Mamie was born February 6, 1933 in Rowena.  She was big in Hollywood in the late 1940s through the 1960s.  She now lives in the Los Angeles area and is married and leading a very busy and healthy life.  She has lead her life they way she wanted to--a true South Dakota attribute!

This is a story of the American Dream, lived large.  Check out here awesome website at http://www.mamievandoren.com.  Click here to read Mamie's filmography from imdb.com: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0886638/

Todd: Miss Van Doren, why do you think so many talented and beautiful women from the Dakotas make it in Hollywood ?

Mamie: In some ways, South Dakota is the least possible place you'd expect. There are many strong women from here.

Todd: Who else from South Dakota have you run into in Hollywood during your career?

Mamie: You know Catherine Bach from the Dukes of Hazard? I , ran into her in the ladies room at the height of the TV show. She said," You're from my home state!" She's one of the first ones I ran into. Very sweet and very pretty and very friendly. That's hard to find in the movie business.
Catherine Bach.

Todd: How long did you and Ms Bach visit?

Mamie: (Laughs) We had one thing on our minds! We were waiting in line and it was a small bathroom. I believe we were at a Comedy Central, Billy Crystal was there, sometime in the 1980s.

Todd: Anyone else?

Mamie:
Angie Dickinson.Angie Dickinson. I did a Dick Powell show with her. We became good friends. She was cool. Always a trend setter in those days, about 1968. We've met at parties since then. She called and asked me how I keep my hair so light and yet it didn't break. This was after the (Dick Powell" show. I told her my formula and what I did. Her hair was more of a naughty brown. I was a little platinium blonde in high school. My dad, when he saw the TV show with Peg Bundy (Married With Children) he said I reminded him of Kelly, the daughter (Christina Applegate).

Todd: I understand you were also good friends with another person from our area--Johnny Carson from Norfolk, Nebraska. My mom's older sisters from Tilden knew him. They said he was quite the cut up even back then.

Mamie: Carson --he was a showoff. He loved to look at himself in the mirror. Probably even more so in his older days.
Johnny Carson.

He asked me to come on the show (The Tonight Show). I had done the show with the some other guest host. I was working in my night club act at the time (1960s). I had just come back from South America . My manager called, "Can you get to New York ?"

During a commercial break, Johnny asked me to date him.

I find Midwestern men more exciting than East Coast or West Coast men. The men are men. What you see is what you get.

Todd: Was Carson narcissistic?

Mamie: He had to be to do that every night. Be he was humble at the right time. He was responsible for many careers. He left quite a legacy.

He talked about his roots with me. He didn't have it as bad as I did. The Depression hit my family very hard. With a background like that, you appreciate it more. In California , they didn't realize what it was like, to be cold at night.

That's what pulled me through so much, managed to pull myself out. Good strong roots.

We discussed that he came from Nebraska, what it was like. After dinner, he'd always chug a lug a beer, that's kind of a South Dakota thing. (Laughs).

Todd: What do you remember about growing up in Rowena, SD ?

Mamie: I left at 8 from Rowena. I remember everything.

My grandmother raised me in Rowena. My father moved on to Sioux City. He was a mechanic. It was very, very hard being on the farm. I grew up on the farm. Milked cows with my little hands. Raised chickens. I'd go to Sioux Falls and get baby chickens and raise them.

I won't even eat a chicken now. They have feelings. My uncle worked at John Morrells. We had no running water, no electricity.

Mamie goes on to explain her family tree from the Rowena area:

Warner Carl Olander--dad.

Lucille Bennett (LuLu)--mom.

Cliff Bennett-uncle

Dad's parents homesteaded the farm. The Beaver Valley Church, they built that.

Gene Olander--grandpa

Claire Olander--grandma

I have a cousin in the area, Jean Shirley Nordstrom. I have a second cousin Roger Nordstrom in Sioux Falls , I believe he's in the funeral business.

I don't really see them. When I was there a while back, we made a pig dinner, we ate with our hands, very Swedish.

Todd: What do you recall about Sioux Falls ?

Mamie: Sometimes when I went to Sioux Falls , my grandmother would drop me off at the theatre and they would take care of me. I wanted be a movie star so bad at age 6-7-8 . I'd go to the Hollywood Theatre.

I liked Carole Lombard and Clark Gable.
Clark Gable and Carole Lombard.

The drive to Sioux Falls from Rowena made me tough. It would take us a half hour from Rowena to Sioux Falls to go nine miles. We could only drive 20 miles per hour on a dirt road. My great uncle would walk there and go to a pool hall. We had a very large car you could stand up in. Started it with a crank and I had to turn the key. I remember all that.

The car was a bright blue. It must have been from the 20s. We also had a horse and buggy we put in the barn. When we went to church, we'd get in the buggy with fringe on top, put on our best clothes. My father's side was Lutheran and I was baptized a Lutheran. My mom was Methodist. I loved the Methodist hymns.

Both mom and dad went to Sioux City . They went through all the hard times. They married at 16-17.

Todd: When were you first in plays, acting?

Mamie: I was in church plays. I was always the angel. I would sing gospel songs. I loved singing them.

