Louise made her film debut in 1958 in God's Little Acre. In 1957, she appeared on Broadway in the musical Li'l Abner. Her acting debut came in 1952 in the Bette Davis musical revue Two's Company, followed by roles in other Broadway productions such as John Murray Anderson's Almanac, The Fifth Season, and Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? She appeared in the live television dramas Studio One, Producers' Showcase, and Appointment with Adventure.
#Tina louise model series#
Louise with Gene Barry from the television series Burke's Law (1964) Her pictorials for Playboy in May 1958 and April 1959 were arranged by Columbia Pictures studio in an effort to promote her. She was offered modeling jobs, including the 1958 Frederick's of Hollywood catalog, and she appeared on the cover of several pinup magazines such as Adam, Sir! and Modern Man.
She began studying acting, singing, and dancing at age 17 under Sanford Meisner at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre in Manhattan. Louise got her first role at age two after being in an ad for her father's candy store. She attended Miami University in Ohio after high school. The name Louise was allegedly added during her senior year in high school when she mentioned to her drama teacher that she was the only girl in the class without a middle name, and he suggested it. Tina's father Joseph Blacker was a candy store owner in Brooklyn and later an accountant. She was an only child and was raised by her mother Sylvia Horn (née Myers) Blacker (1916-2011), a fashion model. By the time she was four years old, her parents had divorced. Louise was born Tina Blacker in a Jewish family in New York City.