Valerie Perrine Dies at 82, Hollywood Icon Suffered Long Battle With Parkinson’s

• Hollywood icon Valerie Perrine has died at 82 after a long battle with Parkinson’s
• The former Stardust showgirl was the only Las Vegas dancer to go on to earn an Oscar nomination
• Fans are raising money to fulfill Perrine’s final wish of burial at Forest Lawn Cemetery

Valerie Perrine, the only Las Vegas showgirl who leveraged her feathers and rhinestones into an Oscar-nominated Hollywood career, has passed away at 82.

She died Monday, March 23, 2026, at her home in Beverly Hills, following a decades-long battle with Parkinson’s disease that left her without adequate funds for a burial.

While best remembered for her Oscar-nominated turn in the 1974 movie Lenny, Perrine’s professional career was inextricably linked to Las Vegas.

At age 21, the daughter of a Texas cattleman and a former “Earl Carroll Vanities” showgirl moved from Galveston, Texas to Sin City after landing a role in the Donn Arden showgirl production, “Hello America,” at the Desert Inn.

When Arden moved his focus to the Lido de Paris at the Stardust, he brought his protégé with him, effectively launching her into the most prestigious showgirl residency on the Strip.

From 1968 to 1970, Perrine performed 12 Lido shows a week as one of the topless production’s elite “Bluebell Girls.” Her image was a centerpiece of the resort’s marketing machine, appearing on promotional brochures, postcards, and the towering neon billboards that defined the 1960s skyline.

Perrine once noted that the poise required to stand perfectly still atop a moving hydraulic stage while wearing a 30-pound headpiece was the best acting training she ever received.

Turning Tragedy into Opportunity

In January 1969, Bill Haarman, a wealthy Las Vegas gun importer to whom Perrine was engaged, died of an accidental self-inflicted gunshot wound while cleaning a weapon. Perrine, still only 25, sought a fresh start in L.A.

The transition from the showgirl stage to the cinema happened with startling speed. In 1971, Perrine landed the role of Montana Wildhack in 1972’s Slaughterhouse-Five. However, her defining performance came in 1974 as Honey Bruce, the stripper-wife of comedian Lenny Bruce, as played by Dustin Hoffman in Bob Fosse’s Lenny.

The role earned Perrine the Best Actress award at the 1975 Cannes Film Festival and a 1975 Academy Award nomination for Best Actress — marking the first and only time a former Vegas showgirl ascended to the top tier of Hollywood critical acclaim.

Perrine remained a cultural fixture through the late ’70s and early ’80s, most notably as Miss Eve Teschmacher in 1978’s Superman and 1980’s Superman II. While her career slowed by the late 1980s, her status as a “survivor” of the old Vegas guard never wavered.

Never Complained

Diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2015, Perrine fought a grueling battle documented in the 2020 documentary, Valerie. Her death was announced Monday morning via a message posted by a loved one on her Facebook account.

“She faced Parkinson’s disease with incredible courage and compassion, never once complaining,” the message read, adding that “after more than 15 years of fighting … her finances are exhausted.”

A GoFundMe has been established to honor her final wish — to be buried at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Los Angeles. So far, $5,000 of $35K has been raised. To donate, click here.