Anthony Franciosa
Italian postcard by Bromofoto, Milano, no. 1401. Photo: Paramount. Publicity still for Wild Is the Wind (George Cukor, 1957).
In the late 1950s, American Anthony Franciosa (1928-2006) was a hot commodity in Hollywood. He was nominated in 1956 for a Tony Award for 'A Hatful of Rain,' a role he reprised in Fred Zinnemann's A Hatful of Rain (1957), for which he received an Oscar nomination. He starred in such films as Elia Kazan's A Face in the Crowd (1957) and Martin Ritt's The Long, Hot Summer (1958). He was handsome and charming, but he soon also developed a reputation as being 'difficult', with a notoriously hair-trigger temper. Later, he mainly appeared on TV and in European cinema
Anthony Franciosa, or Tony Franciosa, was born Anthony Papaleo in 1928 in New York’s Little Italy. He was the grandchild of emigrants from Melfi, Basilicata, in the heart of Southern Italy. His father was a construction worker, and his mother was a seamstress who divorced when he was a year old. After this, he was raised by his mother and aunt, adopting his mother's maiden name, Franciosa. He seldom saw his father, and they never got to know each other. After graduating from high school, during a visit to a YMCA to take a free dance lesson, Franciosa came across an audition for a play. Intrigued, he auditioned and was offered a part in a production of 'The Seagull'. The experience made him want to be an actor, and Franciosa studied privately for two years with Joseph Geigler. He got a four-year scholarship at the Dramatic Workshop, which led to the New York Repertory Theatre. In 1948, Franciosa joined the Cherry Lane Theatre Group off Broadway. Within two years, he had been accepted as a member of the Actors Studio, which would prove an invaluable resource throughout his career. There he met his future wife, Shelley Winters and his friend Paul Newman. Franciosa had his breakthrough in Calder Willingham's play 'End as a Man', which opened off-Broadway at the Theatre de Lys in 1953 and transferred to Broadway after 32 performances. It was directed by Jack Garfein and co-starred Ben Gazzara, who won a Theatre World Award and would appear in the film version. His first wife, Beatrice Bakalyar, was a writer. In 1955, he appeared in the role that would make him famous: 'Polo Pope', the brother of a heroin addict in Michael V. Gazzo's 'A Hatful of Rain' under the direction of Elia Kazan. The Actors Studio workshop production later moved to Broadway, where Franciosa earned an Outer Critics Circle Award and a Tony Award nomination. Hollywood beckoned, and he made his film debut in Robert Wise's comedy This Could Be the Night (1957) with Paul Douglas and Jean Simmons. He appeared in Actors Studio co-founder Elia Kazan's A Face in the Crowd (1957) as Joey DePalma alongside Andy Griffith, Patricia Neal, and Lee Remick. Then he reprised the role of Polo Pope in Fred Zinnemann's film adaptation A Hatful of Rain (1957), with Don Murray and Eva Marie Saint playing the roles originated by Ben Gazzara and Shelly Winters. For the role, Franciosa received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor in 1958 and won the Coppa Volpi and the Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival. With his good looks, he was now a very hot commodity in Hollywood. He starred in a variety of top A-list films, including George Cukor's Wild Is the Wind (1957) alongside Anna Magnani and Anthony Quinn, and Martin Ritt's The Long, Hot Summer (1958) with Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward. In The Naked Maja (Henry Koster, 1958), he played painter Francisco Jose de Goya, opposite Ava Gardner. For the drama Career (Joseph Anthony, 1959) with Dean Martin and Shirley MacLaine, he won the Golden Globe for Best Actor. Clifford Odets directed him in the drama The Story on Page One (1959) starring Rita Hayworth.
Anthony Franciosa's career began to run out of momentum almost as quickly as it had started. Privately, he was a fervent civil rights activist and was joined by Marlon Brando and Paul Newman in Gadsden, Alabama, in 1963 for a desegregation drive. On the sets, he rapidly developed a reputation as 'difficult'. In 1957, he served 10 days in the Los Angeles County jail for slugging a press photographer. In 1959, he served 30 days at an open prison farm for possession of marijuana. The same year, he was in a car accident. According to ex-wife Judy Balaban, as recounted in her book 'Bridesmaids,' her father, Barney Balaban, then head of Paramount Pictures, strongly disapproved of her marriage to Franciosa. In retaliation, he initiated a private blackballing of Franciosa within the film industry, leading to a decline of A-projects being offered to Franciosa in the early 1960s. Although he starred in the adaptation of Tennessee Williams' Period of Adjustment (George Roy Hill, 1962), by 1964, he was reduced to appearing in a TV series, Valentine's Day (1964), which lasted a single season. In 1968, he was cast as one of three alternating leads with Gene Barry and Robert Stack in the television series The Name of the Game (1968). It was a spin-off from the TV movie Fame Is the Name of the Game (Stuart Rosenberg, 1966), the first TV movie ever made as a pilot for a TV series that was subsequently picked up as a series. Although the show was popular with audiences, Franciosa was fired after appearing in the first two seasons. NBC justified giving him the sack because the actor's mercurial temper was causing too many problems on the set. He also starred in the TV series Search (1972–1973). Looking back at his career in a 1996 interview, Franciosa acknowledged that he was too inexperienced to handle sudden stardom. "It was an incredible amount of attention, and I wasn't quite mature enough psychologically and emotionally for it".
