Carmen D'Antonio

Nicoletta Carmen D'Antonio (November 28, 1911 – February 9, 1986) was an American actress and dancer.

Carmen D'Antonio
D'Antonio in Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe (1940)
Born	Nicoletta Carmen D'Antonio (1911-11-28)November 28, 1911 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died	February 9, 1986(1986-02-09) (aged 74) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Actress, dancer
Years active	1939–1969
Spouse(s)	Carl Gustav Verner Laand (m. 1944 – ?)

Early life and education

D'Antonio was born in Philadelphia,^[1] the daughter of Carmine D'Antonio and Teresa Colantuono D'Antonio. Her father was born in Italy, and her mother was born in the United States, to Italian immigrant parents.^[2] In some publicity, she claimed more far-flung origins, and a much younger age.^[3][4][5]

Career

D'Antonio was a dancer whose act was usually characterized as "exotic".^[6][7][8] She had a nightclub act at the Pirate's Den in Hollywood.^[3] "She smears herself with oil and does such dances as to give the censors the shudders," according to a 1944 report.^[4] Her publicist staged a photograph of her, bathing in "strong black coffee", to add to her mystique.^[4]

D'Antonio's film credits included roles in Another Thin Man (1939), Destry Rides Again (1939), Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe (1940),^[9][10] Angels over Broadway (1940),^[11] The Long Voyage Home (1940),^[12] Arabian Nights (1942), Hard Boiled Mahoney (1947), Sirocco (1951),^[11] Golden Girl (1951), World for Ransom (1954), Maracaibo (1958), Tank Commando (1959), and Let No Man Write My Epitaph (1960).^[11]

D'Antonio appeared in television programs through the 1960s, often cast as a Native American character in Westerns, as in Have Gun–Will Travel (1962, 1963),^[13] Wagon Train (1964) and Cheyenne Autumn (1964), but she also had roles in The Thin Man (1959), Checkmate (1961), My Three Sons (1965),^[14] and Family Affair (1969).

D'Antonio also danced on Broadway in Panama Hattie (1940).^[15][16] She made a number of short exotic dance films in the 1940s, with titles including "Jungle Drums Artist" (1941), "Balinesia Artist" (1942) and "Conchita Pepita" (1942).^[9] In the 1950s she toured the United States, dancing at nightclubs and casinos.^[17][18] "She offered Hollywood a pretty and generic otherness that could authenticate its fantasies of Singapore, Arabia, or Morocco," commented one film scholar.^[19]

Personal life and death

D'Antonio married Karl Gustav Verner Laand in San Francisco, California on December 16, 1944.^[20]

On February 9, 1986, D'Antonio died of undisclosed causes in Los Angeles, California.^[21]