Most stars inhabit the heavens, where they light the evening skies.
Mine came from Santa Monica, with starlight in her eyes.
Born as “just” a Marilyn, she changed names along the way.
And the world would come to know her as sexy Mara Corday.
Mara started in cabaret dancing: Earl Carroll’s chorus line, you know,
Though as his primary showgirl, her legacy couldn’t help but grow.
She had some minor movie roles; worked hard on each one she did,
Until she finally starred in The Man from Bitter Ridge.
Then her movie roles came aplenty, and she played them like a flute,
From native girl to gangster to Indian: even a prostitute.
Mara’s modeling career skyrocketed; the guys thought she was great,
Especially as Playboy Magazine’s centerfold, October of ’58.
Her most memorable parts were in “B-films,” where she saved us time and again,
From giant flying monsters and oversized scorpions.
Her biggest foe was a Tarantula that stood one hundred feet high,
A terrifying nemesis; it just wouldn’t seem to die.
Thankfully, she lived, and the spider perished in flames,
Downed by a 50’s jet fighter, flown by a Man with No Name.
Mara’s parts, they changed with marriage: less films and more TV,
Until she finally settled for full-time domesticity.
The years they came and went, and time kept moving on.
And though my star’s light has dimmed, her vivacity’s still quite strong.
So you can keep your Monroe’s and Hayworth’s, and your Lana Turner’s, too.
The same goes for any Ann Margret’s – hell, none of them will do.
I’ll pit my goddess against the brightest lights of yesteryear and today.
Only one star shines in my night sky and that’s lovely Mara Corday.