Despite his problems in Hollywood, Anthony Franciosa was successful in Italian cinema. His first important role in Italy was in Mauro Bolognini's Senilità / Careless (1962) with Claudia Cardinale, based on Italo Svevo's novel of the same name. Later, he acted in Antonio Margheriti's Horror film Nella stretta morsa del ragno / Web of the Spider (1971) with Michèle Mercier and Klaus Kinski. In the US, Franciosa had supporting parts in the action films Across 110th Street (Barry Shear, 1972), and The Drowning Pool (Stuart Rosenberg, 1975) starring Paul Newman. He had leading roles in the TV series Matt Helm (1975) and the Aaron Spelling-produced series Finder of Lost Loves (1984), which both only lasted one season. In Italy, he starred in Alberto Lattuada's La cicala / The Cricket (1980) with Virna Lisi, Pupi Avati's romantic film Aiutami a sognare / Help Me Dream (1981), with Marangela Melato, and Dario Argento's Giallo Tenebrae / Tenebre (1982) with John Saxon and Giuliano Gemma. His talent and charm meant he was in demand throughout the five decades of his career, though not in the kinds of roles that characterised the first two decades of his star period. He continued to act in supporting roles in films and starring roles in TV movies and series until he retired in 1996. Franciosa's last screen appearance was as a crime boss in Harold Becker's film City Hall (1995), alongside Al Pacino and John Cusack. Ten years later, he appeared in one last project, Manifest Mysteries: Coronation (2006), shortly before his death. He died in 2006 in Los Angeles, at the age of 77. It was five days after his ex-wife, actress Shelley Winters, had died. He was married four times. His first wife, Beatrice Bakalyar, was a writer (1952-1957). After his marriage to Shelley Winters (1957-1960), he married Judy Balaban (1961-1970), with whom he had a daughter, Nina Franciosa. After their divorce, he married Rita Thiel (1970-2006), with whom he had two sons, actor Christopher Franciosa and Marco Franciosa.
Sources: Jon C. Hopwood (IMDb), Golden Globes, Wikipedia (English, Italian and Dutch), and IMDb.
And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.
Anthony Franciosa
Italian postcard by Bromofoto, Milano, no. 1401. Photo: Paramount. Publicity still for Wild Is the Wind (George Cukor, 1957).
In the late 1950s, American Anthony Franciosa (1928-2006) was a hot commodity in Hollywood. He was nominated in 1956 for a Tony Award for 'A Hatful of Rain,' a role he reprised in Fred Zinnemann's A Hatful of Rain (1957), for which he received an Oscar nomination. He starred in such films as Elia Kazan's A Face in the Crowd (1957) and Martin Ritt's The Long, Hot Summer (1958). He was handsome and charming, but he soon also developed a reputation as being 'difficult', with a notoriously hair-trigger temper. Later, he mainly appeared on TV and in European cinema
Anthony Franciosa, or Tony Franciosa, was born Anthony Papaleo in 1928 in New York’s Little Italy. He was the grandchild of emigrants from Melfi, Basilicata, in the heart of Southern Italy. His father was a construction worker, and his mother was a seamstress who divorced when he was a year old. After this, he was raised by his mother and aunt, adopting his mother's maiden name, Franciosa. He seldom saw his father, and they never got to know each other. After graduating from high school, during a visit to a YMCA to take a free dance lesson, Franciosa came across an audition for a play. Intrigued, he auditioned and was offered a part in a production of 'The Seagull'. The experience made him want to be an actor, and Franciosa studied privately for two years with Joseph Geigler. He got a four-year scholarship at the Dramatic Workshop, which led to the New York Repertory Theatre. In 1948, Franciosa joined the Cherry Lane Theatre Group off Broadway. Within two years, he had been accepted as a member of the Actors Studio, which would prove an invaluable resource throughout his career. There he met his future wife, Shelley Winters and his friend Paul Newman. Franciosa had his breakthrough in Calder Willingham's play 'End as a Man', which opened off-Broadway at the Theatre de Lys in 1953 and transferred to Broadway after 32 performances. It was directed by Jack Garfein and co-starred Ben Gazzara, who won a Theatre World Award and would appear in the film version. His first wife, Beatrice Bakalyar, was a writer. In 1955, he appeared in the role that would make him famous: 'Polo Pope', the brother of a heroin addict in Michael V. Gazzo's 'A Hatful of Rain' under the direction of Elia Kazan. The Actors Studio workshop production later moved to Broadway, where Franciosa earned an Outer Critics Circle Award and a Tony Award nomination. Hollywood beckoned, and he made his film debut in Robert Wise's comedy This Could Be the Night (1957) with Paul Douglas and Jean Simmons. He appeared in Actors Studio co-founder Elia Kazan's A Face in the Crowd (1957) as Joey DePalma alongside Andy Griffith, Patricia Neal, and Lee Remick. Then he reprised the role of Polo Pope in Fred Zinnemann's film adaptation A Hatful of Rain (1957), with Don Murray and Eva Marie Saint playing the roles originated by Ben Gazzara and Shelly Winters. For the role, Franciosa received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor in 1958 and won the Coppa Volpi and the Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival. With his good looks, he was now a very hot commodity in Hollywood. He starred in a variety of top A-list films, including George Cukor's Wild Is the Wind (1957) alongside Anna Magnani and Anthony Quinn, and Martin Ritt's The Long, Hot Summer (1958) with Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward. In The Naked Maja (Henry Koster, 1958), he played painter Francisco Jose de Goya, opposite Ava Gardner. For the drama Career (Joseph Anthony, 1959) with Dean Martin and Shirley MacLaine, he won the Golden Globe for Best Actor. Clifford Odets directed him in the drama The Story on Page One (1959) starring Rita Hayworth.
