Laurel Goodwin, Elvis Presley’s Co-Star In ‘Girls! Girls! Girls!,’ Dies At 79

Laurel Goodwin, known for starring opposite Elvis Presley in Girls! Girls! Girls!, has passed away. She was 79.

Goodwin died on February 25 in California, her sister, Maureen Scott, announced in an obituary.

The actress was born in Witchita, Kansas, in 1942, but her family relocated to California when she was young. She found work as a model by the age of seven and was signed to a Paramount studios contract by 19.

The actress was the last living member of the original Star Trek pilot, “The Cage.” She starred as Teoman J.M. Colt alongside Jeffrey Hunter as Captian Christopher Pike and Leonard Nimroy as Mr. Spock. The pilot, finished in 1965, was not picked up, but producers wanted to hold onto the actors and try again. Meanwhile, Goodwin was getting offers for multiple network comedies. She turned them down in hopes Star Trek would work out. She later acknowledged that both comedies were highly successful.

After contract negotiations with Hunter fell through, Goodwin was dropped from the project. Later that year, the second pilot starring William Shatner as Captain James T. Kirk was picked up by NBC.

After Star Trek, Goodwin appeared in a few more shows, like Get Smart, The Beverly Hillbillies and Mannix. She retired from acting in 1971 to pursue nursing but didn’t completely leave the film industry behind her. In 1983, she co-produced Stroker Ace, starring Burt Reynolds and Loni Anderson with her husband Walter Wood. They were married for 43-years before he passed away in 2010.