Draft:Nanci Beck

Nanci Beck

Nanci Beck was born in California USA.  She grew up on a ranch in San Diego County which is where she developed her lifelong passion for horses and other animals.  She later moved to Los Angeles where she studied acting and dance.

She became a Hollywood Actress and Film Star.  She appeared on television in programmes such as ‘The Mary Tyler Moore Show’.  She had a starring role of the 1972 American International film ‘The Dirt Gang’ where her character, Mary, was pivotal to the plot and action.

She is one of five actors to receive an individual starring credit at the start of the movie. Hers reads 'Introducing Nanci Beck as Mary'. The other actors to receive individual starring credits were Paul Carr, Michael Forest, Michael Pataki and Lee de Broux.

As one of the stars her image was used on the film's poster and all the other publicity and promotional materials produced.  The film is is known as ‘Desert Angels’ in Europe where it has been available on DVD since 2010.

Nanci plays Mary the girlfriend of the movie's hero Zeno (Michael Forest). She finds herself in a new and frightening situation but shows hidden strength and depth through adversity. Many years ago, as a biker, Zeno had been involved in a biking duel with Monk (Paul Carr) the leader of the Dirt Gang. Monk had lost his eye in the duel and blamed Zeno. He had been seeking him ever since looking for a rematch in a death duel. Zeno had left biking and become a stuntman on a Hollywood Western, where Mary works, which is filming in the desert. Monk's bike gang, having killed a policeman, come across the film crew while travelling to Mexico. Monk wants to force Zeno to have a death duel with him but Zeno refuses and it becomes a battle of wills. Zeno tries to escape in a dune buggy in a thrilling chase through the desert accompanied by Mary. Unfortunately they are recaptured by the bikers. Eventually Zeno has to agree to the death duel in order to save Mary.

Nanci Beck did her own stunts in this movie She hurtled through the desert sat in the dune buggy chased by bikers. She has two credits at the start of the movie. One is her starring credit and the other is as a 'Friend' in the 'Stunts Unlimited and Friends' credit. The stunts were performed by 'Stunts Unlimited' an elite band of stuntmen, led by Hal Needham, Ronnie Rondell and Glenn Wilder, who came together in 1970 to provide innovative stunts and action for films. Ronnie Rondell was the stunt coordinator for this film.

Despite the success of her role in The Dirt Gang Nanci had a career change. She met the famous artist Alvaro Guillot and they became close lifelong friends. He admired her so much that he painted a portrait of her as a present - a gift she treasured for the rest of her life. Through Alvaro she met other famous artists, such as Andy Warhol and Salvador Dali, and this inspired her to become an Art Dealer.

She later moved to Europe and lived in Monaco and then Paris for several years before finally moving to England where she settled in London.  She was an active patron of the arts.  She started and ran her own business providing specialist nursing services for many years until retirement. She passed away after a short illness in 2023.

References

Nanci Beck - IMDb