Jill Banner

Jill Banner (born Mary Molumby, November 8, 1946 – August 7, 1982) was an American film actress. She played Virginia, the "spider baby" in the 1968 cult horror-comedy film Spider Baby. She also had roles as James Coburn's flower child friend in The President's Analyst (1967), and appearances in Jack Webb's television series, Dragnet. Early life Banner was born in Bremerton, Washington. After her father's death in 1949, she and her mother lived in South Dakota and Iowa, near relatives, finally ending up in Glendale, California. She studied at the Hollywood Professional School, a K-12 school for working professional children run by Maurice and Bertha Mann, where classes typically ran from 8:45 AM to 12:45 PM, allowing the students the afternoon off to pursue various jobs or performing careers. The school assemblies, called "Aud. Calls", were early showcases for the talents of students aspiring to be dancers, singers, and actors. She graduated in 1964. Film and television Banner's film acting began in 1964 with Spider Baby, also starring Sid Haig and Lon Chaney Jr. and directed by Jack Hill. However, the film was tied up in litigation and was not released until 1967 under various titles, including Attack of the Liver Eaters, Cannibal Orgy, and The Maddest Story Ever Told. The black and white feature quickly faded from view. Spider Baby became known largely through the efforts of Los Angeles cult film resurrectionist Johnny Legend. The film tells the story of the Merrye family, who suffer from a degenerative disease. While Spider Baby remained in legal limbo, Banner was uncredited in Deadlier Than the Male (1966), a British mystery about two female assassins. In 1967, she played Wendy, a wholesome teenager, in C'mon, Let's Live a Little, one of the last of the Beach party films, and as Caroline in the Spaghetti Western The Stranger Returns.