Wikipedia

Luciana Paluzzi

Luciana Paluzzi(born 10 June 1937) is an Italian actress. She is perhaps best known for playingSPECTREassassinFiona Volpein the fourthJames Bondfilm,Thunderball,but she had important roles in notable films of the 1960s and 1970s in both the Italian film industry and Hollywood, includingChuka,The Green Slime,99 Women,Black Gunn,The KlansmanandThe Sensuous Nurse.

Luciana Paluzzi
Paluzzi in the movieThe Italian Connection(1972)
Born(1937-06-10)10 June 1937(age 87)
Rome,Kingdom of Italy
OccupationActress
Years active1953–1978
Spouses
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(m.1960;div.1962)​
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(m.1979)​
Partner(s)Tony Anthony
(1960s–1970s)
Children1

Career

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Film

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Paluzzi was born inRomeand was brought up there. She went to Milan and studied naval engineering for two years at the Scientific Academy of Milan, being the only woman in her class.[1][2]

One of her first roles was an uncredited walk-on part inThree Coins in the Fountain(1954), which she got by chance through a friend of her father's who was invited for dinner and happened to be looking for a young actress doing a very short two-line role for directorJean Negulesco,thinking Paluzzi might be a fit. Negulesco had not been satisfied with the other actresses so far, but when Paluzzi, who did not plan to become an actress, recited the English line the next day (it was the only English she spoke at that time) she got the role.[2]

Paluzzi went on to appear in many movies, most of which were made in her native Italy. In her early films, she is credited as Luciana Paoluzzi.

In 1957, she came to England to appear in the British war filmNo Time To Die(also known asTank Force) alongsideVictor Maturewhere she was directed byTerence Young.[3]She was then cast in the British action dramaSea Furyas the Spanish-born Josita, who is fought over byStanley BakerandVictor McLaglen's characters.[4][5]

In 1959, Paluzzi went to Hollywood under contract withTwentieth Century Fox Televisionto star as a regular in the20th Century Fox TelevisionseriesFive Fingers,which was cancelled after three months.[6][7]Paluzzi then played Rafaella, the wife of Brett Halsey's character Ted Carter, in 1961'sReturn to Peyton Place.

From 1963 to 1965, Paluzzi almost exclusively appeared in Italian productions.[6]

In 1965, Paluzzi was cast as SPECTRE villainess,Fiona Volpe,"volpe"is" fox "in Italian, in Terence Young'sThunderball(1965), for which she is best known. She had auditioned for the part of the leadBond girl,Dominetta "Domino" Petacchi,but producers instead castClaudine Auger,changing the character's name from anItalianto aFrenchwoman,renaming her Dominique Derval. Initially crestfallen when informed she did not get the part, Paluzzi rejoiced when told her consolatory prize was the part of Fiona Volpe, originally planned to be Fiona Kelly, which she said was "more fun" to play.[8]Paluzzi later claimed being aBond girlwas a double-edged sword. In the documentaryBond Girls Are Forever,Paluzzi expressed amazement at the level of fame, publicity, and recognition she received fromThunderball;but as a result of being in such an outlandish film, she felt she was taken less seriously as an actress when returning to the Italian film industry.

Paluzzi appeared in such films asMuscle Beach Party(1964) andChuka(1967).[9]She co-starred in the 1969women in prison film99 Women,[10]and as aSouthern bellein the 1974 Hollywood dramaThe Klansman(with her voice dubbed by American actressJoanna Moore), again for Terence Young.

Television

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In 1959–60, Paluzzi appeared withDavid Hedisonin the short-lived espionage television series,Five Fingers.She appeared withTab Hunterin an episode ofThe Tab Hunter Showin 1960. In 1962 she played a murderous wife in an episode ofThrillertitled "Flowers of Evil". In 1964 she played the villainess in an episode ofThe Man from U.N.C.L.E.,as the seductiveTHRUSHagent Angela in the first-season episode "The Four Steps Affair" and in the movie version of the show's pilot episode,To Trap a Spy.[11]In 1966 she played Baroness Carla Montaglia in Season 3, Episode 3 "Face of a Shadow" inTwelve O'Clock High.[12]Also in 1966, she played Greek bar owner Tuesday Hajadakis in the premiere episode ofThe Girl from U.N.C.L.E..[13]In 1967 she played the seductive foreign agent Marla Valemska in "Matchless," the premiere episode ofMr. Terrific.In 1971 Paluzzi appeared as a special guest star in "Powderkeg," the pilot movie for the CBS TV series,Bearcats!.In 1978 she portrayed journalist Liana Labella in theHawaii Five-Oepisode "My Friend, the Enemy". Also starred in Bonanza, 'The Dowry', in 1962.

