Rachel Stephens

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Rachel Stephens
Born
Rachel Lou Slagel

(1930-10-29)October 29, 1930
Mount Carmel, Illinois, U.S.
DiedDecember 14, 2018(2018-12-14) (aged 88)
Evanston, Illinois, U.S.

Rachel Lou Slagel[1][2] (October 29, 1930[3] – December 14, 2018), known professionally as Rachel Stephens[a], was an American television, stage, and motion picture actress.

Early life and career

Born in Mt. Carmel, Illinois, and raised in Fairfield,[2] Stephens was the daughter of Wilma (née Stephens) and railroad engineer Lewis Glenn "Red" Slagel.[1][2] She attended Fairfield Grade School and Fairfield Community High, and, by 1953, had received both her bachelor's and master's degrees in theatre arts from Indiana University Bloomington[6][7][2][8]

Prior to acting in movies, Stevens was a CBS research assistant and a television actress. Her work on TV led to her being signed for films without a screen test.[6]

Theater

Stephens performed on stage as a reporter in The Best Things In Life Are Free and as the sister of Hope Lange in Bus Stop (play) (1955). In 1972 she appeared with Jo Anne Worley at the Arlington Park Theater in Chicago. Stephens played Charlie's former mistress in a rendition of the comedy Goodbye Charlie by George Axelrod.

She was part of a cast which toured with Van Johnson in the comedy Send Me No Flowers, in 1976. In 1980 she was featured in the Neil Simon play The Gingerbread Lady. Stephens starred as Toby, an aging beauty who needs to be constantly reminded that she is attractive.

In 2003 she portrayed Ruby in Twilight Serenade.[9]

Movie actress

Stephens was signed to a film contract by Twentieth Century Fox in May 1956. In her first movie she played a nurse in Bigger Than Life (1956). The film was a drama which starred James Mason and Barbara Rush. Stephens next appeared in Oh, Men! Oh, Women! (1957) directed by Nunnally Johnson and produced by Cheryl Crawford.

In The True Story of Jesse James (1957), she has the part of Anne James.

Stephens has an uncredited part, as Miss Trimmingham, in From the Terrace (1960). Her option was renewed by 20th Century Fox in February 1960. The adaptation of the John O'Hara novel stars Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward. It received a Golden Globe nomination. Her last film appearance came in 1994 in Ri¢hie Ri¢h as Richie's secretary.

Stephens's duties in Hollywood included substituting for female stars in screen tests of male prospective actors.[10]

Private life

Stephens dated Nico Minardos until they broke up in January 1959.[11]

From 1979 until his death in October 2017, Stephens was married to fellow stage actor Dennis Sook, whom she had met in 1978, in the first in a series of joint appearances in dinner theater productions starring Van Johnson.[12]

Stephens died a year later at St. Francis Hospital in Evanston, Illinois, at age 88. Her remains are interred at Maple Hill Cemetery in Fairfield, alongside those of her husband,[3]

Notes

  1. Stephens being the maiden name of her mother, Mrs. Lewis Glenn Slagel (the former Mrs. Wilma Atkinson[4]), nee Stephens[5]

