Sabrina's Scrapbook #1

Sabrina in PAJAMA TOPS

Play 2 - The Loving Couch

Play 3 - Rattle of a Simple Man

This is a personal photo from Sabrina. Her hand-written note on the back says, "Taken in the late 50s"
It seems to be a Pajama Tops publicity photo, which would make it mid-sixties.

A related pic was found by Countess Anastasia Arden in 2018. Thanks, Ana!

PAJAMA TOPS 1

15-30 January 1965
replacing June Wilkinson

American Theatre, St Louis, Missouri

St. Louis Post-Dispatch - 10 January 1965 (page 150) - thanks to Lord Corey of Fulton for this article.

THE TRANSPLANTED French farce. "Pajama Tops," will return to the American Theater this week for a run of 15 nights. Its public opening will be Friday night, but on Wednesday there will be a special matinee preview, which has been sold out to a convention.

The comedy, which was last seen here at the American in January, 1962, with June Wilkinson as star, now has Sabrina, another bountifully endowed English beauty. Miss Wilkinson, who had toured in it for almost two and a half years and made a lot of money out of it on the basis of a percentage of the gross, withdrew a few weeks ago to meet a film commitment.

The play will run through Jan. 30. On Friday and Saturday nights, there will be two shows, at 7:15 and 9:45 o'clock. Mondays through Thursdays the shows will be at 8:30 p.m. There will be a performance next Sunday night at 8:30 o'clock, but no show on Sunday, Jan. 24. There will be no matinees except the special preview. As in 1962, tickets are being offered on a "twofer'' basis — that is. two tickets for the price of one.

ORIGINALLY, the farce was a French play, "Mou Mou." by Jean de Letraz, which ran for three years in Paris. It was adapted into English by Mawby Green and Ed Feilbert, and had its second production in this country at the Empress Theater here in 1954 with Elaine Stritch as star. It then played eight weeks in Chicago, and, considerably broadened, stayed in Los Angeles for five years. It ran at the Seattle World's Fair for 101 days and In Miami for nine weeks before setting out on its present tour, which has made it king of the "twofer" shows.

In the play Sabrina is the mistress of a philandering French husband (played by Richard Vath). She has a rendezvous in Bayreuth with him, in the guise of a "business associate," but is instead invited to his villa in Deauville by his wife under the impression she is a man. Others in the cast are William Browder, Marilyn Turner and Sandra Doyle.

SABRINA WAS born Norma Sykes at Blackpool. England. She became a photographers' model in London, and came to the attention of comedian Arthur Askey, who put her on a television show. Because of her 41-19-35 dimensions, she became nn overnight sensation and went on to become the Jayne Mansfield of British television and movies. She appeared on the Jack Hylton comedy television show in England for three years and on the Jackie Barrett Playgirl Show. In this country she played on television in the Jerry Lester and Jackie Gleason shows and on the Colgate Comedy Hour.

The Troy Tribune, Illinois - Thursday 14 January 1965 (page 5)

"PAJAMA TOPS" COMING TO THE AMERICAN THEATRE FOR 15 NIGHTS STARTING FRIDAY

One of Great Britain's most gloriously endowed personalities, the lovely Sabrina, is co-starred with Richard Vath in "Pajama Tops" coming to the American Theatre, St Louis, for 15 nights beginning Friday evening, January 15th.

Sabrina has won international fame through a score of radio, television, supper club and personal appearances. Having appeared in the original Colgate Comedy Hour, she also appeared with great success on the Jerry Lester and the Jackie Gleason Shows.
In "Pajama Tops" Sabrina plays the mistress of a French businessman who is invited to the gentleman's villa in Deauville by his trusting wife who has been told that he has a business associate in Bayeux.

The wife is surprised to find that the business associate is the attractive Sabrina. She complicates matters further when she hires Sabrina's real husband as a butler. Meanwhile, a fun-loving male friend of the husband turns up and the complications become many and comic.
"Pajama Tops" is an adaptation by Mawby Green and Ed Feilbert of the French farce "Moumou" by Jean de Letraz, and is directed by Richard Vath.