Personal life

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Paluzzi with husband Michael Jay Solomon (2016)

In 1960, Paluzzi married actorBrett Halsey,who had just left his marriage withRenate Hoy,an actress andMiss Germanyof 1954. The two co-starred as a newlywed couple in the film,Return to Peyton Place.The couple had one son, Christian, and after they divorced in 1962 Halsey marriedHeidi Brühl.[14]

During the 1960s and 1970s, Paluzzi had a long-term relationship withTony Anthony,with whom she appeared in the filmsWounds of HungerandCome Together.Her work in Japan onThe Green Slimeinspired Anthony to write and produce the hybridSpaghetti Western-jidaigekifilmThe Silent Stranger.[15]

In 1979, Paluzzi married her current husband, American media mogulMichael Jay Solomon,who had founded Michael Jay Solomon Film International in 1977, co-foundedTelepictures Corporationin 1978 and in 1985 became president ofWarner Bros. International Television,and she moved to New York to live with her husband.[16][17][18][19]The marriage caused her to end her film career.[17]In 1980, she became sales representative ofCanale 5andit:Reteitaliain the United States, which she characterized as a very quiet job, and followed her husband on his international travels.[17][20]

Paluzzi and her husband also resided at an exclusive clifftop estate on the Pacific Ocean inJalisco,Mexico,known as "Casa Dos Estrellas".[21][22]The couple sold that estate in about 2005 to live in New York and Rome, to be close to family.

Selected filmography

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References

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  1. ^Aaker, Everett (2006).Encyclopedia of Early Television Crime Fighters: All Regular Cast Members in American Crime and Mystery Series, 1948–1959.Jefferson, North Carolina:McFarland.p. 435.ISBN978-0-7864-2476-4.Retrieved29 March2019.
  2. ^abLuciana Paluzzi and Martha Guptill (2016).LUCIANA PALUZZI – Bond Girl Extraordinaire(video stream). 2016 Mid-Atlantic Nostalgia Convention in Hunt Valley, MD: Bill Guptill. Event occurs at 01:14.Retrieved5 March2019.{{cite AV media}}:CS1 maint: location (link)
  3. ^Lloyd, Ann; Fuller, Graham; Desser, Arnold (1983).The Illustrated Who's Who of the Cinema.Orbis Publishing.p. 338.ISBN978-0-85613-521-7.Retrieved23 December2019.
  4. ^Mayer, Geoff (2003).Guide to British Cinema.Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 122.ISBN978-0-313-30307-4.Retrieved23 December2019.
  5. ^Noble, Peter (1976).Screen International Film and TV Year Book.Screen International, King Publications Limited. p. 124.Retrieved23 December2019.
  6. ^abStathos, Enrico (3 March 1965)."Viaggia su una moto lanciarazzi la nuova nemica dell' <<agente 007>>".Stampa Sera:5.Retrieved28 March2019.
  7. ^Hyatt, Wesley (2015).Short-Lived Television Series, 1948–1978: Thirty Years of More Than 1,000 Flops.McFarland. p. 101.ISBN978-1-4766-0515-9.Retrieved29 March2019.
  8. ^VideoonYouTube
  9. ^Vagg, Stephen (9 December 2024)."Beach Party Movies Part 2: The Boom".Filmink.Retrieved11 December2024.
  10. ^Toledo Blade,6 June 1969
  11. ^"IMDb profile of Luciana Paluzzi".IMDb.Retrieved23 September2014.
  12. ^""12 O'Clock High" Face of a Shadow (TV Episode 1966) ".IMDb.
  13. ^"The Dog-Gone Affair".IMDB.Retrieved3 September2020.
  14. ^"Luciana Paluzzi".Flickr.4 June 2012.Retrieved23 September2014.
  15. ^Bayless, Jason (17 February 2010)."The Tony Anthony Interview – Re-broadcast".Zombie Popcorn Radio.Retrieved18 September2012.
  16. ^United States Information Agency (1990)."michael+jay+solomon"Points of Light.pp.68–69.Retrieved28 March2019.
  17. ^abc(Anonymous) (23 June 1982)."Luciana Paluzzi diventa manager. Non reciterà più".Stampa Sera(in Italian): 28.Retrieved28 March2019.
  18. ^Unknown (October 1981)."Unknown".Broadcasting.Broadcasting Publications.Retrieved28 March2019.
  19. ^Serafini, Dom."Michael J. Solomon: A Master Salesman For Hollywood and a Marketing Genius".VideoAge International.Retrieved28 March2019.
  20. ^Television/radio Age.Television Editorial Corporation. 1981. p. 59.Retrieved29 March2019.
  21. ^"The Mexican villa of actress Luciana Paluzzi".mi6-hq.com.Retrieved27 March2013.
  22. ^Casa Dos Estrellas – Costa Careyes Luxury MansionArchived23 August 2013 at theWayback Machine(per 3 November 2013)
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