DESTIN — Over the years, Barbara Reilly has had several encounters with movie stars and famous musicians. But one of her favorite stories to tell is her brush with Bob Hope when she was a little girl.
“I was with my parents at a fair in Ohio, and he was there putting on his show. We were sitting in the front row and he pulled me on stage and sat me in his lap,” said the Destin resident.“He asked me what I wanted to do when I grew up. I told him I wanted to get married, smoke cigarettes and wear a girdle. “My parents said he almost fell out of his chair.”
And over the years, the woman who became an actress and model in the 1960s has done all but one of those things.
Reilly was the daughter of an Army colonel and grew up traveling the country. While stationed in Hawaii, she decided to start her career in acting. She played as an extra and filled in as a substitute in the background scenes of films.
As a young woman, she brushed shoulders with James Mitchum, Roger Davis, Ricky Nelson, Jack Lemon, Warren Beatty and Kirk Douglas. She even dated the King of Rock n’ Roll, Elvis Presley.
Reilly was playing an extra in the 1961 musical film, “Blue Hawaii,” which starred Elvis. While she says he was nice guy, their romance in Hawaii didn’t last long.
“Those few dates were exciting enough. There was just too much harassment that came with it,” she said of the media and fan frenzies.
On one of their dates, “we went to the movies and saw one of his movies —the one where he played an Indian (Flaming Star),” she said. “We sat in the upper balcony and, believe it or not, nobody bothered us.”
Reilly also played in some Japanese films that were shot on the island.
“It was very interesting. The way they did filming was different. It was very strict — here, there and everyone — very quick,” she said.
After getting married to a military man, Reilly decided to leave the world of star-studded celebrities to spend more time at home.
“I thought I would like acting until I got a taste of it. It just wasn’t for me,” she said. “It was too wild. Their values weren’t my values,” she said.
Reilly continued to do modeling for local shops wherever they were stationed — even in Alaska. After retirement the couple moved to Niceville, but she’s been on her own in Destin for the past 10 years.
Nowadays, she says she wouldn’t be interested in working in the movie industry.
“It’s too much dog-eat-dog out there.... To be successful you almost have to become something you’re not to make it — and not wear clothes,” Reilly said with a laugh.
She added that her youth spent alongside the celebrities in the 1960s made her more aware of the world outside and all the different people.
“It sounds dull, but there was really a lot of excitement being around all those celebrities.”
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