Rossana Podestà dead at 79: ‘Helen of Troy’ actress later featured in sword-and-sandal spectacles, risqué sex comedies (photo: Jacques Sernas and Rossana Podestà in ‘Helen of Troy’) Rossana Podestà, the sensual star of the 1955 epic Helen of Troy and other sword-and-sandal European productions of the ’50s and ’60s — in addition to a handful of risqué sex comedies of the ’70s — died earlier today, December 10, 2013, in Rome according to several Italian news outlets. Podestà was 79. She was born Carla Dora Podestà on August 20, 1934, in, depending on the source, either Zlitan or Tripoli, in Libya, at the time an Italian colony. According to the IMDb, the renamed Rossana Podestà began her film career in 1950, when she was featured in a small role in Dezsö Ákos Hamza’s Strano appuntamento ("Strange Appointment"). However, according to online reports, she was actually discovered by director Léonide Moguy, who cast her in a small role in...
- 12/10/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Tab Hunter turns 80 today. In his honor, Turner Classic Movies is showing five of his films. The first of the batch, Phil Karlson's Western Gunman's Walk, is on right now. Hunter and The Time Tunnel's James Darren play rancher Van Heflin's sons. Next is Ride the Wild Surf, starring Hunter and teen idol Fabian as a couple of dudes riding waves in Hawaii. Featuring some cool surfing footage and tons of corny dialogue, Ride the Wild Surf is a guilty pleasure. In his highly readable autobiography, Tab Hunter: Confidential, Hunter says his brother Walt — a former surfer — was his inspiration for the role. (Not that Hunter actually had to do any surfing.) He adds that director Don Taylor (Elizabeth Taylor's husband-to-be in Father of the Bride) had to step away for a week due to a death in the family, so Phil Karlson was brought in as a temporary replacement.
- 7/12/2011
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
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