Tura Satana appreciation post. here’s what u need to know:
- born in 1938 and died in 2011
- her parents were a silent movie actor and a circus performer
- she was gang-raped by five men when she was ten. they were never prosecuted and it was rumoured that the judge was paid off.
- this prompted her to train in various martial arts (such as aikido and karate)
- over the next 15 years, she hunted down each of her rapists and exacted revenge against them. they never even knew who she was until she told them
- at the same time, she formed an all-woman gang called “the angeles”
- “we had leather motorcycle jackets, jeans and boots and we kicked butt.”
- moved to los angeles when she was 15 and supported herself
- dated elvis presley and turned down a marriage proposal from him
- her most famous film role was in 1965, as varla, a “very aggressive and sexual female character”, in faster, pussycat! kill! kill! (a film that was “an ode to female violence”)
- Tura was responsible for her own costume, makeup, use of martial arts, and much of her dialouge. she also performed all her own stunts and fight scenes
- was known for not taking shit from anyone. russ meyer, the director for faster, pussycat! kill!, said of her “[tura was] extremely capable. she knew how to handle herself. don’t fuck with her! and if you have to fuck her, do it well! she might turn on you!”