Toni Seven Explained

Toni Seven
Birth Name:June Elizabeth Millarde
Birth Date:6 July 1922
Birth Place:New York City, New York, U.S.
Death Place:Gaithersburg, Maryland, U.S.
Spouse:Eric Stanley (m.1959)
Mother:June Caprice
Father:Harry F. Millarde

June Elizabeth Millarde (July 6, 1922 – May 21, 1991), better known as Toni Seven, was an American cover girl and actress.

Early life

Millarde was born in July 1922 in New York City, the only child of actress June Caprice and film director Harry F. Millarde. She was eight years old when her father died and fourteen when her mother died. She was latterly raised by her grandparents, the Peter Lawsons, in Long Island, New York. The June 17, 1949, issue of Time magazine reported she was the heiress to an estimated $3,000,000 fortune.

Actress

In the early 1940s, Seven appeared in minor roles in three films. Her screen debut came in Miss Seventeen, a production of Producers Releasing Corporation. With the advent of World War II, she was one of the many volunteers at the Hollywood Canteen.

She changed her name to Toni Seven in June 1944 so that she could sign her name Toni 7. Publicity man Russ Birdwell conceived the Seven name. Seven was accompanied to Los Angeles Superior Court by attorney Jerry Giesler, when she petitioned that her name be changed. Seven was tested for a contract by film producer Hunt Stromberg and received a large buildup in military service publications. In August 1944, Seven was receiving five hundred letters weekly from fans.

Model

Seven was part of the first pin-up exhibition ever held in the United States. She was joined by screen stars Jane Russell and Martha Tilton in an event which included life-size photos of the actresses. The show, which included autograph sessions and personal appearances, began on November 26, 1944. The locale was the Hollywood U.S.O. at 1531 North Cahuenga Boulevard, Los Angeles, California.

The Society of Photographic Illustrators voted Seven's legs the best among actresses' anatomical features, which when combined, would compose the perfect model. Actresses who were selected in the poll included Miriam Hopkins (lips), Paulette Goddard (bust), and Betty Grable (hips). The cameramen announced their choices in May 1946.

Theater

In 1946, Broadway producer W. Horace Schmidlapp planned a revival of Accent On Youth by Samson Raphaelson. The theatrical presentation was to feature Seven in a leading role. In 1947, Seven sold her Benedict Canyon home and moved to New York City.

Personal life

In January 1949, newspapers linked her romantically with U.S. Senator Warren G. Magnuson. The Washington senator was forty-three years old and described as the most eligible bachelor in the United States Capitol.[1] Seven was pursued in Paris, France, by Peruvian playboy Alfredo Carreo, in 1949. She reassumed the name June Millarde in 1959. That year she planned a June wedding to Eric Stanley of Washington, D.C.

Seven died on May 21, 1991, at the age of 68.[2] [3]

Sources

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Toni Seven brings luck to group at the races . Sarasota Herald-Tribune . June 12, 1950 . March 5, 2014.
  2. https://obscureactresses.wordpress.com/2016/07/25/toni-seven/ Those Obscure Objects of Desire: Toni Seven
  3. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/family-tree/person/tree/26467289/person/26008249802/story June Elizabeth Millarde Stanley - LifeStory