Pier Angeli

Pier Angeli
pictured in 1957
Born	Anna Maria Pierangeli (1932-06-19)19 June 1932 Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy
Died	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. 1954–58) (divorced) (1 child) Armando Trovaioli (m. 1962–69) (divorced) (1 child)
Children	Perry Rocco Luigi Farinola Damone (b. 1955) Howard Andrew Rugantino (b. 1963)
Relatives	Marisa Pavan (sister)

Pier Angeli (19 June 1932 – 10 September 1971) 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. Twenty years later it was rumored she was chosen to play a part in The Godfather. Filming for The Godfather began on 24 March 1971, six months before her death. When she didn't get the part, she began working on the low-budget film Octaman.

She had romantic relationships with actors Kirk Douglas and James Dean before going on to marry Vic Damone.

Early life and career

Born Anna Maria Pierangeli in Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy. 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. She was discovered by Hollywood, and MGM launched her in her first American film, Teresa (1951). Directed by Fred Zinnemann, this film also saw the joint debuts of Rod Steiger and John Ericson. Reviews for her performance in the film compared her to Greta Garbo, and she won the Golden Globe Award for New Star Of The Year – Actress. Under contract with 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.

Her next few films were respectable but unexciting: The Story of Three Loves (1953) with Kirk Douglas; Sombrero, in which she replaced an indisposed Ava Gardner; and Flame and the Flesh (1954), in which she lost her man to Lana Turner. After discovering Leslie Caron, another continental ingénue, MGM lent Angeli out to other studios. She went to Warner Bros. for The Silver Chalice, which marked the debut of Paul Newman, and she made Mam'zelle Nitouche with the French comic actor Fernandel. For Paramount, she was in contention for the role of Anna Magnani's daughter in The Rose Tattoo, but the role went to her twin sister, Marisa Pavan, who was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for the role. Angeli was lent out again, to Columbia, for Port Afrique (1956). She returned to MGM for Somebody Up There Likes Me as Paul Newman's long-suffering wife (James Dean had originally been expected to play the starring role, which went to Newman after Dean's death). She then appeared in The Vintage (1957) with Mel Ferrer and John Kerr, and finished her contract in Merry Andrew, starring Danny Kaye.

During the 1960s and until 1970, Angeli returned to live and work in Britain and Europe. She gave an outstanding performance opposite Richard Attenborough in The Angry Silence (1960), and was nominated for a Best Actress BAFTA; and 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. It was rumored that she was cast in The Godfather.

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).

For a short time, Angeli also had a romantic relationship with James Dean; however, she broke off the relationship and went on to marry singer and actor Vic Damone (1954–1958). Her marriage to Damone ended in divorce, followed by highly publicized court battles for the custody of their one son, Perry Farinola Damone. Her second marriage (1962–1969) was to Italian composer Armando Trovaioli, with whom she had another son, Andrew.

At the age of 39, Angeli was found dead of an accidental barbiturate overdose in her home at 355 S. McCarty Drive, Beverly Hills. She is interred in the Cimetière des Bulvis, in Rueil-Malmaison, Hauts-de-Seine, France.

She was later portrayed by Valentina Cervi in the 2001 TV movie James Dean, which depicted her relationship with Dean. In 2015, she was also 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	Domani è un altro giorno	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	Cameo	Uncredited
1956	Port Afrique	Ynez
1956	Somebody Up There Likes Me	Norma
1957	The Vintage	Lucienne
1957	The Midnight Story
1958	Merry Andrew	Selena Gallini
1959	SOS Pacific	Teresa	Alternative title: S.O.S. Pacific
1960	I moschettieri del mare	Consuelo/Gracia	English title: Musketeers of the Sea
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
1964	Banco à Bangkok pour OSS 117	Lila	English titles: Panic in Bangkok Shadow of Evil
1965	Missione mortale Molo 83	Hélène Blanchard	English title: M.M.M. 83
1965	Berlino – Appuntamento per le spie	Paula Krauss	English title: Berlin, Appointment for the Spies
1965	Battle of the Bulge	Louise
1966	Per mille dollari al giorno	Betty Benson	English title: For One Thousand Dollars Per Day Credited as Annamaria Pierangeli
1968	it	Marie	English title: Red Roses for the Führer Credited as Anna Maria Pierangeli
1968	Caccia ai violenti	Mrs. Benton	English title: One Step to Hell
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

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	Most Promising Newcomer – Female	Teresa	Won
1955	Golden Globe Award	World Film Favorite – Female		Nominated
1961	BAFTA Awards	Best Foreign Actress	The Angry Silence	Nominated

External links

• Pier Angeli at the Internet Movie Database
• Pier Angeli at AllMovie
• Pier Angeli at Find a Grave
• Pier Angeli Official Site
• Photographs and literature