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Piece of History: Cedar Rapids native had role in ‘Pillow Talk’ in 1959
Lois Rayman was discovered while having lunch in L.A.
At age 25, Lois Rayman of Cedar Rapids landed a role in the 1959 blockbuster movie “Pillow Talk.”
It was a debut for Rayman, who played Tony Randall’s secretary in the movie that also starred Rock Hudson and Doris Day. The movie, the biggest hit of 1959, was the first of three romantic comedies starring Randall, Hudson and Day.
Rayman stopped briefly in Cedar Rapids in October 1959 to visit her parents on a four-week, cross-country trip promoting the film.
Rayman was born July 6, 1934, in Cedar Rapids to Charles J. and Lillian Tucker Rayman. She graduated from Immaculate Conception High School in 1952 and attended the University of Iowa for two years before becoming a stewardess for United Airlines.
Rayman was having lunch in Los Angeles when a movie agent asked if he could represent her, and she embarked on a career as a model and an actress.
She had TV appearances in "Queen For a Day" and "Ozzie and Harriett Show" and did commercials for White Rain shampoo and Kleenex. She lived in California and New York before moving back to Cedar Rapids and working part-time for Frank Magid Associates.
She died Oct. 13, 2014, at age 80 in Hiawatha.
Tara Templeman is curator at The History Center. Comments: curator@historycenter.org
Lois Rayman is shown in a car during an October 1959 visit to Cedar Rapids, her hometown, after making her film debut in “Pillow Talk.” (The History Center)
The Nov. 8, 1959, ad for “Pillow Talk” at the Paramount Theatre included a line encouraging people to see “Cedar Rapids’ own Lois Rayman” in the hit movie. (Gazette archives)
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