Pier Angeli Profile

Pier Angeli

	(Anna Maria Pierangeli)
19 June 32	is born in Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy, to Luigi Pierangeli, an architect and constructional engineer, and his wife, Enrica Romiti. Her twin sister, Maria Luisa, will grow up to become actress Marisa Pavan.
35	moves with her family to Rome
49	is spotted by famous Italian actor Vittorio DeSica on the Via Veneto in Rome and is cast for the upcoming Domani e troppo tardi. Director Leonide Moguy will become a lifelong fatherly friend of hers. Her mother Enrica approves.
	attends art school in Rome
January 50	young scriptwriter Stewart Stern casts her for the upcoming Teresa, to be filmed on location in Rome; they will become friends
June 50	travels with her mother to the States for location shooting for Teresa. MGM producer Arthur Loew renames her Pier Angeli.
19 June 50	during a dinner dance at New York’s Waldorf Astoria Hotel, she meets her further husband, singer Vic Damone
	returns for a short time to Italy for Moguy’s Domani e un altro giorno
	attends the Venice International Film Festival and is awarded the Best Italian Female Award
51	settles with her family in Brentwood, California. Stern introduces her to Arthur Loew, Jr., 28-year-old son of the MGM boss. They start to date; he takes her to the Mocambo and to Ciro’s.
March 51	is signed to a five-year contract by MGM at a salary of $1,600 per month
	young actress Debbie Reynolds becomes her closest friend
Summer 51	young actor John Barrymore, Jr., falls for her and starts taking Italian lessons
	young actor Richard Anderson escorts her on studio dates
	dates Australian actor Brandon Toomey
	Marlon Brando takes her out
June 51	celebrates her 19th birthday with a quiet party at home and with her special favorite, young actor Richard Anderson
July 51	there is gossip that she may have secretly married Francesco Matarazzo, a young Brazilian nobleman
	is off to Tunis and Sicily for location filming of The Light Touch. Afterwards the Pierangelis return to Rome.
12 October 51	raises the Italian flag at Los Angeles City Hall on Columbus Day
Early 52	is off to Munich, Germany, and Salzburg, Austria, for the filming of The Devil Makes Three. Some scenes are filmed in Hitler’s bombed-out Berghof in Berchtesgaden.
	Vic Damone, who’s in the military service in Germany, visits her in Munich
	is heralded to be in the upcoming Romeo and Juliet with Marlon Brando
April 52	attends an industry luncheon where MGM’s Dore Schary introduces Queen Juliana and Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands to Hollywood
	replaces Ava Gardner in Sombrero, filmed on location in Mexico City. Miguel Aleman, Jr., the son of Mexico’s president, becomes her escort during her stay.
July 52	meets Kirk Douglas while filming The Story of Three Loves; he’s 16 years her senior
	becomes good friends with young actress Leslie Caron
Summer 52	becomes a twosome with Kirk Douglas. Damone becomes a frequent guest to the Pierangeli household.
	dates actor John Ericson, Brazilian diplomat Raoul de Surandel, and Jim Lillburn, the brother of Maureen O’Hara
September 52	returns with her family to Italy to film The Flame and the Flesh on location in Naples and Positano. Kirk, who’s in Italy for the filming of Ulysses, shows up to see her.
	doesn’t keep her promise to meet Kirk in Venice
	there are rumors of a romance with her co-star in The Flame and the Flesh, Carlos Thompson
November 52	attends the Italian Film Awards in Rome with Kirk
	there are rumors that she and Kirk might be secretly engaged
22 November 52	is on the cover of Picturegoer
	meets Kirk at the Rome airport. On their way to Paris, they spend a night in Shannon, Ireland.
	with fellow actors Debbie Reynolds and Carleton Carpenter, she’s on a month-long publicity tour of South America
Early 53	secretly enters the love nest of Kirk and his new flame, Anne Buydens, in Porto Ercole, Italy, and leaves an inscribed photo of her on his bedside table
May 53	visits Kirk on the set of Ulysses in Rome
May 53	she and Kirk Douglas have decided their age difference means too much for anything like marriage
	begins dating Vic Damone
End May 53	travels with her mother to London and checks into the Savoy. Actor Carlos Thompson takes her out.
