Hello Celebrators of Vintage Sensuality;
With a deeply cold winter that has stretched almost to the spring — we need a good warm up.
That’s why April’s featured vintage beauty is ACQUANETTA —> The Venezuelan Volcano!
Although her exotic looks turned heads she was born and bred in in the good ole’ USA.
It was Universal Studios who came up with the name The Venezuelan Volcano although there is no evidence she has any Venezuelan ancestry.
However, where she was born exactly is a bit of a mystery.
There are reports she said she was born in Wyoming, records indicate she was born in Pennsylvania to the Davenport family.
I found a local newspaper account celebrating the fact that just 4 years out of high school she made it big in Hollywood.
I have to say I really like not knowing the exact background details of a movie star.
It’s none of our business and it adds to the mystery.
If you’d like to know more about this mysterious, exotic beauty then have a look below…
Thank you for reading and stay sensual.
04/2026
Dyann Bridges, writer, publisher and voice actor
***INTERESTING FACTS ***
Although Universal Pictures tried to present her as an exotic Hispanic, naming her “The Venezuelan Volcano,” she was in fact a light-skinned African American woman.
Old Hollywood had racist tendencies. So, Acquanetta presented herself as white to avoid the stereotype trap.
It’s interesting to note that black-focused media like Jet magazine covered her career extensively.
As well, one of her siblings, Horace Davenport, was referred to as the first black judge in his county of PA.
She is known for her trademark long black braids, beautiful silver and turquoise jewelry and sidekick to Johnny Wiesmueller’s Tarzan.
Her beauty, career and mysterious background inspired an opera entitled — what else — “Acquanetta”
In The Beginning….
Acquanetta was born as Mildred Davenport, somewhere in Pennsylvania to William and Julia Davenport on July 17, 1921 and passed away on August 16th, 2004 at the age of 83 in Arizona from Alzhiemers disease.
It’s sometimes reported that she was born in Wyoming, but census records suggest she was born in Pennsylvania,
It’s also likely that she was a light-skinned African American woman passing as white.
Early Years & Breakthrough…
Acquanetta was probably best known for starring in Tarzan and the Leopard Woman (1946) .
She had a strong career up until the early 1950s when she met and married
In the 1950s, Acquanetta moved to Phoenix and married the owner of a local car dealership.
She achieved local celebrity status when she appeared in numerous ads for her husband’s business. She also was the host of her own TV program, “Acqua’s Corner,” that played movies.
Acquanetta also authored a book in 1974 called “The Audible Silence,” a compilation of poems about life, love, and Indian jewelry.
She used her celebrity and charm to support/raise money for a number of cultural groups and charities including Mesa Lutheran Hospital, the Heard Museum, the Phoenix Indian School, Stagebrush Theatre, and the Phoenix Symphony.
Below is a short clip with Acquanetta in Tarzan and the Leopard Woman (1946)
***I can find no full length movies with Acquanetta on youtube for free***
ACQUANETTA Photo Gallery
ACQUANETTA’S LOVE LIFE
Acquanetta was married three times.
Luciano Bashuk (m. 1948; div. 1950)
Henry Clive (m. 1950; div. 1953)
Jack Ross (m. c. 1955; div.)
She also had four sons with Jack Ross
- Jack Ross Jr., 45
- Lance Ross, 50
- Tom Ross, 47
- Rex Ross, 43
***I could not find pictures of Acquanetta with her husbands or children.***
In 1947, Acquanetta and a man who was described as a “Mexican-Jewish millionaire, Luciano Baschuk, had a son, Sergei. The boy died of cancer in 1952 at age five.
Apparently, she thought they were married yet no, marriage record could be produced when they began divorce proceedings in 1950.
It was a bitter divorce from Baschuk and Acquanetta fought to receive half of his fortune, but without the marriage record she got nothing.
In the same year -1950 – Acquanetta married painter and illustrator Henry Clive, who was 40 years her senior. At this point she also returned to acting.
Perhaps the age difference was too much as the couple were divorced in 1953. That same year she retired from films and became a disk jockey for radio station KPOL (AM) in Los Angeles.
THANK YOU FOR CELEBRATING VINTAGE SENSUALITY WITH US
Contact: thebodyhouse.biz@gmail.com
Discover more classic beauties here:
BARBARA LANG
VIRGINIA MAYO
SYLVIA SIDNEY
EARTHA KITT
DOROTHY MCGUIRE
FAY WRAY
RHONDA FLEMING
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