Sharing the laughs in the comedy with Sabrina and Richard Vath are William Browder, Don McArt, Maralyn Turner, Sandra Gayle and Robert Osborne.

"Pajama Tops" will be presented at the American Theatre for 15 nights only — Friday, January 15, through Saturday, January 30. Monday through Thursday performances are at 8:30; Sunday, January 17th; at 8:30; and two performances on Fridays and Saturdays at 7:15 and 9:45. There are no matinees.

CELEBRITY AT SKAGGS: Sabrina, the glamourous lady who stars as Babette in the hilarious comedy "Pajama Tops" at the American Theatre is shown at Skaggs Steak House Sunday night autographing dollar bills for guests at the restaurant.

With Sabrina is Jim Bake r, 672 North Third Street, Wood River and manager of Wood River Bowl. [Connecticut]

Familiar to night club audiences in Las Vegas, Reno, Houston and Lake Tahoe prior to joining "Pajama Tops" , Sabrina completed a tour of South Africa.

Radio Station WBBY has arranged a 13-week program to bring celebrities who are in the area to Skaggs for live interviews each Friday, Saturday and Sunday evening. Bob Howe of the Radio Station interviewed personalities.

(Radio WBBY served the Wood River, Illinois area. In 1965 call letters were changed to WRTH. This radio appearance must've been in Sabrina's 15-30 Jan 1965 tour)

SABRINA the glamorous lady who stars as Babette in the hilarious comedy "Pajama Tops" which will open at The American Jan. 15 and play through Jan. 30 .

One of Great Britain's most gloriously endowed personalities (46-19-36), the lovely Sabrina has won international fame through a score of radio, television, supper club and personal appearances.

Having appeared in the original Colgate Comedy Hour , Sabrina also appeared with great success on the Jerry Lester and the Jackie Gleason Shows . Co-starred for three years on the British Broadcasting Company's Jack Hylton Show , she was featured as well on the Jackie Barrett Playgirl Show .

Familiar to night club audiences in Las Vegas , Reno , Houston and Lake Tahoe , prior to joining "Pajama Tops," Sabrina completed a tour of South Africa.

AMERICAN PRESENTS SABRINA

One of Great Britain's most gloriously endowed personalities (46-19-36), the lovely Sabrina made a very startling entrance into show business when she was chosen to appear on the B.B.C. television show, in "Before Your Very Eyes." She made such an immediate hit with the viewing audience that she was kept on for the rest of the series, rising to stardom playing the "dumb blonde" of British TV.

Film offers soon followed and she appeared in about eight English comedies*, most notable was "Blue Murder at St. Trinian's" with Alastair Sim and Terry-Thomas. After a variety tour, she settled down at the Prince of Wales Theatre in London in the hit show, "Plaisirs de Paris," which ran for nearly two years.

Shortly thereafter Sabrina appeared in her own cabaret act in some of London's most fashionable supper clubs and offers were soon coming in from overseas.

She did an extensive theatre and nightclub tour of Australia and then finally came to the United States where she has appeared in the original Colgate Comedy Hour, the Jerry Lester and Jackie Gleason Shows.

Nightclub appearances in New York were followed by an engagement at the Deauville Hotel in Miami Beach and the Colonial Inn in St. Petersburg.

After traveling West, she toured with Sheree North in " Playgirls ", appearing in such places as the Cork Club, Houston ; The Riverside Hotel, Reno and CalNeva Lodge, Lake Tahoe .

Recently Sabrina was selected, along with other British comedy artists, to star in an edition of " Tempo ," a leading television program devoted to the arts. She appeared in a play written especially for the program, the main objective of which was to explore the various situations which occur in the framework of farce comedy.

