Curley's meteoric rise to fame on the covers of international fashion glossies and catwalks took everyone by surprise. She was 'discovered' at a makeover party by a hair stylist to the stars and was declared an original. Her unique look placed her somewhere between the dollar store that she was born into and the horror flicks that she later made cameo appearances in. The first shock of her career came two years after her discovery when, without reason or warning, she pulled out of a hair deal with Revlon. This proved to be the start of her undoing - effectively this split ended her career in the fashion industry.
Curley later found work in the movie industry, briefly appearing first, under her real name Pet Spirtz, in Gone With The Wind. She found more prominent roles in Hairspray, Emily Spoonhands and as a psychopathic nightstalker in Spray Misty For Me. Sadly in later years she reportedly suffered from real life identity issues which left her struggling to strike a balance between work and her illness. She apparently lived in fear of being dropped by studios and of being left on the shelf. She fought desperately to brush aside her personal issues and plunge herself into her work, but the limelight eventually dimmed when it became clear she no longer needed make up artists or stylists for the parts she was offered in the horror flicks. Towards the end she started getting involved with chemicals and was eventually found broken,abandoned, in pieces in the gutter.
Petula Spirtz's story is apt warning that one season you're in, the next season you're out. We say goodbye and some may say good riddance to the queen of glamour, the wicked witch of B movies: Auf wiedersehen, auf wiedersehen PET.
