Actress and video vixen Julie E. “Tawny” Kitaen is dead. Kitaen died in her Newport Beach home on Friday at age 59. The coroner’s office in Orange County listed her as Tawny Finley but is yet to declare the cause of her death. Tawny’s two daughters Wynter and Raine announced her death on social media and stated that her legacy will live forever.
“We are heartbroken and saddened to announce the death of our mom,” they announced. “We just want to say thank you to all of you, her fans and her friends, for always showing her such support and love. You gave her life every day. We miss her and love her and we know her legacy will live on forever.”
Best known for her role in Bachelor Party, Kitaen was born in San Diego, California. She became involved in the entertainment industry at the age of 14 after she attended a Peter Frampton show at Balboa Stadium. She saw how Frampton’s girlfriend Penny was received and given a lavish all-access VIP treatment and that gingered her to want to get into showbiz, TMZ reported.
In 1976, Tawny got into a game show known as “To Tell the Truth” and later featured prominently in Bachelor Party among other movies. She was very prominent in several music videos with Whitesnake’s Here I Go Again and Is This Love among others. She was the girlfriend of Tom Hanks in the Bachelor Party comedy in 1984.
With time, Kitaen fell in love with Robbin Crosby, a guitarist, and went with him to Los Angeles. She was featured on Crosby’s band’s debut EP Ratt and the band’s album Out of the Cellar. Her life with Crosby was full of tumult, and she eventually got married to David Coverdale, Whitesnake’s lead singer, in 1989.
The marriage scattered within two years. Then Kitaen went on to marry Chuck Finley, a baseball star, and they raised two daughters. But the marriage was riddled with complaints from Finley and domestic violence from Kitaen. Finley sued for divorce three days after he dropped domestic violence charges against his wife.
On several occasions, the video vixen was in the media for the wrong reasons – drug abuse, cocaine possession, and driving under the influence. A day before her death on May 7, Kitaen tweeted and thanked a fan for a particular drawing which she found fascinating.
Source: yahoo.com