June 53	Kirk flies in for her 21st birthday celebration and takes her to Mayfair’s posh Le Caprice restaurant, where he presents her with a Bulgari diamond engagement ring. Afterwards she refuses to see him until the end of the year.
End July 53	returns with her mother to the States
End 53	travels with her family to Paris for the filming of Mam’zelle Nitouche
	attends the Tuesday night gourmet dinner at Maxim’s, where a lasagna is named in honor of her film. Kirk flies in to be with her for New Year’s Eve.
31 December 53	celebrates with Kirk at a party at the Tour d’Argent restaurant, overlooking Notre Dame in Paris. Afterwards she gives back his engagement ring.
January 54	returns to California
	attends Nat King Cole’s opening at Ciro’s with recording agent Bobby Weiss
February 54	dates young dancer-actor Tommy Rall
	Prince Mahmoud Pahlevi, the brother of the Shah of Iran, escorts her to Ciro’s
c. March 54	tries to make up with Kirk again, but he refuses
April 54	is off to New York City to promote The Flame and the Flesh and has a date with the ex of Gene Tierney, fashion designer Oleg Cassini
End April 54	attends a Wild West party at Ciro’s with magazine editor Gloria Votsis, Lance Fuller, and Alan Pearl
May 54	becomes hysterical when she learns about Kirk’s marriage to Anne Buydens
June 54	singer Eddie Fisher takes her and Anna Maria Alberghetti to dinner at LaRue’s
Mid-June 54	meets James Dean on the Warner Brothers lot. She’s filming The Silver Chalice, and he’s in East of Eden. Dean’s agent suggests he date her for publicity purposes.
17 June 54	attends Eddie Fisher’s opening at the Coconut Grove, the night Debbie Reynolds falls for Fisher
19 June 54	on her birthday, Dean presents her with a gold bracelet and necklace
	moves with her family into a new home at 115000 Sunset Boulevard
	Dean becomes a frequent guest at her family’s house
	she and Dean are often at the Villa Capri, her favorite restaurant. They buy friendship rings at a Beverly Hills jewelry store.
	Dean takes her to dinner at Frascati’s to meet his father and stepmother
	often spends her weekends at the Arrowhead Springs Hotel
July 54	is over her heartbreak about Kirk Douglas
12 July 54	is on the cover of Life to promote MGM’s upcoming Green Mansions
	her mother discovers that she and Dean are lovers. She disapproves and approaches Jack Warner to put an end to it. Warner immediately tells Dean "stop fuckin’ that broad."
	her mother changes their phone number to get rid of Dean and puts Pier under house arrest
10 August 54	in their first public appearance, she and Dean attend a celebrity screening of Gone with the Wind. Afterwards they go to Ciro’s. Columnist Sheila Graham shows her dislike of this alliance.
20 August 54	attends Tony Martin’s opening at Ciro’s without an escort, even though Dean’s in town
End August 54	good-byes Dean at the Los Angeles airport. Dean asks her to marry him in New York City, but Pier refuses to elope.
	attends Sonja Henie’s party without a date
	her mother forces her to decide between her or Dean. Pier succumbs to her mother, and Dean escorts Terry Moore to the premiere of Sabrina.
29 September 54	returns to Dean as her escort for the premiere of A Star Is Born at the Pantages Theatre
1 October 54	meets Vic Damone while visiting Debbie Reynolds on the set of Hit the Deck. Afterwards he takes her to the retake room, and they dance to "September Song," which will become their "signature tune." He proposes, and a day later, she agrees. Dean is floored when he learns the news.
	is up for a part in Giant, but Elsa Cardenas is chosen
End October 54	she and Vic attend a party given for producer Joe Pasternak at the Coconut Grove
November 54	dress designer Helen Rose gives a bridal shower for her. Jane Powell and Debbie Reynolds attend.
	she and Vic find a house high in Beverly Glen Canyon
24 November 54	marries Vic at St. Timothy’s Roman Catholic Church in Hollywood. Her sister Marisa is maid of honor; actress Taina Elg is one of four bridesmaids. The reception is held at the Bel-Air Hotel. Dore Schary, Vincente Minnelli, Arthur Freed, the Jack Bennys, Danny Thomas, Cyd Charisse, Ann Blyth and her husband, Richard Egan, the John Ericsons, Debby Reynolds, Richard Anderson, Russ Tamblyn, Anne Jeffreys and her husband, and Joanne Rio are among the guests.
