Lana Clarkson

 ( 1962 Births ) 

As an actress, Clarkson became best known for her five feature films for producer Roger Corman, beginning with his fantasy film Deathstalker (1983), as a female warrior and love interest to the title character played by Richard Hill. Corman oriented his films towards young male viewers, using a mix of action and female nudity. Clarkson's work in Deathstalker led to her being offered the title role in Corman's next film, Barbarian Queen (1985), a role Corman referred to as "the original Xena" because of the parallel in featuring a strong female leading character in an action-oriented sword-swinging role.

In 1987, Clarkson appeared in the John Landis spoof Amazon Women on the Moon. Following that, Clarkson starred in Roger Corman's Barbarian Queen sequel, .

Clarkson starred as a supporting character in the period horror film The Haunting of Morella (1990) as the evil attendant to a young woman played by model/actress Nicole Eggert. In the film, Clarkson played a dominating lesbian character who tries to resurrect the spirit of a witch burned at the stake during the Salem witch trials. In her final film for Corman, Vice Girls (1996), Clarkson played one of three cops who posed as strippers to catch a serial killer.

Clarkson's work in the B movie sci-fi genre inspired a cult following, making her a favorite at comic book conventions, where she made some promotional appearances signing autographs for her fans. She appeared in numerous other B movies as well as a range of television spots. She also appeared in commercials for Mercedes-Benz, Kmart, Nike, Mattel and Anheuser-Busch. Her television appearances include parts on Night Court, Silk Stalkings, Riptide, Three's Company, Knight Rider and Wings, and a guest appearance as a villain on the television adaptation of Roger Corman's film Black Scorpion in what would be her final role.

Clarkson traveled around the United States and Europe while working on fashion photo shoots. Other projects took her to Japan, Greece, Argentina, Italy, Switzerland, France, Jamaica, and Mexico.

In the 1980s, she volunteered weekly at the AIDS charity Project Angel Food, which delivers food for those in Los Angeles disabled by HIV or AIDS, at a time when the disease was greatly feared by the general public.

Clarkson's career stalled as she approached her thirties. Unable to earn a living as an actress, Clarkson sought alternative sources of income, including operating her own website on which she sold autographed DVDs of her films and communicated directly with her fans on her own message board. Although she made a living playing , Clarkson wished to be a comic actress or perform as a comedian. Her publicist friend Edward Lozzi told Vanity Fair writer Dominick Dunne that Clarkson had been working on a stand-up comedy act that he had witnessed.

In 2001, while living in Venice, California, for the last several years, Clarkson developed, wrote, produced, and directed a showcase reel titled Lana Unleashed. She took a part-time side job as a hostess in early January 2003 at the House of Blues in West Hollywood, California, to make ends meet.