Rossana Rory obit

Actress Rossana Rory Has Died 

She was not on the list.

This blonde Italian glamour model and actress was born Rossana Coppa in Rome. Featured in weekly fashion and movie magazines from the age of seventeen, she made her screen debut in 1951. With a few supporting roles in Italian pictures under her belt, Hollywood beckoned. However, despite being seen in the right places and with some of the right people, Rossana's stint in the movie capital turned out to be brief and unsatisfactory. Offended by the roles offered her, she walked out on her contract with Warner Brothers after nine months. Still hoping to break through in Hollywood, she then took classes at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, but her fortunes did not improve greatly thereafter. The main highlight was a co-starring role as one of two Cuban belles (the other was Gia Scala) romancing a rather seedy and tired looking Errol Flynn in The Big Boodle (1957), a cheaply made United Artists second feature, filmed on location in Havana and Mexico City. Rossana also had another lead in a routine Republic western, Hell Canyon Outlaws (1957), before making her return to Italy.

After headlining in the war picture El Alamein (1957), Rossana made what was probably her best known appearance, in Mario Monicelli's classic caper comedy Big Deal on Madonna Street (1958). Her last few roles tended to be closer to the bottom of the cast, with the possible exception of the quaint comedy Jessica (1962). This international co-production was directed by Jean Negulesco, filmed in Sicily and turned out to be Rossana's penultimate appearance on the screen.

Rossana Rory (7 August 1927 – 1 April 2020) was an Italian actress best known for her performance as Norma in Mario Monicelli's caper film Big Deal on Madonna Street (1958). Rory began working as a model at the age of seventeen, posing mainly for the stylist Vincenzo Ferdinandi and in fotoromanzi in the weekly magazines Sogno, Luna Park, and Cine Illustrato. In 1951, she made her film debut in Max Neufeld's Licenza premio. Dissatisfied by a series of supporting roles, Rory went to London to attend acting courses at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, with hopes of a career in Hollywood.

Her lack of luck in American films convinced her to return to Italy, where she appeared in Guido Malatesta's El Alamein (1957) and Mario Monicelli's Big Deal on Madonna Street (1958). The last film she made before her retirement from cinema was Michelangelo Antonioni's L'eclisse (1962).

Rory died in Ciampino on 1 April 2020, at the age of 92.

Actress

Alain Delon, Francisco Rabal, and Monica Vitti in L'Eclisse (1962)

L'Eclisse

7.7

Anita

1962

 

Jessica (1962)

Jessica

5.5

Rosa Masudino

1962

 

Sandra Dee, Rock Hudson, Bobby Darin, and Gina Lollobrigida in Come September (1961)

Come September

6.9

Anna

1961

 

Robin Hood and the Pirates (1960)

Robin Hood and the Pirates

3.7

Lizbeth Brooks

1960

 

Vittorio De Sica, Ava Gardner, Dirk Bogarde, and Finlay Currie in The Angel Wore Red (1960)

The Angel Wore Red

5.8

Mercedes

1960

 

Captain Falcon (1958)

Captain Falcon

5.4

Elena di Roccalta

1958

 

La spada e la croce (1958)

La spada e la croce

5.1

Claudia

1958

 

Padri e figli

TV Mini Series

Fènic'ka

1958–1959

 

Marcello Mastroianni, Vittorio Gassman, Renato Salvatori, and Totò in Big Deal on Madonna Street (1958)

Big Deal on Madonna Street

7.9

Norma

1958

 

Brian Keith, Buddy Baer, Dick Kallman, Don Megowan, and Dale Robertson in Hell Canyon Outlaws (1957)

Hell Canyon Outlaws

6.7

Maria

1957

 

El Alamein (1957)

El Alamein

5.6

Nancy Carson

1957

 

The Errol Flynn Theatre (1956)

The Errol Flynn Theatre

7.2

TV Series

Fay Vallat

Wife

1957

2 episodes

 

The Big Boodle (1957)

The Big Boodle

5.6

'Fina' Ferrer

1957

 

The River Changes (1956)

The River Changes

Mayram

1956

 

Karin Booth and Charles McGraw in Casablanca (1955)

Casablanca

6.3

TV Series

Ghitana Eros

1956

1 episode

 

I cavalieri dell'illusione (1954)

I cavalieri dell'illusione

7.2

1954

 

L'eterna femmina (1954)

L'eterna femmina

6.6

1954

 

Piccola santa (1954)

Piccola santa

4.6

Luisa dei Duchi d'Albore

1954

 

In amore si pecca in due (1954)

In amore si pecca in due

Elvira

1954

 

Perdonami! (1953)

Perdonami!

5.8

Marcella

1953

 

Europe '51 (1952)

Europe '51

7.4

Infermiera della casa di cura (uncredited)

1952

 

Licenza premio (1951)

Licenza premio

Paola

1951

 

The Naked and the Wicked (1951)

The Naked and the Wicked

8.4

Ada

1951