25 November 54	honeymoons in Las Vegas, where Vic will open his show on December 1
Mid-December 54	her sister Marisa and restaurateur Pep De Lucia welcome her and Vic back at the Los Angeles airport
Christmas 54	the Damones are in Miami, Florida
31 December 54	the Damones are in Havana, Cuba
Early 55	Vic suggests that she cut her hair short
January 55	Vic announces she’s pregnant
27 February 55	during a flight from Los Angeles to Palm Springs, she’s severely injured when the plane hits turbulence. Upon landing, she is rushed to Desert Hospital.
Early April 55	leaves the hospital on crutches
	the Damones move into a Colonial-style, two-story, ten-room house at 959 Somera Road, West Los Angeles
	presents her husband with a silver Ford Thunderbird
May 55	misses her baby shower when she’s rushed to Cedars of Lebanon Hospital; it turns out to be a false alarm
21 / 22 August 55	her son Perry Rocco Luigi Farinola Damone is born at Cedars of Lebanon Hospital. Singer Perry Como is chosen godfather; her sister Marisa, his godmother.
September 55	visits her husband at the Sands in Las Vegas, where he performs
	is considered for a part in Diane, which eventually goes to her sister Marisa
	doesn’t cry when she learns about Dean’s death in a road accident
	is off to London for the filming of Port Afrique, where she replaces Kathryn Grayson. Perry is left with a nurse. During the filming, thieves rob her Belgravia hotel suite and take her jewelry, worth $28,000.
End November 55	the Damones announce they are expecting their second child in June
December 55	loses her baby
31 December 55	she and Vic spend New Year’s Eve on a flight delayed for Los Angeles
?	the family moves to Moraga Drive in Bel Air
March 56	is considered for Gigi but looses to Leslie Caron
July 56	is on the cover of Life again
	is off to St. Tropez, in the south of France, for the filming of The Vintage. With location filming finished, the Damones reunite in Paris.
August 56	her continued ill health has her friends worried
September 56	she and Damone have the "House of the Month"
June 57	does advertising for Lustre-Creme Shampoo
July 57	obtains release from her MGM contract. Her friend Anna Maria Alberghetti pleads with her not to.
August 57	becomes the godmother of her sister’s newborn son, Jean Claude
October 57	joins the William Morris Agency
58	flirts with her director in TV’s “Bernadette,” Claudio Guzman, despite the fact that he’s married to her friend Anna Maria Alberghetti
	her marriage begins to deteriorate
	becomes a good friend of actress Anna Kashfi, the ex of Marlon Brando
26 February 58	looks like "an old world painting in grey" when attending the Golden Globes ceremonies at the Coconut Grove
2 April 58	attends the premiere of Merry Andrew at the Pantages Theater
June 58	has her appendix removed at Cedars of Lebanon Hospital
August 58	separates from Damone
10 November 58	files for divorce, charging Vic with mental cruelty and seeking custody of her son
18 December 58	wins an interlocutory degree. She gets the house, Perry, and 25% of her former husband’s gross income
	is considered for the TV adaptation of The Moon and Sixpence opposite Laurence Olivier
December 58	there are rumors that she is having an affair with bit-player and TV actor Yale Wexler
April 59	flies to London via Copenhagen and defies the court order not to remove her son from the States. In London she checks into the Dorchester Hotel. Afterwards she’s off to Las Palmas in the Canary Islands for the filming of SOS Pacific.
	develops a close relationship with her SOS Pacific co-star Guy Green
	is off to London to finish SOS Pacific and to film The Angry Silence
September 59	returns to Hollywood
October 59	is considered for the title role in Salambo; the part eventually goes to Jeanne Valerie
	sees John Barrymore, Jr., again
24 December 59	her divorce decree becomes final
60	she and her son are back in Rome. They settle in Port Ercole.
January 60	will star opposite German O.W. Fischer in Heinrich Schliemann, directed by J. Lee Thompson
June 60	is off to the Berlin Film Festival for the screening of The Angry Silence
July 60	has an affair with Italian actor Maurizio Arena. His fiancée, starlet Lorella De Luca, attempts suicide.
