Peacock’s miniseries, Angelyne, presents a five-episode trip into a world of pink fantasy surrounding the Los Angeles icon. Those living in LA at any time since the 1980s are familiar with the enigmatic Angelyne, who graced a number of billboards that advertised only her name and doll-like image. Angelyne, starring Emmy Rossum, avoids the traditional telling of other Hollywood biopics in favor of examining Angelyne’s mysterious backstory.
The Angelyne series proves that viewers have a thirst to revisit some of the world’s forgotten or overlooked, influential people. Whether true stories are doused in fantasy or told with edgy grit, the Angelyne treatment has possibly shifted the spotlight onto to other celebrities that are left in the shadows.
Merry Clayton
Fans of the Rolling Stones know Merry Clayton’s unique, rich, and powerful vocals from the 1969 hit “Gimme Shelter”. Clayton’s career was featured in the 2013 documentary 20 Feet From Stardom, a film that chronicled the interesting lives of backup singers. Despite having a remarkable voice that conquered rock, gospel, and soul, it has taken decades for Clayton to achieve notable solo success.
A miniseries based on Clayton’s life would present a behind-the-scenes glimpse of history’s greatest recordings and viewers could learn about Merry Clayton’s remarkable will to keep going in the face of great adversity. A 2014 vehicle accident caused Clayton to lose both of her legs, but she has continued to make music and released a solo album, Beautiful Scars, in 2021.
Lesley Gore
The voice of teen love and angst, Lesley Gore sang tunes like “It’s My Party” and “You Don’t Own Me” along with a number of other pop songs throughout the 1960s. Though she was a popular teen idol of her day, her name no longer lives in the mainstream consciousness. In the mid 2000s, Lesley Gore publicly came out as lesbian used her fame to serve as an LGBTQ+ advocate.
As a teenager, Gore amplified the voices of women in her generation with her impactful songs and leaned into a brand of feminism that celebrated independence. A Gore series could present her ascension into the music industry and her journey of self-discovery. According to a 2015 New York Times article, Gore was working on a Broadway show about her life at the time of her death.
Amanda Lepore
The success of Peacock’s Angelyne proves that a miniseries about the life of another blonde icon, Amanda Lepore, could also thrive. Though Angelyne and Lepore share some notable similarities, including an obvious affection for the mysterious Marilyn Monroe, Amanda Lepore’s life as a nightlife queen and trans icon is a bit more open thanks to her 2017 memoir, Doll Parts.
A dramatized telling of Amanda Lepore’s story would provide additional Trans representation and would give a fascinating ride into the underground club scene of New York in the 1990s. It would be thrilling for Lepore’s fans to see her lend her creative input to a biographical series, and could offer a peek into how she created her magnetic stage persona.
Dorothy Stratten
Remembered mostly for her tragic ending, Dorothy Stratten rose to fame when she posed for spreads in Playboy magazine. Vulnerable to bad influences, Stratten married a man named Paul Snider at a young age. Snider ultimately capitalized from Stratten’s success and later killed his wife in cold blood amid her affair with film director, Peter Bogdanovich.
Though Stratten was sorely mistreated and ultimately faced tragedy, pop-culture fans would appreciate more insight into the early life of the starlet. Stratten’s story was previously dramatized in the 1983 film Star 80, but a brand new miniseries could offer a fresh telling of a life cut too short.
Todd Fisher
Fans of the golden age of Hollywood know the stories of legendary actress/singer Debbie Reynolds of Singin' in the Rain and her iconic actor/writer daughter, Carrie Fisher, who played Leia in Star Wars. Todd Fisher, the lesser known of Reynolds’s children, had a childhood filled with the highs and lows of his mother’s career and personal life.
Fisher’s 2018 memoir, My Girls: A Lifetime With Carrie and Debbie, chronicled tales of his family’s life, including his parents painful and public divorce after his father’s affair with Elizabeth Taylor. My Girls is packed with Todd Fisher’s immense adoration for his superstar mother and sister and proved that his adolescence was filled with glamorous, Hollywood folklore.
