Jill Banner
| Jill Banner | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Mary Molumby November 8, 1946 Bremerton, Washington, U.S. |
| Died | August 7, 1982 (aged 35) North Hollywood, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1966–1972 |
Jill Banner (November 8, 1946 – August 7, 1982) was an American film actress, possibly best recalled for her role as Virginia, the "spider baby" in the 1964 cult horror-comedy film Spider Baby. She also had roles as James Coburn's flower child friend in The President's Analyst (1967), and a couple of hippie girls in Jack Webb's television series, Dragnet.
Banner was born Mary Molumby in Bremerton, Washington. After her father's death in 1949, Molumby and her mother lived in South Dakota and Iowa, near relatives, finally ending up in Glendale, California. She studied at the Hollywood Professional School, a K-12 school for working professional children run by Maurice and Bertha Mann, where classes typically ran from 8:45 AM to 12:45 PM, allowing the students the afternoon off to pursue various jobs or performing careers. The school assemblies, called "Aud. Calls", were early showcases for the talents of students aspiring to be dancers, singers, and actors. She graduated in 1964.
She made her film debut in Spider Baby with Sid Haig and Lon Chaney, Jr. Directed by Jack Hill (Coffy, Switchblade Sisters), the film was tied up in litigation from 1964 until 1968. Released under various titles, including Attack Of The Liver Eaters and Cannibal Orgy, Or The Maddest Story Ever Told, the four-year-old black and white feature quickly faded from view. Spider Baby became known largely through the efforts of Los Angeles cult film resurrectionist Johnny Legend. The film tells the story of the Merrye family, a clan of cannibals. While Spider Baby remained in legal limbo in the mid-1960s, Banner was featured in Deadlier Than The Male (1966), a British mystery about two female assassins. She played Wendy, a wholesome teenager, in C’mon, Let’s Live a Little (1967), one of the last of the "beach party" films.
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