Haji (actress)
Cerlette Catton, also known as Barbarella Catton and by the stage name Haji was an actress.[1] She was discovered by director Russ Meyers when she was working in a topless bar, when she was just 19 or 20 years old. He cast her as one of the leads in "Faster Pussycat, Kill!, Kill!", even though she had no formal acting experience. CBC News reports Meyers cast her in four other films, making her the actress he had cast more often than any other.[2]
Haji appeared in other director's films, including John Cassavetes's 1976 film, The Killing of a Chinese Bookie, and most recently in 2003, in Killer Drag Queens on Dope.
In her role in Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill!, while Haji and her two co-stars wore provocative outfits, critics now point out they weren't victims, but were empowered.[1][2]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Daniel E. Slotnik (2013-08-17). "Haji, an Actress Featured in Cult Films by Russ Meyer, Dies at 67". International Herald Tribune. p. A20. Archived from the original on 2013-08-17. http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2013%2F08%2F18%2Farts%2Fhaji-an-actress-featured-in-cult-films-by-russ-meyer-dies-at-67.html&date=2013-08-17. Retrieved 2013-08-17. "Haji, a brunette of Filipino and British descent, met Meyer, the celebrated B-movie director, in the mid-1960s while she worked in a strip club in California. He cast her as the lead in his biker movie “Motorpsycho” (1965) even though she had no acting experience."
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 [www.cbc.ca/news/arts/story/2013/08/12/haji-cult-actress-dead.html "Canadian cult actress Haji dies at 67: Quebec-born actress starred in Russ Meyer cult classic Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!"]. CBC News. 2013-08-12. www.cbc.ca/news/arts/story/2013/08/12/haji-cult-actress-dead.html. Retrieved 2013-08-17. "Born Barbarella Catton in Quebec City in 1946, she became an exotic dancer at age 14 and later moved to California, where Meyer discovered her at a topless bar. After an audition, Meyer cast her in Motorpsycho, without any previous acting experience. She went on to star in more films by Meyer than any of his other leading ladies. In the 1965 exploitation film Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! Haji played Rosie, one of three adventure-seeking go-go-dancers."
