cast in episodes of 77 Sunset Strip, Bronco, Alcoa Premiere, and played "Flora" in a 1966 episode of Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C..