Ubiquitous 1950s model Madeline Castle seen working with famed Hollywood glamour photographer Peter Gowland in 1952 or '53. This photo appeared in Gowland's 1954 book "How to Photograph Women".
Madeline Castle - There is a lot of misinformation about Madeline Castle on the internet these days because the little information that's out there (which is always wrong) keeps being passed around since people just assumed it was true without ever knowing the source. For example, it has often been repeated that Madeline was born on December 1, 1933 in Virginia and neither of these is true. With this profile on her, I hope to set the record straight. All of the facts that I cite on this page are from researching genealogical sites like Ancestry.com and FamilySearch.com and also from newspaper clippings of the time.
Madeline Aurelia Castle was born on August 15, 1932 in Collinsdale, West Virginia, the daughter of Mabel L. Cunningham and William F. Castle. The couple would eventually split up and Mabel and Madeline Castle moved to St. Petersburg, Florida where Mabel would marry Arnold Loher on April 18, 1939. In the 1940 Census, Madeline Castle was listed as Arnold Loher's step daughter. On February 13, 1950, at the age of 17, Madeline Castle married twenty-year-old Harry Greenough in St. Petersburg. Because she was under 18, her mother Mabel had to sign the marriage license to signify her consent. The marriage lasted a little over a year because the two were divorced in 1951 when Madeline was 19. She married again that same year, to Victor M. Crook Jr., who was a groundman for Florida Power.
However, it was in early 1951 when Pennsylvania freelance photographer Joseph W. Steffek happened to be visiting Florida and spotted Madeline walking home from the movies and he asked her if she would be willing to pose for him. She agreed and one of those photos soon appeared on the cover of the September 1951 issue of Sir! magazine. She later went to Hollywood in January 1952 at the request of entertainment industry entrepreneur Nils T Granlund. There, she began receiving training in voice, dancing and drama.
One of the first published photos of Madeline Castle, which appeared on the cover of the September 1951 issue of Sir! magazine. The photograph was taken by Joseph W. Steffek, the man who discovered her.
Below is a Tampa Bay Times article from August 6, 1951 which gives some information about Madeline's budding career (even though she claimed at the time that she didn't have any intention of modeling professionally).
As I stated above, she eventually did go to Hollywood to take voice and dancing lessons and began to model for many of the photographers in Los Angeles, including Peter Gowland.
Several more photos that were taken by Joseph Steffek appeared in such magazines as Cover Girls Models and Glamorous Models. The November 1952 issue of Cover Girls Models featured a two-page spread of a photo (credited to Mr. Steffek) that would later be sold as a life sized print (5 feet tall) through a mail order company. The five other models who were also reproduced life sized were Joann Arnold, Pat Hall, Lili St. Cyr, Anita Ekberg and Marilyn Monroe.
Possibly because Madeline wanted to continue with modeling, she divorced Victor Crook Jr. sometime in 1953. During the next 7 or 8 years (possibly a bit longer) Madeline would pose for many of the leading glamour photographers in Hollywood and at least one who was based in Chicago (artist-photographer K.O. Munson). She very quickly began to pose for nudes as well as in the typical attire worn in glamour photos. Some of the LA photographers who photographed Madeline were Peter Gowland, Danny Rouzer, Mario Casilli, Andre de Dienes, Arnold Rubenstein, Art Messick, Jack and Jean Drebert, George Mann, Eric Herman, and Edmund Leja.
Below (left) is a studio photograph of Madeline that was taken by Eric Herman. Mr. Herman also photographed Madeline in the nude, as did many of the other photographers. To view a few of her semi-nudes, check out the last update in my profile of Arnold Rubenstein at the end of More Photogs page 5. Below (right) is the July 1956 issue of TV Girls and Gags, which featured the same photo of Madeline that was published in the November 1952 issue of Cover Girls Models (credited to Joseph Steffek) and also printed life sized (5 feet tall) and sold by mail order. However, the credit for the cover of this issue of TV Girls and Gags is given to Burchman (Phil Burchman). Someone at the magazine must have made a mistake and I'm more inclined to believe that Joseph Steffek shot the image since he had previously been given credit for it.
A studio photograph of Madeline that was taken by Eric Herman.
The July 1956 issue of TV Girls and Gags which featured a photo of Madeline Castle on the cover.
A husband and wife photography team who often photographed Madeline in the early to mid 50s was Jack and Jean Drebert. For the October 1954 issue of Playboy, one of their color studio shots of Madeline was selected to be the centerfold that month. Below is the cover of that issue.
While the October 1954 centerfold by Jack and Jean Drebert has sometimes been criticized as being unimaginative, my favorite nude of Madeline Castle by the Dreberts was taken in their home in front of a fireplace. This image was published in the March 1959 issue of Modern Man magazine (in the Modern Art for Men section) and can be seen by clicking here.
Sadly, the Dreberts both died relatively young and within 3 years of each other. Jean died of cancer in 1958 at the age of 48 and Jack died from congestive heart failure in 1961 at the age of 51. For more info on the Dreberts, have a look at More Photogs page 7 on this site.
A bit of trivia - a nude photo of Madeline Castle (which was taken by an unknown photographer) was used as a reference for artist Albert Kallis when he was painting the poster for the 1958 film The Astounding She Monster.
Throughout the 1950s and early 60s, Madeline appeared on many magazine covers, and a small selection can be seen below.
Famous Paris Models April 1952
Follies May 1958
Hit Show October 1959
My Escort January/February 1959
Photo by Roy Arden.
Modern Man Quarterly Spring 1959
Photo by K.O. Munson.
Delite magazine 1963
Madeline Castle continued modeling throughout the 1950s and early 60s. She would also marry and divorce several more times and by 1985 she had moved to Albemarle, North Carolina. She remained in that city until her death on November 11, 2004 at the age of 72. According to hospital records, Madeline Castle Kendall passed away at Stanly Memorial Hospital in Albemarle of an undisclosed illness. No autopsy was performed and she had elected to be cremated.
Some of Madeline's many new surnames through marriage were: Straisfeld Barton (June 1955), Morton (June 1958), Woods (August 1972), Kendall (November 1977) and Anderson.
I will update this page as I find more photos and information.