Pier Angeli

Pier Angeli
pictured in 1957
Born Anna Maria Pierangeli
(1932-06-19)19 June 1932
Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy
Died 10 September 1971(1971-09-10) (aged 39)
Beverly Hills, California, U.S.
Cause of death Accidental barbiturate overdose
Resting place Cimitière des Bulvis in Rueil Malmaison, France
Occupation Actress
Years active 1950–1971
Spouse(s)
Vic Damone (m. 1954–1958)
(divorced) (1 child)
Armando Trovajoli (m. 1962–1969)
(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

Armando Trovajoli and Pier Angeli on their wedding day, London, 14 February 1962

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.

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.

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

Film
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)
Television
Year Title Role Notes
1958 Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse Bernadette Soubirous 1 episode

Awards and nominations

Awards
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

  1. ↑ Glamour Girls of the Silver Screen
  2. 1 2 3 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
  3. ↑ Douglas, Kirk (1989). The Ragman's Son: An Autobiography. G.K. Hall. pp. 35, 174, 187, 202. ISBN 0-8161-4795-7.
  4. ↑ Donnelley, Paul (2003). Fade to Black: A Book of Movie Obituaries. Omnibus. p. 55. ISBN 0-7119-9512-5.
  5. ↑ What's My Line? - Arthur Murray; Pier Angeli & Vic Damone; Paul Winchell (panel) (Jun 17, 1956)
  6. ↑ http://avengers-in-time.blogspot.com/2014/04/1971-deaths-actress-pier-angeli-dies-at.html
  7. ↑ Crivello, Kirk (1988). Fallen Angels: The Lives and Untimely Deaths of Fourteen Hollywood Beauties. Citadel Press. p. 277. ISBN 0-8065-1096-X.
  8. ↑ 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.
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