- Nai Bonet
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Nai Bonet Born January 1945
Saigon, VietnamYears active 1964–1980 Nai Bonet is an Vietnamese belly-dancer, singer and film actress. Born in Saigon to a Vietnamese mother and French father,[1] Bonet began her professional career at age 13, when she headlined as a belly-dancer in a show at the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas.[2] She began appearing in films in 1964 (frequently portraying a belly-dancer), as well as in television, commercials, variety shows, her photos adorned several album covers and she continued to appear as a night club headliner. In 1966 she released the novelty song Jelly Belly,[3] and she filmed a music video for the song[4] which was featured on Scopitone video jukeboxes.[5]
In the 1970s, Bonet decided to focus exclusively on her acting career, "But I wasn't getting anywhere in pictures," she said in 1978.[6] After conceiving, producing and starring in two film flops (1979's Nocturna and 1980's Hoodlums), Bonet gave up her career and has since fallen into total obscurity. According to information on the Internet Movie Database, she found religion and moved to Medjugorje,[7] but the accuracy of this information is questionable given the numerous other inaccuracies on the same page.
Filmography
Year Title Role Notes 1964 Diary of a Bachelor Bachelorette 1965 John Goldfarb, Please Come Home Specialty Dancer 1965 The Beverly Hillbillies Second Harem Girl Episode: The Sheik 1965 Boeing Boeing Air India Stewardess uncredited 1966 The Spy with a Cold Nose Belly Dancer 1967 Devil's Angels Tanya 1973 Soul Hustler Helena 1973 The Soul of Nigger Charley Anita 1977 The Greatest Suzie Gomez 1977 Fairy Tales Sheherazade 1979 Nocturna Nocturna a.k.a. Nocturna: Granddaughter of Dracula 1980 Hoodlums Loretta a.k.a. Gangsters References
- ^ "Belly Dance -- in Opera'". Tucson Daily Citizen. February 14, 1966.
- ^ "Nocturna - Nai Bonet Biography" (Press release). Compass International, Inc. 1979.
- ^ "Jelly Belly/The Seventh Veil - Rate Your Music". http://rateyourmusic.com/release/single/nai_bonet/jelly_belly___the_seventh_veil/. Retrieved 2011-06-27.
- ^ "You Tube - Nai Bonet - Jelly Belly music video". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SVs_CrzJiQ. Retrieved 2011-06-27.
- ^ "Scopitones by Artist: A to B". http://scopitonearchive.com/scopitones/by_artist/a_b.html. Retrieved 2011-06-27.
- ^ Wilson, Earl (September 30, 1978). "Belly Dancer in Dracula Film?". Daily Intelligencer.
- ^ "Nai Bonet - Biography". http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0094326/bio. Retrieved 2011-06-27.
External links
- Nai Bonet at the Internet Movie Database
Categories:- 1944 births
- Vietnamese dancers
- Living people
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