In another hilarious scene, with Donald Sutherland and Elliott Gould, her shower screen was lifted to settle a bet over whether she was a natural blonde. It was her first nude scene and Kellerman later said: “That torment really saved Hot Lips. She’d been so uptight, no sense of humour and after that she started having a real life.”
Actress Lucille Ball described her as being in the same class as Greta Garbo, adding she was “the closest thing to Garbo, her smile, her eyes, everything”.
Kellerman performed in more than 60 films, starring in A Little Romance with Laurence Olivier and Slither with James Caan.
A talented jazz vocalist, she also sang on the soundtracks for many of the films she appeared in.
While they were in a relationship in the 1970s, singer and guitarist Mark Farner wrote the hit song Sally about her.
She had already earned the nickname Long Tall Sally after making her screen debut in the 1957 film Reform School Girl.
Between film roles, she worked as a swimming coach and lift operator.
She was born in Long Beach, California, one of three daughters to Shell oil executive Jack Kellerman and his wife Edith, a dedicated piano teacher.
Kellerman was married to Starsky & Hutch director Rick Edelstein from 1970 to 1972, and is predeceased by her second husband, producer Jonathan Krane.
She is survived by her two adopted children, Claire Kellerman and Jack Krane.
Sally Kellerman born June 2, 1937 died February 24, 2022
