Deadly Beauty: Horror’s Scream Queens and Rising Talent: Dee Wallace

Deadly Beauty: Horror’s Scream Queens and Rising Talent: Dee Wallace

“This attractive, happy go lucky blonde actress, educated at the University of Kansas and a former ballet soloist, first broke into both TV and cinema screens in the mid 1970s and through her appearances in several well remembered horror and sci-fi films, and Dee quickly gained a cult following amongst the fantasy film fans. Poor Dee always seemed to be on the wrong side of some malevolent person or evil creature….she was pursued by a clan of cannibal killers in The Hills Have Eyes (1977), terrorized by a pack of werewolves in the superb The Howling (1981), got a break from the horror, as a sympathetic mum in the mega sci-fi hit E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), and nearly ends up lunch for a rabid St. Bernard in the heart stopping Cujo (1983).

In the early 1980s, Wallace-Stone actually shared the screen several times with her then husband Christopher Stone before his unfortunate, early demise from a heart attack in October, 1995.

However, typecasting Dee Wallace-Stone as a horror heroine does not do her justice, as unlike some other scream queens whose careers quickly faded, Dee has gone on to have a very busy and varied acting career, appearing in over 90 feature films to date! Her All-American looks and easy going demeanor has seen Dee often cast as a typical suburban mother, a sympathetic friend or a trusted ally. Fans warm to her endearing smile and natural warmth and Dee continues to find herself in constant demand in front of the camera, plus she has her own much visited website.”

Location: Originally from Kansas City, Kansas

1. How did you get into the industry?

I got into the business by being born!!Really, I am sure I was performing in the womb (as I KNOW my daughter, Gabrielle Stone, was!). I think you just are called, or you aren’t. I modeled in Kansas City to help support my family, who was incredibly poor. My mom traded secretarial work so I could have ballet lessons and acting lessons. I actually did all the press with Walt Disney in the Midwest when I was younger.

I have always had an urge to share the truth, whether it was acting, writing, dance or my present healing work. It is my passion. So I left Kansas City at the ripe age of 27 and went to New York for two years. I did a lot of industrial shows and studied with Uta Hagen. Two years later I traveled cross country singing ” tie a yellow ribbon round an Oldsmobile” and landed in Los Angeles. I never went back. I baked cookies to get in to see casting directors, and landed a small part in Lucas Tanner. Then a friend got me a small part on Streets of San Francisco because someone else dropped out. I found my mentor, Charles Conrad, and felt like I discovered the secret of truthful acting. The rest, as they say, is history.

2. What Scream Queen inspired you most?

I wasn’t inspired by Scream Queens. Solid, dynamic actresses like Joanne Woodward and Katherine Hepburn spoke the truth in the work that inspired me.

3. What are the next couple projects you are working on?

I am presently preparing for a film called Elephant’s Graveyard with writer/director Harrison Smith. It is a story of how a town literally stops living because of the fear of what might be coming in the future: a metaphor for our times. I am excited. It stars Gabrielle, Billy Zane, and Mischa Barton.