Pier Angeli
Pier Angeli | |
|---|---|
 pictured in 1957 | |
| Born | Anna Maria Pierangeli 19 June 1932 |
| Died | 10 September 1971 (aged 39) |
| Cause of death | Accidental barbiturate overdose |
| Resting place | Cimitière des Bulvis in Rueil Malmaison, France |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1950–1971 |
| Spouse(s) |
(divorced) (1 child) (divorced) (1 child) |
| Children | Perry Rocco Luigi Farinola Damone (1955-2014) Howard Andrew Rugantino (b. 1963)[1] |
| Relatives | Marisa Pavan (sister) |
Pier Angeli (19 June 1932 – 10 September 1971)[2] was an Italian-born television and film actress. Her American cinematographic debut was in the starring role of the 1951 film Teresa, for which she won a Golden Globe Award for Young Star of the Year - Actress. She had one son with Vic Damone, her first husband, and another son with Armando Trovajoli, her second husband.
Early life and career
Born Anna Maria Pierangeli in Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy.[2] Her twin sister is the actress Marisa Pavan.
Angeli made her film debut with Vittorio De Sica in Domani è troppo tardi (1950) after being spotted by director Léonide Moguy and De Sica.[2] MGM launched her in Teresa (1951), her first American film, which also saw the debuts of Rod Steiger and John Ericson. Reviews for this performance compared her to Greta Garbo, and she won the New Star of the Year–Actress Golden Globe. Under contract to MGM throughout the 1950s, she appeared in a series of films, including The Light Touch with Stewart Granger. Plans for a film of Romeo and Juliet with her and Marlon Brando fell through when a British-Italian production was announced.
While filming The Story of Three Loves (1953), Angeli started a relationship with costar Kirk Douglas. She next appeared in Sombrero, in which she replaced an indisposed Ava Gardner, then Flame and the Flesh (1954). After discovering Leslie Caron, another continental ingénue, MGM lent Angeli to other studios. She went to Warner Bros. for both The Silver Chalice, which marked the debut of Paul Newman, and Mam'zelle Nitouche. For Paramount, she was in contention for the role of Anna Magnani's daughter in The Rose Tattoo, but the role went to Marisa Pavan, her twin sister. MGM lent her to Columbia for Port Afrique (1956). She returned to MGM for Somebody Up There Likes Me as Paul Newman's long-suffering wife (Angeli's former lover, James Dean, was to play the starring role, which went to Newman after Dean's death). She then appeared in The Vintage (1957) and finished her MGM contract in Merry Andrew.
During the 1960s and until 1970, Angeli lived and worked in Britain and Europe. Her performance in The Angry Silence (1960) was nominated for a Best Foreign Actress BAFTA, and she was reunited with Stewart Granger for Sodom and Gomorrah (1963), in which she played Lot's wife. She had a brief role in the war epic Battle of the Bulge (1965). 1968 found Angeli in Israel, top billed in Every Bastard a King, about events during that nation's recent war.
Personal life and death
According to Kirk Douglas' autobiography, he and Angeli were engaged in the 1950s after meeting on the set of the film The Story of Three Loves (1953).[3] Angeli also had a brief romantic relationship with James Dean. She broke it off because her mother was not happy with their relationship as he was not Catholic.[citation needed]
Angeli was married to singer and actor Vic Damone from 1954 to 1958.[4] During their marriage, they appeared as guests on the June 17, 1956 episode of What's My Line?.[5] Their divorce was followed by highly publicized court battles for the custody of their only child, son Perry (1955–2014).
Angeli next married Italian composer Armando Trovajoli in 1962. She had another son, Howard, in 1963. She and Trovajoli were separated in 1969.[6]
In 1971, at the age of 39, Angeli was found dead of an accidental barbiturate overdose at her home in Beverly Hills.[7][8] She is interred in the Cimetière des Bulvis in Rueil-Malmaison, Hauts-de-Seine, France.
Portrayals in popular culture
Angeli was portrayed by Valentina Cervi in the 2001 TV movie James Dean, which depicted her relationship with Dean. In 2015, she was portrayed by Alessandra Mastronardi in the James Dean biopic Life.
