As another Lame Cherry exclusive in matter anti matter.
I love opening credits as I believe they are as creative as entire movies or dramas. I do have lists of my favorites and Mission Impossible is one of the best, long with Tour of Duty, the first season, with Magnum PI thrown in, and the original Rockford Files.
In Rockford Files they flash in the end series a group of stills, and one is a woman laying on the beach, which is akin to the risque opening of Mannix where the above photo is of a very leggy woman in a tennis outfit. I decided to try and discover who this woman was, as once people see the opening credits they always wonder who she is.
In Mannix the opening sequences are from the first season, and that is where this woman is supposed to be, and actually was, but apparently was uncredited, a stock actress and I believe ended up on the cutting room floor and never made it into the series.
Fascinating in that.
People speculated it was actually one of two women who appeared on Star Trek. One was Barbara Anderson who portrayed a theater actress whose father Kirk believed was Kotos the executioner.
The other was the gorgeous Susan Oliver who appeared in the pilot and is the infamous blue skinned slave dancer which appear in the closing credits, fixed forever in Trekkers minds.
Who the woman is though is a German born American actress named Thordis Brandt.
This is what the explanation was:
I have a theory that I think holds water.
The blonde is an uncredited extra who never played a significant part on Mannix.
Having been a student intern on Quinn Martin TV shows, I know that series production companies pretty much used stock companies of extras (bit players / background players / atmosphere, etc) who were around the set frequently or all the time; often, "wild" footage would be picked up for unknown potential use, just in case.
I came across a Mannix fan site where the name THORDIS BRANDT came up on the same subject of the title dancer, but not followed through on. [monsterkidclass.horrorforum.yuku.com], and that's who I think it is. She appeared in an uncredited part in Mannix, season 2 ("Pressure Point") as Miss Hampstead.
It is amusing and yet puzzling how someone who was known by everyone was not known by anyone and it really never helped her career as being the girl in the opening credits of Mannix.
Her career began on Hogan's Heroes, as an uncredited actress who appeared with Bob Crane's future wie, Sigrid Valdis and actually peaked another cult hit of Dragnet in playing the victim of serial murderer.
She has gained minor cult status as the victim of a serial killer in the Made-For-TV movie Dragnet 1966
It seems odd that her stardom was 1966, and was most well known to people as the girl on Mannix. Her further career is recorded to be as a nursing adviser after she stopped acting.
Ms. Brandt deserves all credit in this though as one sees her and say, "Oh yeah I remember her!!" and then when you realize that she was the girl in Mannix it is one of those moments that you say, "Oh that is who that was!!!"
Mannix Season 1 Opening and Closing Credits and ... - YouTube
This is the opening and closing credits and theme song from season 1 of the hit show "Mannix." Lots more to come, request your favorites!
Nuff Said
agtG
