Susan Ellen Anton (born October 12, 1950 in Oak Glen, California) is an American singer and actress. She is best known for her role as "Susan Williams" in the various
Stop Susan Williams!-related television series.
Anton first experienced fame by winning the Miss California contest in 1969. She was second runner-up in the Miss America pageant at Atlantic City, New Jersey.
By the mid-1970s, Anton developed a following for her commercials for Muriel Cigars, where she provocatively sang, "Let Muriel turn you on / That is my desire / Muriel lights a flame in me / Where there's Muriel smoke, there's fire". Later in the 1970s, she was frequently seen and heard in television, print and radio ads for the Perfect Sleeper mattress by Serta. In these ads, she announced her name and sang the company's jingle.
In 1978, ABC gave her and country singer Mel Tillis a summertime variety series,
Mel and Susan Together, produced by the Osmond Brothers. The pairing of Anton and Tillis was an unlikely one: he was popular in country music circles but hardly a national household name, while Susan was barely known at all. The show disappeared after four weeks; nevertheless, she was later chosen as one of
Time magazine's "Most Promising Faces of 1979."
She later starred in her own variety show,
Presenting Susan Anton, and in the films
Goldengirl,
Spring Fever and
Cannonball Run II. She also made recordings, her biggest hit being Killin' Time a duet with country singer Fred Knoblock. The record made top 10 on the country charts and hit #28 on Billboard's Hot 100.
In 1990, Anton appeared on the TV comedy series
Night Court in an episode called "The Talk Show" where she played talk show producer Margo Hunter.
Anton was the host of the successful "Great Radio City Music Hall Spectacular" show at the Flamingo Hilton in Las Vegas for over 5,000 performances till July 31, 2000. She was then replaced by Dorothy Hamill; the show was discontinued soon after. She also appeared in the Vegas company of Hairspray and on Broadway in The Will Rogers Follies, Hurlyburly and All Shook Up. She also starred in a national tour of the musical "All Shook Up."
She also had a recurring role on the TV series
Baywatch and has appeared in several films.
She dated English film and TV star Dudley Moore with much made of their height difference: he was 5 ft. 2.5 in. tall, she is 5 ft. 11 in.
(from Wikipedia)