Summer 60	is off to Morocco for the filming of The Last Days of Sodom and Gomorrah. Afterwards in Rome, she gives a dinner party inviting all of the lovers she had during the filming. Stewart Granger isn’t invited.
October 60	has an affair with French actor Christian Pezey
	has an affair with younger actor Fabrizio Capucci
	is about town with film director Stelvio Rossi
	Roman playboy Gianfranco Piacentini becomes her frequent escort
Mid-61	at Cinecitta, she’s introduced to film composer Armando Trovajoli; he’s 14 years her senior.
14 February 62	marries Trovajoli at Kensington’s registrar’s office. The reception is held at the Kensington Palace Hotel. She presents him with a Mercedes.
14 February 62	marries Italian bandleader Armando Trovajoli in London
	the Trovajolis settle in a luxurious apartment on the Via Polibo in Rome
	she starts drinking
8 January 63	her son Howard Andrew George Rugantino is born at the Royal Northern Hospital in London
	splits her time between Porto Ercole and Rome
64	films The Battle of the Bulge on location in Spain
	her former husband, Vic Damone, abducts their son Perry in New York City. She follows Vic to California and sues him.
January 65	the court gives her custody of Perry for ten months of the year. She takes her boy back to Rome.
	Trovajoli announces that he is leaving her
September 65	the Trovajolis separate. They’ll never divorce.
66	sends Perry to Los Angeles to live with his father and Vic’s new wife, actress Judith Rawlins. Perry enrolls at the Brentwood Military Academy.
	becomes even more promiscuous and is seen with the personalities of the underground of Roman cinema
	for some weeks she moves in with journalist Ivano Davoli
67-68	a wealthy businessman keeps her a prisoner in his Rome apartment for almost two years
68	leaves her son Andrew with her mother in London
69	is off to Rotterdam, the Netherlands, for the filming of the X-rated Addio Alexandra
Christmas 69	stays in Madrid, Spain, after the filming of Las Endemoniadas
Early 70	returns to Rome and finds the Italian tax authorities waiting for her. She retreats to a modest three-room apartment on the Via Castel S, Elia, where she starts to suffer panic attacks.
	is diagnosed as clinically depressed and treated with electric shocks at the Clinica al Belvedere Montello in Rome
Spring 70	goes to Paris and her friend Fred Sahebjam, a former Ambassador of Iran, puts her into the rehabilitation clinic La Dauberie. She and Sahebjam become close.
December 70	returns to California and moves in with Vic, who recently separated from Judith Rawlins. They spend the holidays in Las Vegas, where Vic’s performing.
January 71	moves in with her old drama coach at MGM, Helena Sorrell
	hopes for a part in the upcoming The Godfather
	her friend, former actress Norma Eberhard Dauphin, introduces her to a close friend, Dr. Ramon Spritzler
	moves in with Sidney Cooperman, a wealthy manufacturer of kitchen equipment
19 June 71	celebrates her 39th birthday at the Rococco in Woodland Hills
	moves out on Cooperman and returns to Helena Sorrell
	is filming Octaman in Griffith Park in Los Angeles. With her salary of $5,000, she buys a car for Perry.
9 September 71	calls Dr. Spritzler and asks him to come to her apartment. She’s very irrational and agitated, so he gives her an injection of Compazine to calm her down.
10 September 71	Dr. Spritzler finds her dead in her apartment and phones Norma Eberhard and Macdonald Carey, who drop by immediately. Her family learns about her death in Rueil Malmaison, France, and fly in. There will be rumors that Pier was in love with Spritzler. Pier’s family will remain convinced that her death is due to Spritzler’s administration of Compazine.
	her agent, Walter Kohner, gets her a part in TV’s “Bonanza,” but she’ll never know
14 September 71	her funeral service is held at The Church of the Good Shepherd in Beverly Hills. Vic Damone, her son Perry, Norma Eberhard, Dr. Ramon Spritzler, Liza Minelli, and the families of Kirk Douglas and Louis Jordan attend.
	is interred at the Cimitière des Bulvis in Rueil Malmaison, France

Sources: Pier Angeli, A Fragile Life by Jane Allen, Photoplay, Motion Picture, Screenland, Silver Screen
Recommended Books: Pier Angeli: A Fragile Life by Jane Allen
Links: Filmography Dedicated to Pier Angeli Pier Angeli Multimedia Find A Grave