In memoriam: Delia N. Salvi, teacher of acting and directing
She was not on the list.
Delia N. Salvi, 87, a professor emerita in the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television (TFT), accomplished actress, artist and author, died March 1 in Los Angeles after a brief illness.
Salvi, who taught at UCLA for 42 years, was known for her instruction on acting and the direction of actors. She introduced many filmmaking students, including Justin Lin and Alexander Payne, to the art of directing actors. She also directed several plays at UCLA TFT and conducted master acting classes in Oregon and Washington as well as in the Netherlands, Belgium, Canada, France, Israel, Germany, Italy and Spain.
She studied with Lee Strasberg in Manhattan and was a lifelong member of The Actors Studio where she was not only a student but also a teacher, and where she performed and served on its audition committee. Among the actors she worked with were Geena Davis, Martin Landau, Al Pacino, Mark Rydell, Shelly Winters and Dianne Wiest, as well as “Orphans” playwright Lyle Kessler and director Joe Sargent. She also had numerous roles in film and television. Salvi, who started teaching at UCLA in 1969, retired in 2011.
Born in Italy, Salvi grew up in New York City. She used to say that she was “born in a trunk.” She grew up watching from the wings as her mother, Italian theater star Renatta Vanni, performed on stage. She moved to California when her mother was brought to the West Coast by Warner Brothers to star in the William Wellman movie “Westward the Women.”
Salvi received her Master of Fine Arts degree in 1965 and a Ph.D. in 1969 from the UCLA College of Fine Arts, from which the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television emerged as a stand-alone professional school.
In her early years as a lecturer at the College of Fine Arts, she was the only faculty member teaching both theater and film/TV classes for a time. When TFT separated from the College of Fine Arts, she continued to teach in both departments. Eventually she chose to only teach in the Department of Film and Television, now known as the Department of Film, Television and Digital Media, after creating highly successful courses that taught film directors how to communicate with and direct actors. Hundreds of students learned from Salvi and have taken that experience into their professional lives. Her book “Friendly Enemies: The Director-Actor Relationship” is based upon her teachings and techniques. It was published in 2003 and has been translated into Italian.
As an actress, Salvi had numerous credits, including “From Here to Eternity” (1953), as well as roles in Anne Bancroft’s “Fatso” (1980) and “The Last Married Couple in America” (1980), by the late award-winning director Gilbert Cates, the founding dean of TFT. A little known fact about Salvi is that she was a talented artist who painted in oil and watercolor; she also sculpted in bronze. Several of her pieces have been on display in a variety of venues.
Salvi never married or had children as she was devoted to
her craft; she considered her students as her children, said a friend. Many
frequently came back to visit with her. She is survived by her cousin, Arnaldo
Delehaye of Naples, Italy. A celebration of life service will take place at the
Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park on Saturday, March 7, at 11 a.m.
Actress
Scott Bakula and Dean Stockwell in Quantum Leap (1989)
Quantum Leap
8.2
TV Series
Mrs. Klingman
1991
1 episode
They Came from Outer Space (1990)
They Came from Outer Space
6.7
TV Series
Waitress
1990
1 episode
Shadow Play (1986)
Shadow Play
4.6
Bette Mertz
1986
Finola Hughes, Maurice Benard, Steve Burton, Genie Francis,
Kelly Monaco, Laura Wright, Donnell Turner, Tanisha Harper, Josh Kelly, Eden
McCoy, Josh Swickard, and Tabyana Ali in General Hospital (1963)
General Hospital
6.6
TV Series
Magda
1982
1 episode
Richard Dreyfuss and Amy Irving in The Competition (1980)
The Competition
6.6
Mrs. DiSalvo
1980
Brave New World (1980)
Brave New World
6.5
TV Movie
High Priestess (uncredited)
1980
The Last Married Couple in America (1980)
The Last Married Couple in America
5.4
Bel Air Woman
1980
Dom DeLuise in Fatso (1980)
Fatso
6.2
Ida Rendino
1980
Tuesday Weld and Frances Sternhagen in Mother and Daughter:
The Loving War (1980)
Mother and Daughter: The Loving War
5.9
TV Movie
Greta
1980
The Cracker Factory (1979)
The Cracker Factory
6.4
TV Movie
Norma
1979
Telly Savalas in Kojak (1973)
Kojak
7.1
TV Series
Mrs. Servadora
1973
1 episode
Anouk Aimée, Robert Forster, Michael York, and Dirk Bogarde
in Justine (1969)
Justine
5.4
Italian Countess (uncredited)
1969
Who's Been Sleeping in My Bed? (1963)
Who's Been Sleeping in My Bed?
5.8
Sculptress (uncredited)
1963
Ernest Borgnine in Pay or Die! (1960)
Pay or Die!
6.9
Miss Salvi - Di Sarno's Secretary (uncredited)
1960
James Gregory in The Lawless Years (1959)
The Lawless Years
7.0
TV Series
Teresa Angelo
1959
1 episode
21 Beacon Street (1959)
21 Beacon Street
8.2
TV Series
Dolores Damore
1959
1 episode
Bobby Driscoll and Connie Stevens in The Party Crashers
(1958)
The Party Crashers
5.6
Woman in Motel (uncredited)
1958
Lust for Life (1956)
Lust for Life
7.3
Undetermined Role (uncredited)
1956
Crusader (1955)
Crusader
7.5
TV Series
1955
1 episode
Charlton Heston and Lizabeth Scott in Bad for Each Other
(1953)
Bad for Each Other
5.8
Minor Role (uncredited)
1953
Deborah Kerr, Burt Lancaster, Frank Sinatra, Ernest
Borgnine, Montgomery Clift, and Donna Reed in From Here to Eternity (1953)
From Here to Eternity
7.6
Billie (uncredited)
1953
Art Department
Who's Been Sleeping in My Bed? (1963)
Who's Been Sleeping in My Bed?
5.8
sculptor
1963
Thanks
Christopher Nee and Erol Zeybekoglu in Late Summer (2001)
Late Summer
7.6
Short
many special thanksthanks: UCLA Faculty
2001
Maid of Honor
5.5
Short
thanks: UCLA Faculty
1999
Self
Sois belle et tais-toi! (1981)
Sois belle et tais-toi!
6.9
Self
1981
Archive Footage
Delphine and Carole (2019)
Delphine and Carole
7.3
TV Movie
Self (archive footage)
2019
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