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Pia Zadora
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Pia Zadora (born Pia Alfreda Schipani, May 4, 1954) is an American actress and singer. After work as a child actress on Broadway, in regional theater and in the film Santa Claus Conquers the Martians, she came to national attention in 1981 when, following her starring role in the critically lambasted Butterfly, she won a Golden Globe Award as New Star of the Year.
When her film career failed to take off, she became a singer of popular standards and made several successful albums backed by a symphonic orchestra; as a singer she earned the respect of critics who had previously written her off.
ra was born Pia Alfreda Schipani in Hoboken, New Jersey.
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Encyclopedia
Pia Zadora (born Pia Alfreda Schipani, May 4, 1954) is an American actress and singer. After work as a child actress on Broadway, in regional theater and in the film Santa Claus Conquers the Martians, she came to national attention in 1981 when, following her starring role in the critically lambasted Butterfly, she won a Golden Globe Award as New Star of the Year.
When her film career failed to take off, she became a singer of popular standards and made several successful albums backed by a symphonic orchestra; as a singer she earned the respect of critics who had previously written her off.
Biography
Early life
Zadora was born Pia Alfreda Schipani in Hoboken, New Jersey. Her mother, Saturnina "Nina" (née Zadorowski), was a theatrical wardrobe supervisor for Broadway productions, the Metropolitan Opera, and the New York City Opera, and her father, Alphonse Schipani, a violinist. She is of Polish maternal and Italian paternal descent. She adapted part of her mother's maiden name as her stage name. Zadora appeared as a child actress with Tallulah Bankhead in Midgie Purvis. She attended elementary and middle school in Forest Hills, New York, at Our Lady Queen of Martyrs, the same parochial school as Ray Romano and David Caruso. She played the youngest sister (Bialke) in the Broadway production of Fiddler on the Roof (1964-1966).
Film career
Zadora's first film was in 1964's Santa Claus Conquers the Martians, as Girmar, a young Martian girl (the movie became more famous years later on the TV series Mystery Science Theater 3000). She also sang (Hooray for Santy Claus) in that movie. Her career made little headway until she met Meshulam Riklis in 1972, while touring with a musical production. The two married on 18 September 1977 (divorced 29 March 1995). Not long after her marriage, she made her breakthrough as the Dubonnet Girl, appearing in print and television commercials for apéritif. Her husband was a shareholder in Dubonnet's American distributor.
Zadora starred with Stacy Keach and Orson Welles in the 1982 film Butterfly, with a plot around father-daughter incest, and featuring Zadora singing "It’s Wrong For Me To Love You". She won that year's Golden Globe Award as "Best New Star of the Year", amid charges that her husband had bought the award with a promotional campaign. Zadora's image filled billboards on Sunset Boulevard. Not all critics were enamored of her performance, however; she was awarded "Razzies" as "Worst New Star" and "Worst Actress" in the 1982 Golden Raspberry Awards.
Zadora next starred in the 1982 film Fake-Out (aka Nevada Heat), a zany women in prison B-movie co-starring Telly Savalas, and in the 1983 film adaptation of a Harold Robbins novel, The Lonely Lady, playing an aspiring screenwriter who achieves success after surviving sexual assault. She was awarded another Razzie, as Worst Actress of 1983. On the basis of her multiple awards, the Golden Raspberry Awards later named her Worst New Star of the Decade (1980-1989).
In 1988, she played a beatnik in John Waters' Hairspray.
Music career
She attained success as a singer, and had several hit singles throughout the world. In 1984, she received a nomination for a Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance. Her cover of the Shirley Ellis hit "The Clapping Song", reached the U.S. Top 40 in 1983, and she had a hit duet with Jermaine Jackson titled "When the Rain Begins to Fall" in 1984 which she performed with Jackson in the movie Voyage of the Rock Aliens in a lead role. Though only a minor hit in the US, the song reached peak position in much of Europe. She released Pia & Phil, an album of standards with the London Philharmonic Orchestra in 1987. In 1988, she teamed with producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis for an album entitled When the Lights Go Out.
Later in 1994, Zadora played a small role in Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult, in the final act in a comedy sketch as she sang in the Academy Awards.
Personal life
Zadora and Riklis bought the Beverly Hills mansion Pickfair in January 1988 from Los Angeles Lakers owner Jerry Buss for nearly $7 million. They demolished most of the structure (keeping the guest houses), because termites and time had made repairs difficult. The mansion, former home of Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford, was one of Beverly Hills' most famous. To show his "love and affection", Riklis commissioned an oil portrait of Zadora nude. Visitors were greeted by the portrait. Pia remained at PickFair until late 2005 or early 2006 when she sold the mansion to Korean businessman Corry Hong for $17,650,000.
Zadora's second husband was writer-director Jonathan Kaufer. They were married from 27 August 1995 to 30 November 2001.
Zadora's three children are Kady (named after Zadora's film character in Butterfly and later inspired the call letter for KADY-TV/Oxnard, California after Riklis acquired it in 1988), Kristofer Barzie, and Jordan Maxwell.
Zadora is a contributor to Republican and Democratic political candidates.
Filmography
Television
Discography
Albums
- 1982: Pia
- 1983: Pia & Phil
- 1986: I Am What I Am
- 1988: When the Lights Go Out
- 1989: Pia Z
Singles
- 1983: "The Clapping Song" peaked at #36 on the Billboard Hot 100
Awards and nominations
Golden Globe Awards
- Won: New Star of the Year, Butterfly (1981)
- Won: Worst New Star, Butterfly (1983)
- Won: Worst Actress, Butterfly (1983)
- Nominated: Worst Supporting Actress, Fake-Out (1983)
- Won: Worst Actress, The Lonely Lady (1984)
- Won: Worst Actress, Voyage Of the Rock Aliens (1989)
- Won: Worst New Star of the Decade, Butterfly and The Lonely Lady (1990)
- Nominated: Worst Actress of the Decade, Butterfly and The Lonely Lady (1990)
- Nominated: Worst Actress of the Century, Voyage of the Rock Aliens, Butterfly, and The Lonely Lady (2000)
- Won: Young Star of the Year (1982)
External links
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