If you grew up watching television in the 1970s and 1980s, chances are you remember Susan Anton.
She had the kind of presence that was hard to miss — tall, glamorous, talented and instantly recognizable. For a time, her face seemed to be everywhere, from television commercials and variety shows to movies, music and the stage.
But Susan Anton’s road to fame wasn’t exactly what you might expect.
Before becoming a familiar face on American television, Anton was a small-town California girl with dreams that initially had little to do with Hollywood. She graduated from Yucaipa High School in 1968 and attended San Bernardino Valley College. Her life changed dramatically when she entered beauty pageants.
In 1969, Anton won the Miss California title after previously winning Miss Redlands. She went on to compete in the Miss America pageant, where she finished as second runner-up.
That success opened the door to an entertainment career, but breaking into the industry was far from easy.
“It didn’t matter to people in Hollywood that I had a crown on my head. If anything, it played against me. Beauty queens weren’t in,” Anton shared in 2009, adding that “earthy types” were more in favor at the time.
The commercial that made America remember her
Anton gradually began landing commercial work, and her big break came when Edie Adams stepped down from her famous role as the Muriel Cigar Girl. Anton was one of three women selected to compete for the coveted position.
“The three of us went to New York. Each shot a commercial,” Anton explains.
“They aired it on the NFL. The public then voted. … If you picked the winner, you got a ticket so you could win a Corvette. My mother was out like a campaign manager on fire. I was voted in by a landslide.”
Winning the public vote transformed Anton’s career. Almost overnight, the aspiring entertainer from California became a familiar face on television screens across America.
”That’s when things really turned around for me,” she said.
Her commercials ran repeatedly on television, and her striking appearance and distinctive singing voice quickly made her memorable to viewers.
She also became a frequent guest on The Merv Griffin Show, appearing around 30 times during the late 1970s, and she also became familiar to audiences through commercials for Serta mattresses.
And now, Hollywood was beginning to take notice.
From television to movies and music
In 1978, Anton was given her own summer variety series, Mel and Susan Together, alongside country music star Mel Tillis.
Although the show lasted only a few weeks, it helped establish Anton as more than just a commercial spokeswoman.
She soon moved into acting, appearing in projects including Goldengirl, Spring Fever and Cannonball Run II. Her role in Goldengirl was particularly important, earning her a Golden Globe nomination and helping lead to her own NBC variety program, Presenting Susan Anton.
She also pursued music.
In 1980, Anton recorded “Killin’ Time,” a duet with country singer Fred Knoblock. The song became a Top 10 country hit and crossed over onto the Billboard Hot 100.
Many may also remember that Susan Anton was once romantically linked to Sylvester Stallone. Their romance began in 1979 after the two met while filming an episode of The Muppet Show, where they both appeared.
Never really stopped working
As the decades passed, Anton continued finding ways to stay in the entertainment world.
She appeared on television shows including Baywatch, Night Court, The Larry Sanders Show and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. She also built an impressive stage career, appearing on Broadway in productions including The Will Rogers Follies and Hurlyburly.
In Las Vegas, she became a major attraction, performing for years in The Great Radio City Music Hall Spectacular alongside the Rockettes. According to her official biography, she starred in the production for seven years.
Even after her biggest television years were behind her, Anton continued acting and performing. Her more recent screen work includes the 2016 film Sharknado: The 4th Awakens and the 2020 psychological thriller Painter.
And what does Susan Anton look like today?
Now in her mid-70s, Susan Anton has naturally changed since the glamorous television days that made her famous, but she has continued to embrace her career and life in entertainment.
She and her husband, director Jeff Lester, have made Las Vegas their home for many years. Together, they founded Big Picture Studios and have also worked on film and documentary projects. Anton remains involved in entertainment and business, rather than disappearing completely from the public eye.
A simple trip to the gym ended up putting Susan Anton on a path toward love. She noticed actress Lesley Ann Warren looking especially radiant and asked what she was doing differently. Warren told her, “I’m working with a life coach.”
Anton decided to attend the life coach’s class herself. But when she walked in, she admits her attention quickly shifted from self-improvement to seeing who might catch her eye.
“I looked to see if there was anybody I would hit on,” she says. There wasn’t.
That changed when Jeff Lester arrived late to the class. Anton immediately noticed him and wondered, “Who’s that?”
Susan Anton husband
They spent several months in the same course, giving Anton plenty of time to get to know him. The more she learned about Lester, the more she was drawn to him.
“I could see there was such a quality about him,” she recalled.
Before long, Anton invited him to join her in Las Vegas, where she was performing at an arthritis telethon. What started as a chance meeting eventually turned into something much deeper.
Their wedding invitations perfectly captured the unconventional beginning of their relationship: “They met. They had a fight. She told him to go away. He didn’t.”
Anton was five years older and already well established in her career, while Lester was still trying to make it as an actor. At first, she wasn’t sure their different circumstances would work.
“I’m five years older. He was still a struggling actor,” Anton explains. “I was established. I thought, ‘I don’t know if I can deal with an out-of-work actor,’ but I just loved being with him. Thank God he was smarter, because I would have blown it.”
For those who remember her towering presence on television, hearing the name Susan Anton can bring back an entire era.
The commercials.
The variety shows.
The big hair.
The glamorous gowns.
And that unmistakable smile.
Decades later, Susan Anton is still out there — a reminder of a time when a familiar face on television could become a household name almost overnight.
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