We lived three years in Sioux City in a nice neighborhood. Dad was doing rather well. Finally I got to flush the stool. (Laughs)

I also went to Rowena school. I started when I was four. I was so smart, they put me first grade. (Laughs) By the time I got to high school I was 13.

Mamie at some age less than 21.I grew breasts when I was in school. I was tiny but they were quite noticeable. I was popular with the boys. I had trouble with the girls. I matured physically at an early age but not mentally. I was child like. But I wasn't a porcelain doll because of the environment I grew up in. There was something about me that was different and I didn't know what it was. I had more physical attributes. However, I never relied on my looks. My husband says I have magic when I go into a room. He says it's like a light around me.

I never had trouble getting attention. I did declamatory contests. I did "Mama." I won in Valley Spring and in Sioux City . I won these little crystal vases and I still have them. Despite traveling all over the world, I still have them. At a Garretson contest, I got second. I sort of froze; I had never seen such a large stage. I was six years old.

During WWII, my folks moved to Los Angles in 1942. We were planning on returning (to the Midwest) after the war. We all fell in love with the weather. We had more money than we ever had.
Mamie's mom and dad, Lucille (LuLu) and Warner Olander with "Jete," in California.

We didn't have much money to get out there. I had to sell my bike even. We took the bus, mom and I, to Omaha. We caught the train from Omaha. We had just enough money to eat on. I'd sit there and watch all these troop trains go by. It was sad to see all those men go off to war.

We were 1-2 days late getting there. We'd get put on a siding for troop trains. We ran out of money. A black porter got us food, Cokes.

We lived in a house on Harvard Avenue in Los Angeles . I had good times there. We then bought a home in the valley.
Mamie and Lucille at the house on Harvard in Los Angeles.

Todd: When you were still quite young, you met and dated Howard Hughes. What was that like?

Mamie: I was 15 when I met Howard Hughes. He'd be a pedophile today. (Laughs) He was growing a beard to cover his wounds from his plane accident. He had a nice body, was very sweet to me, and was very Southern. He had a good sense of humor. He put me in 4-5 movies. He loved it from the waist up. He was a fanatic about breasts. We didn't know that at the time.

From South Dakota to Howard Hughes, look at how my life changed!
Howard Hughes.

Mamie as Ms Palm Springs winner.I was in a beauty pageant at Palm Springs . I won the contest, he was in the audience, and I didn't know it at the time. He owned RKO.

I went back to high school after the movies and I couldn't stand it. I started taking drama lessons. All I had were guys trying to bang me in high school. I was making enough money to buy a new MG.

He (Hughes) was quite strange. He was spoiled. He wanted to do what he wanted. If said you won't do that, he said, "I won't see you anymore." He was good in his way.

I thought Leonardo DiCaprio was good in The Aviator. He should have gotten the (Academy) award. He was so marvelous. He (Hughes) never had a romance with Hepburn. I don't think he bedded her. Katherine was a strong woman, they added all that. He dated Ava Gardner. His big love affair was (actress) Faith Domergue.

Todd: I understand you dated James Dean?

Mamie: I had a mind of my own. I was a maverick. I went out with guys. I wasn't into actors; I thought you could find the original item. Acting to me is kind of pussy.

James Dean. I was impressed, but at the time he wasn't a big name. He was different. I went on a motorcycle ride with him. He never called me back. We did a little necking on Molholland Drive. There were no houses up there back then.
James Dean.

My favorite was kissing Clark Gable in Teacher's Pet. They had to take it out. Maybe it was because he was in his 50s and I was in my 20s.

Todd: Do you have any other projects in the works?

Mamie: I want to thank the Internet for letting people know I'm here. It's very rewarding. I have fans all over the world.

It's so exuberant, that people out there that you've affected their life. Plus, I can write anything I want on it. I can write the f word. It is freedom of expression. I've prayed for that since I've been in the business.

Todd: How do you look so great?

Mamie: When I was younger, 70 felt forever. I feel like I'm in my 30s or 40s. I don't even think about it. The people who bring it up have a fear of age, a fear of growing old. I'm trying to break this whole fear thing of getting old. It isn't so bad. It's (old age is) beautiful. Take all your experiences and making good use of them. I was born in 1933. Every day is a new day. Some people want to make me older.
Mamie today.

The main thing is health. That is what makes you look good.

I have a 50 year old son (Perry), people think he's my date when I go to the Playboy mansion. I'm going there for Mardi Gras. I have carte blanche to use the mansion. I've posed for Playboy.

Todd: Anything else you remember from South Dakota ?

Mamie: I used to go to McKennan Park. It had a two foot deep swimming pool. I wanted one I could dive into. (Laughs)
McKennan Park.

I used to swim in the Big Sioux River, fished near Brandon . There were so many trees.

Todd: What advice do you have for young women from the Dakotas who want to make it in Hollywood today?

Mamie: It's a different era, a different time. I came from the 20th century. If I did it today, I'd do what I want to do. You'll kick yourself if you don't. Have a goal. Can't let obstacles get in the way--love affairs, guys. You can always have men when you're 100 years old and you have money. They're a dime a dozen. You can have an affair but don't fall in love. My heart never ruled my head. That came from the roots I had.

I'm looking forward to the future more than the past!

Photos of Mamie used with her permission.