Actor / Director Profile

Sweet, sexy and shapely black actress Marilyn Joi greatly enlivened a bunch of enjoyably trashy 70s drive-in exploitation pictures with her boundless vitality, bubbly, upbeat personality, stunningly gorgeous looks and considerable sex appeal. Joi began her performing career as a popular night club dancer. She made her film debut as a night club dancer in the solid Fred Williamson blaxploitation vehicle "Hammer." Marilyn appeared in a handful of features for legendary Grade B schlock director Al Adamson: "Mean Mother," "The Naughty Stewardesses," "Blazing Stewardesses," "Black Samurai," and "Nurse Sherri." Joi's most memorable roles include one of obsessive doctor Richard Basehart's hapless victims in the creepy horror item "Mansion of the Doomed;" Velvet, a vicious hench woman for Dyanne Thorne in the splendidly sleazy "Ilsa, Harem Keeper of the Oil Sheiks," Cleopatra Schwartz in the uproarious sketch comedy hoot "The Kentucky Fried Movie," a high school cheerleader who gets abducted by brutish football players in "Cheerleaders' Wild Weekend," and a winged bat girl alien in the amusingly goofy sci-fi spoof "Galaxina." Moreover, Marilyn did guest spots on the TV shows "Hill Street Blues," "Hunter," "Good Times," "Starsky and Hutch," and "Charlie's Angels." Marilyn Joi also acted under the pseudonyms Ineda King, T.A. King, Tracy Ann King, Tracy-Ann King and Tracy King. "Players" magazine cited Marilyn Joi as "America's Favorite Black Poster Girl" in 1980 and deemed her one of "America's Ten Sexiest Black Women" two years later.