References

  1. "Former Heyworth Resident In Movies". The Clinton Daily Journal and Public. March 18, 1957. p. 2. Retrieved June 10, 2026 – via Newspapers.com. Rachel Lou Slagel, daughter of Glenn Slagel, formerly of Heyworth, is meeting with much success in motion pictures in Hollywood, according to word received by her friends here. She is now employed at 20th Century Fox Studios in Hollywood, Calif. Rachel Lou, whose stage name is Rachel Stephens, has been in five motion pictures and is currently making two others.
  2. "Degrees in Theater Arts Earmark a Young Actress". The Kansas City Star. December 13, 1959. p. 1E. Retrieved June 10, 2026 – via Newspapers.com. An emerald-eyed, red-haired miss, Rachel Stephens, is the only actress in Hollywood who obtained a bachelor's and master's degree in Theater Arts, and then went into the production end of the theatrical business as a means of getting an acting job on New York television. [...] The five-foot-six, 118-pound actress was born Rachel Lou Slagel in Mt. Carmel, Ill., She is the daughter of Louis G. Slagel, an Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe railroad engineer. The first member of the family to enter the theatrical profession, Rachel was graduated from Fairfield grade school, Fairfield community high school, and received both the bachelor's and master's degrees in theater arts at the University of Indiana.
  3. "Official Obituary of Rachel Stephens-Sook, October 29, 1930 ~ December 14, 2018 (age 88)". NaleFuneralHome.com. Retrieved June 10, 2026. "88 year old former Fairfield, Illinois resident Rachel Stephens-Sook passed away Friday, December 14, 2018 at St. Francis Hospital in Evanston, Illinois. Rachel became an actress in theater, stage, movies & commercials. Rachel married Dennis Sook. He preceded her in death in October of 2017. The last several years they had lived in Chicago. [...]. Rachel was born October 29, 1930 in Fairfield, Illinois, the daughter of Lewis and Wilma (Stephens) Slagel. Rachel grew up in Fairfield attending the Fairfield schools. Rachel is survived by nieces and nephews. [...] Graveside services for Rachel Stephens Sook will be 10:00 a.m. Friday, December 21, 2018 at Maple Hill Cemetery in Fairfield, Illinois."
  4. "Society and Personal: Slagel-Atkinson". Mount Carmel Register. December 9, 1956. p. 12C. Retrieved June 10, 2026 – via Newspapers.com. Lewis Glenn Slagel and Mrs. Wilma Stephens Atkinson of Fairfield were united in marriage on Friday evening at 8:00 o'clock [...] Slagel is employed at the Big Four shops and is a member of the Big Four Athletic association baseball team. Mrs. Atkinson owns the news stand at. Fairfield. After a short honeymoon in Indianapolis, thy will make their home in Mount Carmel.
  5. Heffernan, Howard (December 9, 1956). "Thrill For Mother: Daughter's Ambition Fulfilled--In Film With Ginger". Arizona Republic. p. 12C. Retrieved June 10, 2026 – via Newspapers.com. Mrs. Wilma Slagel, of Fairfield, Ill., had more than the usual reason to register excitement as she watched Ginger Rogers and an attractive newcomer Rachel Stephens enact a scene for "Oh, Men! Oh, Women!" on Stage 14 at 20th Century-Fox. Mrs. Slagel had been on a soundstage once before. Nine years ago she and her 14-yearold daughter Rachel managed to get into Warner Bros., where they saw this same Ginger Rogers, abetted by Dennis Morgan, do a sequence for 'Perfect Strangers.' [...] Rachel Slagel, who adopted her mother's maiden name of Stephens, went on to New York, pounding the doors of various Broadway producers, landing a bit here and there on radio and television, until one day a 20th-Fox scout spied and signed her.
  6. "Rachel Stephens From Illinois". Illinois State Journal-Register. Illinois, Springfield. May 27, 1958. p. 30. Retrieved June 10, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. "Rachel Stephens Is Keeping Busy". Syracuse Herald-Journal. September 24, 1956. p. 10. Retrieved June 10, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. "Fairfield Girl Is In Movies". Mt. Vernon Register-News. January 28, 1956. p. 13. Retrieved June 10, 2026 – via Newspapers.com. A former Fairfield girl, Rachel Slagel, has been signed to a motion picture contract by Twentieth-Century Fox, The Record has learned. Now appearing under the name, Rachel Stephens, her latest film venture is 'Once in a Million' starring James Mason. Miss Slagel was a speech and theater major at Indiana University, Bloomington, Ind. She received th A. B. degree in 1952 and her master's degree in 1953. She was president of Theta Alpha Phi, dramatic, honorary, and appeared several productions of the University Theater. [...] She is the daughter of Mrs. Wilma Slagel of Fairfield.
  9. Mauro, Lucia (March 28, 2003). "Veteran actors finally get to act their age". Chicago Tribune. p. Section 7, p. 6. Retrieved June 10, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. Heffernan, Harold (July 17, 1960). "Cold Hands an Actress's Earmark". The Kansas City Star. North American Newspaper Alliance. p. D 1. Retrieved June 10, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. Carroll, Harrison (January 9, 1959). "Behind The Scenes In Hollywood". Vidette Messenger of Porter County. p. 4. Retrieved June 10, 2026 – via Newspapers.com. ACTRESS Rachel Stephens and Nico Minardos (ex-husband of Debbie Power) have called it day.
  12. "Married Pair in Comedy". San Antonio Light. January 13, 1980. p. 10-Today. Retrieved June 10, 2026 – via Newspapers.com. Rachel Stephens plays Van Johnson's wife in the comical farce, 'Send Me No Flowers,' at the Fiesta Dinner Playhouse, while Dennis Sook plays an old friend from college. Actually, in real life Rachel and Dennis are husband and wife. [...] Rachel began her career as a contract player for 20th Century Fox where she appeared in a variety of films. She thought of California as her home until the 1971 earthquake in Los Angeles, which sent her packing back to her native Chicago, where she and Dennis now reside. Dennis, originally from Minnesota, and Rachel met two years ago when they were both doing their same roles in 'Send Me No Flowers' with Van Johnson.
  • Chicago Daily Herald, "Charlie's One Asset Is Worley", September 5, 1972, page 51
  • Daily Oklahoman, "Van Johnson Opens Comedy", September 14, 1976, page 36
  • Los Angeles Times, "Return Celebrated By Our Gang Kid", February 23, 1960, page B7
  • The New York Times, "Kings Go Forth Will Be A Movie", May 9, 1956, page 36
  • The New York Times, "Oh Men!, Oh Women!", February 22, 1957, page 25
  • The New York Times, "Screen: Jesse James", March 23, 1957, page 17
  • Sheboygan Press, "Peninsula Players To Open 38th Season At Fish Creek", June 29, 1972, page 35