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Italian writer, journalist and actress (1931–2016) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Franca Faldini (10 February 1931 – 22 July 2016) was an Italian writer, journalist and actress.
Born in Rome into a middle-class Jewish family, Faldini was forced to flee to Tuscany because of the Fascist racial laws. After the war, she was noticed by Ben Stahl, who pictured her in a painting called "Moment at Villa D'Este" for the magazine Esquire. She later moved to Hollywood, where she won a beauty pageant for aspiring actresses called "Miss Cheesecake", and made her film debut in Sailor Beware.[1]
Returning to Italy, where she was initially billed as "The Italian who comes from Hollywood",[2] Faldini started a relationship with the popular comedian Totò, also appearing in several of his films. In 1954, they had a son, Massenzio, who died a few hours after his birth. Totò dedicated a song to her, "Principessa" (Italian for 'Princess').[3]
In 1955, dissatisfied with her roles, Faldini retired from acting, making occasional returns in 1957, when she replaced on stage the injured main actress Franca Maj in a revue alongside Totò, and in 1998, appearing in Incontri proibiti (Italian for 'Prohibited encounters'), the last film by Alberto Sordi.[4] [2] Faldini eventually started a career as a journalist and writer, co-writing with Goffredo Fofi a history of Italian cinema, L'Avventurosa storia del cinema italiano (Italian for 'The adventurous history of Italian cinema'), and writing several books about Totò.[1][2]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1952 | Sailor Beware | Bit Role | Uncredited |
| 1952 | Toto and the Women | La signora dell'appuntamento | |
| 1953 | Man, Beast and Virtue | Mariannina | |
| 1953 | Neapolitan Turk | Angelica | |
| 1953 | Funniest Show on Earth | Yvonne, la soubrette | |
| 1954 | Where Is Freedom? | Maria | |
| 1954 | Poverty and Nobility | Nadia | |
| 1955 | Toto in Hell | Maria | |
| 1955 | Are We Men or Corporals? | Gabriella | |
| 1998 | Incontri proibiti | Alessandra Andreoli | (final film role) |
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