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | Domani è troppo tardi | Mirella | English title: Tomorrow Is Too Late |
| 1951 | Tomorrow Is Another Day | Luisa | |
| 1951 | Teresa | Teresa Russo | |
| 1952 | The Light Touch | Anna Vasarri | |
| 1952 | The Devil Makes Three | Wilhelmina (Willie) Lehrt | |
| 1952 | The Million Dollar Nickel | Herself | Short subject |
| 1953 | The Story of Three Loves | Nina Burkhardt | (segment "Equilibrium") |
| 1953 | Sombrero | Eufemia Calderon | |
| 1954 | Mam'zelle Nitouche | Denise de Flavigny / Nitouche | Alternative titles: Oh No, Mam'zelle Santarellina |
| 1954 | Flame and the Flesh | Lisa | |
| 1954 | The Silver Chalice | Deborra | |
| 1956 | Meet Me in Las Vegas | Himself | Cameo, Uncredited |
| 1956 | Somebody Up There Likes Me | Norma | |
| 1956 | Port Afrique | Ynez | |
| 1957 | The Vintage | Lucienne | |
| 1957 | The Midnight Story | ||
| 1958 | Merry Andrew | Selena Gallini | |
| 1959 | SOS Pacific | Teresa | Alternative title: S.O.S. Pacific |
| 1960 | The Angry Silence | Anna Curtis | |
| 1960 | Estoril y sus fiestas | Herself | Short subject |
| 1961 | L'ammutinamento | Polly | English title: White Slave Ship Credited as Anna Maria Pierangeli |
| 1962 | The Last Days of Sodom and Gomorrah | Ildith | Credited as Anna Maria Pierangeli |
| 1962 | I moschettieri del mare | Consuelo / Gracia | English title: Musketeers of the Sea |
| 1964 | Banco à Bangkok pour OSS 117 | Lila Sinn | English titles: Panic in Bangkok Shadow of Evil |
| 1965 | Berlino – Appuntamento per le spie | Paula Krauss | English title: Berlin, Appointment for the Spies |
| 1965 | Battle of the Bulge | Louise | |
| 1966 | Missione mortale Molo 83 | Hélène Blanchard | English title: M.M.M. 83 |
| 1966 | Per mille dollari al giorno | Betty Benson | English title: For One Thousand Dollars Per Day Credited as Annamaria Pierangeli |
| 1966 | Caccia ai violenti | Ann Peterson | English title: One Step to Hell |
| 1968 | Rose rosse per il führer | Marie | English title: Red Roses for the Führer Credited as Anna Maria Pierangeli |
| 1968 | Kol Mamzer Melech | Eileen | English title: Every Bastard a King |
| 1969 | Cry Chicago | Bambi | Credited as Anna Maria Pierangeli |
| 1969 | Addio, Alexandra | Alexandra | Alternative title: Love Me, Love My Wife Credited as Anna Maria Pierangeli |
| 1970 | Nelle pieghe della carne | Falesse / Ester | English title: In the Folds of the Flesh Credited as Anna Maria Pierangeli |
| 1970 | Quell'amore particolare | Cecilia | Credited as Anna Maria Pierangeli |
| 1971 | Octaman | Susan Lowry | (final film role) |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1958 | Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse | Bernadette Soubirous | 1 episode |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Title of work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1951 | Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists | Best Actress (Migliore Attrice) | Domani è troppo tardi | Won |
| 1952 | Golden Globe Award | New Star Of The Year Actress | Teresa | Won |
| 1955 | Golden Globe Award | World Film Favorite – Female | Nominated | |
| 1961 | BAFTA Awards | Best Foreign Actress | The Angry Silence | Nominated |
References
- ^ Glamour Girls of the Silver Screen
- ^ a b c Allen, Jane (2002). Pier Angeli: a fragile life. McFarland. pp. 6, 16–17. ISBN 978-0-7864-1392-8.
father, Luigi Pierangeli ... Anna Maria ... Vittorio de Sica ... Leonide Moguy
- ^ Douglas, Kirk (1989). The Ragman's Son: An Autobiography. G.K. Hall. pp. 35, 174, 187, 202. ISBN 0-8161-4795-7.
- ^ Donnelley, Paul (2003). Fade to Black: A Book of Movie Obituaries. Omnibus. p. 55. ISBN 0-7119-9512-5.
- ^ What's My Line? - Arthur Murray; Pier Angeli & Vic Damone; Paul Winchell (panel) (Jun 17, 1956)
- ^ http://avengers-in-time.blogspot.com/2014/04/1971-deaths-actress-pier-angeli-dies-at.html
- ^ Crivello, Kirk (1988). Fallen Angels: The Lives and Untimely Deaths of Fourteen Hollywood Beauties. Citadel Press. p. 277. ISBN 0-8065-1096-X.
- ^ Frascella, Lawrence; Weisel, Al (2005). Live Fast, Die Young: The Wild Ride of Making Rebel Without a Cause. Simon and Schuster. p. 180. ISBN 0-7432-9118-2.
External links
- 1932 births
- 1971 deaths
- Italian Roman Catholics
- People from Cagliari
- Drug-related deaths in California
- Barbiturates-related deaths
- Burials in Île-de-France
- Italian expatriates in the United States
- Italian film actresses
- Italian television actresses
- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract players
- Twin people from Italy
- Nastro d'Argento winners
- 20th-century Italian actresses
- Expatriate actresses in the United States