Marcella Mariani

Mariani in The Girls of San Frediano (1954)

Marcella Mariani (8 February 1936 – 13 February 1955) was an Italian actress and Miss Italy contest winner. Though she appeared in several popular movies and was garnering acclaim as an actress, her career was cut short by her death in a 1955 airliner crash.

Early life and education

Marcella Mariani was born in Rome, Italy, on 8 February 1936.[1]

Her first job was working as a cashier at a cinema in Rome,[2] and was chosen as "Miss Cinema Lazio".[1] At the age of 17 Mariani was crowned Miss Italy of 1953 in the Tyrolean resort town of Cortina d'Ampezzo.[2][1]

Career

After winning the pageant, Mariani began her film career by appearing as herself in the opening segment of producer/director Alfredo Guarini's portmanteau film We, the Women (Siamo donne, 1953). She later attended acting courses at the Experimental Center of Cinematography.[1] She subsequently took on a range of roles and worked with various directors.

Her most significant role was in director Luchino Visconti's 1954 film Senso, in which she worked alongside Alida Valli and Farley Granger, playing the small but important part of Clara, a young prostitute.[1]

Marcella Mariani in Senso (1954)

Death

Her promising career was prematurely ended by her death in a plane crash, which occurred on the slopes of Monte Terminillo, in the province of Rieti, Italy, as she returned from hosting a film festival in Belgium[2] on 13 February 1955.[1] Travelling from Brussels to Rome, the DC-6 passenger liner crashed due to errors made by the crew in poor weather conditions.[3] Heavy wind and snow prevented searchers from reaching the crash site for over a week. All 29 passengers and crew were believed to have died on impact. Mariani, who had turned 19 a few days earlier, was taken to Rome, where she was buried.[4]

Filmography

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Lancia, E.; Poppi, R. (2003). Le attrici: dal 1930 ai giorni nostri. Dizionari Gremese (in Italian). Gremese. p. 225. ISBN 978-88-8440-214-1. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 "Il Giornale di Rieti - Quotidiano d'informazione della provincia di Rieti - web tv".
  3. ↑ Harro Ranter (13 February 1955). "ASN Aircraft accident Douglas DC-6 OO-SDB Monte Terminillo".
  4. ↑ "Sabenavlucht SN503: tranen van droefheid en geluk".
  5. ↑ "Libero - Mail, Ricerca e tanto altro". Libero.it.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  6. ↑ Hal Erickson (2008). "Le-Ragazze-Di-San-Frediano - Trailer - Cast - Showtimes - NYTimes.com". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Archived from the original on 19 March 2008.
  7. ↑ "The Girls of San Frediano".
  8. ↑ "Mai ti scorderò". Theiapolis - Cinema.

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