Tura Satana, who simultaneously won the hearts and frightened the life out of men in Russ Meyer's cult classic Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!, has died of heart failure, it has been announced. She had a colourful life of considerable ups and downs, but will be best remembered for her role as Varla, the martial arts expert man-hater in the 1965 favourite. An ex-stripper, as well as a handful of bit parts in such productions as Irma La Douce and Our Man Flint, she was associated with Ted V. Mikels movies like The Astro Zombies and The Doll Squad, and had made a return to the screen in low budget enterprises in recent years. But to most, she will always be the trendsetting, fearsome Varla.