Sacheen Littlefeather
In 1973, Marlon Brando enlisted the help of actress and Indigenous advocate, Sacheen Littlefeather to decline the Academy Award he won for best actor in The Godfather. Brando and Littlefeather crafted a refusal speech meant to shed light on the film industry’s history of racism and misrepresentation of Native American people. Littlefeather’s words were met with boos from the audience, and she faced tremendous public backlash for her part in Brando’s plan.
Related: 10 Things The Angelyne Series Gets Right About The Hollywood Icon
Littlefeather’s participation effectively ended her acting career as studios were displeased with her role in Brando’s criticism of the industry, though Brando was able to escape the same fate. A miniseries about Littlefeather could display the complex issues that she and other Native people face in Hollywood and would add opportunity for today’s Indigenous actors, writers and showrunners.
Michelle Visage
Fans of RuPaul’s Drag Race know judge, Michelle Visage, as the show’s “tough love” judge and best friend to RuPaul for over 30 years. With job titles like TV personality, radio DJ, and singer, Michelle Visage’s career was jump-started during her early adulthood when she frequented the New York ballroom scene, a subculture where queer people invented voguing and elements of modern drag.
Dramatizations of the NYC ball scene would be visually entertaining and could feature Visage’s encounters with famous, underground legends like Willi Ninja and Susanne Bartsch. The popularity of shows like Pose and Legendary prove that audiences have an appetite for the culture that molded figures like Michelle Visage. Drag Race fans would also likely to tune in to learn how Visage and RuPaul began their famous friendship.
Polly Platt
In 2020, listeners of the popular You Must Remember This (YMRT) podcast were treated to many episodes chronicling the true tale of Hollywood’s invisible woman, Polly Platt. Film aficionados remember Platt for her major contributions to films like Paper Moon and The Last Picture Show, but history often remembers Polly Platt as being, director, Peter Bogdanovich’s deserted wife.
Polly Platt’s helped create some of history’s finest films, yet she never seemed to get the recognition that she deserved. Those closest to both Bogdanovich and Platt were typically quick to remark on the disproportionate acclaim that the two artists received, some attributing this to their respective genders. The YMRT podcast proved that Platt’s story and her contributions are incredibly engaging and warrants an equally artistic telling.
Surya Bonaly
Figure skating fans know French skater, Surya Bonaly, for her challenging routines and controversial back flips on the ice. In a field mostly occupied by White athletes, Bonaly, a Black woman, arose in the early 1990s as a figure of representation for generations of skaters of color. Besides her mesmerizing flips, Bonaly was also known as a perpetual underdog, whose incredible abilities were often overlooked in favor of her White counterparts.
Surya Bonaly’s trials, triumphs and gripping performances are the stuff that great biographies are made of. Bonaly’s legacy has inspired several generations of new figure skaters that could take on the task of portraying their hero. Not only would Surya Bonaly’s story make for an enthralling tale of chasing athletic dreams, but the existence of the series could serve to inspire all-new generations that have yet to discover Bonaly’s performances.
Dorothy Kilgallen
In the 1950s and '60s, columnist and radio personality, Dorothy Kilgallen, appeared weekly as a paneli'sst on the cheeky, star-studded game show, What’s My Line? Kilgallen was the show’s highly-intelligent, pop-culture expert that posed key questions to figure out a guest’s occupation or hidden celebrity identity. Kilgallen appeared in nearly every episode of the show until her mysterious and untimely death.
A series about Kilgallen could treat viewers to portrayals of celebrities like Frank Sinatra, with whom she had an infamous feud. Aside from her jobs in entertainment, Kilgallen’s work as a pioneer in investigative journalism proves fascinating. In addition to her career, a well-crafted miniseries could attempt to tackle the number of conspiracy theories surrounding Kilgallen’s 1965 death.