Hollywood Collectors Show, 2005

Above, Noel Neill with a fan who brought his poster for her to sign. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

While going through my photo collection, I came across a set I took at the February 19, 2005 Hollywood Collectors Show that was held at the Burbank Marriott Hotel and Convention Center.

I was mainly hanging with Noel Neill, the "original Lois Lane" and her manager Larry Ward at the show, but I did manage to wander around and took a few photos. I scanned them for posting.

I have more photos I took at the show, but I am unsure whose photos I took. One looks like actress Karen Black, but since I was unsure, I'm not posting it.

Here some I was able to identify:

Above, House Peters Jr., the original "Mr. Clean". Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, Jerry Maren. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, Marilyn Chambers, the "Ivory Snow" mom. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, Tommy Bond, the original screen Jimmy Olsen. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

It was a fun time at the show. Carl Glass was also there. It is interesting to note that since this 2005 show, all these celebrities have since passed away.

Marilyn Chambers Found Dead At 56

Former porn star Marilyn Chambers, who later became a mainstream actress, was found dead at her Canyon Country home, the Los Angeles Times is reporting:

Marilyn Chambers, a former Ivory Snow detergent model who became a porn star, died Sunday at her Canyon Country home. She was 56.

Chambers, whose real name is Marilyn Ann Taylor, was found unresponsive at 8:51 p.m. at her residence it the 16000 block of Vasquez Canyon, said Los Angeles County coroner's spokesman Ed Winter. The cause of death is under investigation but foul play was not suspected and an autopsy is pending.

Chambers became a pop culture phenomenon when she gave up work as a model advertising Ivory Snow laundry detergent to star in the X-rated "Behind the Green Door" in 1972.

The movie also sparked a buying frenzy on boxes of Ivory Snow soap, then graced by Chambers' angelically complexioned face.

I met Chambers a few years ago while attending a Hollywood collectors show (I was there with other Adventures of Superman fan Carl Glass at actress Noel Neill's table) in Burbank while wandering around the show's celebrity tables. I obtained the above autographed picture of Chambers' famous Ivory Snow box to the amusement of Neill's biographer Larry Ward.

Chambers was very friendly to the attendees and had a good sense of humor about her career.

Above, Marilyn Chambers at the Hollywood Collectors Show in Burbank, California, February 2005.  

Chambers' first mainstream movie, "Rabid," has become a cult movie favorite. IMDB's website says this about the movie: "A young woman develops a taste for human blood after undergoing experimental plastic surgery, and her victims turn into rabid, blood-thirsty zombies who proceed to infect others, which turns into a city-wide epidemic." The final scene of the movie was a stunner.

UPDATE (4/15/09):

The Associated Press is reporting:

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A Los Angeles County coroner official says an autopsy has failed to determine the cause of death for adult film star Marilyn Chambers.

Los Angeles County coroner's Assistant Chief Ed Winter said Tuesday that 56-year-old Chambers probably died of natural causes, but additional testing will be required.