SHE’S THE DIVER RIDING THE TURTLE IN THUNDERBALL. Just a decade earlier, Evelyne’s family was escaping Germany – in 1939, in fact – the year World War II began. Once she landed in California, she wasted no time becoming a stunt diver on Flipper, Sea Hunt, and, impressively, the James Bond films Thunderball and You Only Live Twice. Bored between scenes, she took up painting and launched a 50-year career. From California, she moved to Puerto Vallarta in the ’70s, running an open painting studio and hanging out with the likes of Richard Burton and Liz Taylor. Today, she divides her time between Mexico and her home/studio off of Gonzales Road.
In the 1950s, you were in TV and films as an underwater diver.
Yes, I trained Flipper. My first husband was a director of photography in motion pictures and specialized in underwater filming. Sort of the Jacques Cousteau of America.
I was a Red Cross lifeguard in Germany before I came, so I was a good swimmer, and he asked me if I wanted to work in TV. Of course I did, and I wound up working on Flipper. I taught him how to swim slowly so the kids in the show could hold on. You know, porpoises normally swim really fast.
And the Bond movies?
Thunderball was amazing. I would get up every morning, put my bikini on, get on a hydrofoil, speed around, and go diving. Every lunch was a three-course meal on some beautiful beach with white tablecloths and champagne. They did it right.
My scene in the movie was with a sea turtle. It was supposed to pull me along through the water. They brought the turtle in, I got in the water and held on, and it just sat there. So I started pushing it along, but the director wasn’t liking that. So they got another turtle, then another one. Finally, they got a huge turtle that promptly bit one of the stunt men. And then it was my turn. Just hold on to the turtle, the director said. Just don’t let go!
And you started painting in between takes?
There was a lot of sitting around between scenes. So I went to the library, got some art books, and started painting. No one taught me, I just learned. I loved the French Impressionists.
Then you moved to Puerto Vallarta.
In 1972, I got divorced and took a painting workshop in Puerto Vallarta. I loved it. I had no intention of marrying again, but I immediately met this good-looking man who actually recognized me from some television commercials I had done years before. And that was it. Michael and I were married for 48 years. He passed away two years ago.
Michael and I built the first condo development in Puerto Vallarta and lived there. In the ’70s, PV was the place to be if you were an adventurer. We went to The City Dump, PV’s first disco. We hung out with Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor, Ann-Margret, and Loretta Young. John Huston became a dear friend; we played backgammon and drank Russian vodka late into the night.
Then Puerto Vallarta became too popular, so we moved to Sayulita, where I had an open studio for artists. We raised kids there, and I can’t imagine any-where that could have been better. It was wonderful – everyone took care of the kids. Everyone was friendly, like a big family. If your kids weren’t at home, they were being fed at a neighbor’s house. Today, my kids look back on their childhood very fondly. They have their own kids now and can’t replicate that world.
WANT TO READ MORE? SUBSCRIBE TO SANTA FE MAGAZINE HERE!
Photo Mary Moon