[In the Pajama Tops programme, this additional material appeared:]

The name Sabrina began spreading to other parts of the world and offers for television and nightclub appearances began coming from everywhere. She paused long enough to complete a starring role in a film in New York, " Satan in High Heels " and then began what was almost a tour of the world.

Her ports of call included Caracas, Venezuela; Curacao, Netherlands Antilles; Dominican Republic; Cuba; Jamaica; Puerto Rico; Spain; South Africa; Rhodesia; Kenya; Egypt; Lebanon and even Cyprus.

[*The number of her films varies from article to article! Ed]

PAJAMA TOPS 2

25 December 1955 - 11 January 1966

Baltimore

SABRINA OFF TO THE U.S.

Sabrina, well wrapped against the cold, left London by air today for the U.S. She was off, accompanied by her parents, to appear in a French farce [Pajama Tops] which opens in Baltimore (Connecticut) on Christmas Day [1965].

Sabrina will be on tour for at least ten weeks. "My parents will come round with me," she said, "it is the first time they have been to America."

Sabrina's Guide to the States

SABRINA wore this matching leopard skin coat and hat when she arrived at London Airport yesterday. She was off to the U.S. with her parents.

The sightseeing visit will be a Christmas [1965] treat for her mother and father, who have never been to America. Sabrina? She knows the country quite well enough to be the guide.

Buxom, Bawdy

'Pajama Tops' Cast Meets Requisites

"Pajama Tops," the longrunning French farce which feature bigbosomed women, is back again with a quartet of new faces.

Sabrina, a buxom blonde from England, heads the cast in the current show, which opened Saturday [25 Dec 1965] and will run through Wednesday, with two shows on New Year's Eve.

Saturday's show marked Sabrina's debut in her new role, and while the part, like all three female roles in the comedy, is not particularly demanding, Sabrina offered an unusually polished performance for her first time out.

In truth, little more is required of the females than large busoms [sic] and accouterments [sic] of the appealing female form.

Maralyn Turner as Yvonne, Sandra Gayle as Claudine, and Sabrina , meet these requirements quite adequately.

As in the past, Don McArt and William Browder are the standout performers in their respective roles of the leering Inspector LeGrand and the effiminate [sic] Leonard Jolie Jolie.

Richard Vath, the male lead, provides his usual sound performance as Georges Chauvinet. He, McArt and Browder are now so comfortable in their parts that they have expanded their already raucous dialogue with additional impromptu interplay.

Another thing back is the malfunctioning bell in Act II. It still doesn't ring, and it still draws belly laughs from the audience.

One happy addition to this year's cast is Bob Osborne in the "role of Jacques LaTouche. He is highly effective.

The comedy, packed with double entender [sic], risque dialogue and eyepopping cleavage, is the story of a man, his wife, mistress and her husband, and an effiminate [sic] friend, all confronted in the same house for the night. It happily wends its way from the complex confrontation to its simple resolution.

J. R. ROSEBERRY

'Pajama Tops' Thinly Disguised Burlesque

By JAMES A. PERRY

If the girls on Bourbon St. have any complaints about restrictions under which the law tells them to work, they should get a gander at the tenant now occupying the Civic Theater.

"Pajama Tops" is the bawdiest of attractions. It's [sic] paper thin plot centers around an effeminate bachelor who learns about the facts of life from two disappointed wives and a beautiful domestic whose ambition is to be a famous courtesan.

The play opened Saturday [ 25 December 1965 ] and is scheduled to run through Jan. 11 .

It isn't necessary that any of the crew of this traveling burlesque be accomplished actors, but one or two of the members did show stage presence.

Richard Vath, who staged the piece, gave a polished performance as the husband who loves his wife but is fascinated with greener pastures.

William Browder gave a good impersonation of a man who, among other things, is frightened of women. He also weathered the change of characterization in the last act fairly well.

The big surprise is Sabrina, an English lass who looks extremely well in lowcut dresses. She acted circles around her coworkers, and could easily be convincing in a role where she needn't wear flimsy garments…

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