Anthony Franciosa's career began to run out of momentum almost as quickly as it had started. Privately, he was a fervent civil rights activist and was joined by Marlon Brando and Paul Newman in Gadsden, Alabama, in 1963 for a desegregation drive. On the sets, he rapidly developed a reputation as 'difficult'. In 1957, he served 10 days in the Los Angeles County jail for slugging a press photographer. In 1959, he served 30 days at an open prison farm for possession of marijuana. The same year, he was in a car accident. According to ex-wife Judy Balaban, as recounted in her book 'Bridesmaids,' her father, Barney Balaban, then head of Paramount Pictures, strongly disapproved of her marriage to Franciosa. In retaliation, he initiated a private blackballing of Franciosa within the film industry, leading to a decline of A-projects being offered to Franciosa in the early 1960s. Although he starred in the adaptation of Tennessee Williams' Period of Adjustment (George Roy Hill, 1962), by 1964, he was reduced to appearing in a TV series, Valentine's Day (1964), which lasted a single season. In 1968, he was cast as one of three alternating leads with Gene Barry and Robert Stack in the television series The Name of the Game (1968). It was a spin-off from the TV movie Fame Is the Name of the Game (Stuart Rosenberg, 1966), the first TV movie ever made as a pilot for a TV series that was subsequently picked up as a series. Although the show was popular with audiences, Franciosa was fired after appearing in the first two seasons. NBC justified giving him the sack because the actor's mercurial temper was causing too many problems on the set. He also starred in the TV series Search (1972–1973). Looking back at his career in a 1996 interview, Franciosa acknowledged that he was too inexperienced to handle sudden stardom. "It was an incredible amount of attention, and I wasn't quite mature enough psychologically and emotionally for it".
Despite his problems in Hollywood, Anthony Franciosa was successful in Italian cinema. His first important role in Italy was in Mauro Bolognini's Senilità / Careless (1962) with Claudia Cardinale, based on Italo Svevo's novel of the same name. Later, he acted in Antonio Margheriti's Horror film Nella stretta morsa del ragno / Web of the Spider (1971) with Michèle Mercier and Klaus Kinski. In the US, Franciosa had supporting parts in the action films Across 110th Street (Barry Shear, 1972), and The Drowning Pool (Stuart Rosenberg, 1975) starring Paul Newman. He had leading roles in the TV series Matt Helm (1975) and the Aaron Spelling-produced series Finder of Lost Loves (1984), which both only lasted one season. In Italy, he starred in Alberto Lattuada's La cicala / The Cricket (1980) with Virna Lisi, Pupi Avati's romantic film Aiutami a sognare / Help Me Dream (1981), with Marangela Melato, and Dario Argento's Giallo Tenebrae / Tenebre (1982) with John Saxon and Giuliano Gemma. His talent and charm meant he was in demand throughout the five decades of his career, though not in the kinds of roles that characterised the first two decades of his star period. He continued to act in supporting roles in films and starring roles in TV movies and series until he retired in 1996. Franciosa's last screen appearance was as a crime boss in Harold Becker's film City Hall (1995), alongside Al Pacino and John Cusack. Ten years later, he appeared in one last project, Manifest Mysteries: Coronation (2006), shortly before his death. He died in 2006 in Los Angeles, at the age of 77. It was five days after his ex-wife, actress Shelley Winters, had died. He was married four times. His first wife, Beatrice Bakalyar, was a writer (1952-1957). After his marriage to Shelley Winters (1957-1960), he married Judy Balaban (1961-1970), with whom he had a daughter, Nina Franciosa. After their divorce, he married Rita Thiel (1970-2006), with whom he had two sons, actor Christopher Franciosa and Marco Franciosa.
Sources: Jon C. Hopwood (IMDb), Golden Globes, Wikipedia (English, Italian and Dutch), and IMDb.
And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.