Gia Scala

Gia Scala
Gia Scala
Born	Josephine Grace Johanna Scoglio 3 March 1934 Liverpool, Lancashire„ England, United Kingdom
Died	30 April 1972 (aged 38) at home Hollywood, California, US
Cause of death	Accidental?-- new evidence
Resting place	Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California
Occupation	Actress, model
Years active	1955—1969
Spouse(s)	Don Burnett (1959-1970; divorced)
Website	http://giascala.com

Gia Scala (3 March 1934 – 30 April 1972) was an Anglo-American actress and model of Italian and Irish descent.

Early life

She was born Josephine Grace Johanna Scoglio in Liverpool, Lancashire, to a Sicilian father, Pietro Scoglio, and an Irish mother, Eileen O'Sullivan. She had one sister, Tina Scala, also an actress. Gia was raised in Messina, and Mili San Marco, Sicily, the latter was upon her grandfather—Natale Scoglio's estate. He was the largest agriculturist of citrus, mainly lemons known as the "Ballerina Brand." It was the custom of upper social and economic class families, to send their young adult children to live abroad to enculturate and to learn other languages. When she was 16 years old Gia began to reside with her aunt Agata in Whitestone, Queens, Long Island, New York. She had always wanted to be an actress; however, her very religious aunt disapproved of her aspirations. After she graduated from Bayside High School in Queens, New York, Gia moved to Manhattan to pursue acting. In order to support herself, she found employment in a travel agency where she met a person who had connections with a television producer. During this time, she took drama classes from Stella Adler, and that was when she met Steve McQueen, they dated from 1952 to 1954. She appeared on game shows, in particular Stop the Music, where she was spotted by Maurice Bergman, an executive of Universal International located in New York.^[1]

Career

Scala in the 1960 Alfred Hitchcock Presents episode "Mother, May I Go Out to Swim?"

In 1954, accompanied by her mother, she flew to Hollywood to screen test for the role of Mary Magdalene for the up-coming film The Gallileans. She did not get the part, but it didn't matter because the film was scrapped. Nevertheless, Peter Johnson at Universal Studios was impressed with her close-ups in the screen test. She was given a non-speaking, uncredited part in the movie All That Heaven Allows that starred Rock Hudson. Afterward Universal Studios signed her to a contract. The studio dyed her hair dark brown, had her four front teeth capped, and changed her name to Gia Scala.

Her star was rising when in 1957 her mother died. Emotionally distraught, she began to become unstable. In 1958, she was filming The Two Headed Spy in London. Her father and she were sharing an apartment, late one night they had words, Gia left in a huff, got into a taxi and went to the Waterloo Bridge. It looked as if she was going to jump off the bridge, the taxi driver called the Police, and she was taken to the Police Station. In the morning her father came to take her home. Later that same year, she became an American citizen.^[2] She landed roles in Tip on a Dead Jockey (1957), The Garment Jungle (1957), and The Tunnel of Love (1958), which featured Richard Widmark and Doris Day. Her performance as a labour organiser in The Garment Jungle was critically acclaimed.

Gia received recognition for her performance as "Anna" in the film The Guns of Navarone (1961), starring Gregory Peck and David Niven.

She made frequent appearances on American television shows during the 1960s. Gia co-starred with William Shatner in a 1960 Alfred Hitchcock Presents episode entitled "Mother, May I Go Out to Swim?", another called "Deathmate", and with Christopher Lee in a 1964 Alfred Hitchcock Hour segment entitled "The Sign of Satan". She also guest starred in other series, Convoy, The Islanders, The Rogues, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Twelve O'Clock High episode "Rx For A Sick Bird" (1965), the NBC TV series Tarzan (1967), and It Takes a Thief (1969) in the episode "The Artist Is for Framing", which proved to be her final acting role.

Gia married actor turned investment banker Don Burnett on 21 August 1959. She started drinking heavily after Burnett left her and moved in with Rock Hudson. They divorced on 1 September 1970.^[3] Her career began to deteriorate as a result of depression that led to excessive drinking.

"Cha Cha for Gia"

While Henry Mancini worked with Universal Pictures, he met Gia on the Four Girls in Town stage. Inspired by her beauty, he wrote "Cha Cha for Gia." This was an un-credited tune for the 1957 movie.^[4]

Later years and death

Having British citizenship due to her birth, Gia went to London to film "The Two Headed Spy." In late summer of 1958, she returned to the U.S., and her father moved to Taormina, Sicily, where he retired from the import/export business.

On the night of 30 April 1972, Gia was found dead in her Hollywood Hills home at 7944 Woodrow Wilson Drive. Los Angeles County Coroner Thomas Noguchi reported her cause of death was from an "acute ethanol and barbiturate intoxication." She had a prescription for valium, there were three tablets missing from the bottle, but valium was not a barbiturate; it is a benzodiazepine. Also, she was discovered nude sprawled across her bed, there were bruises on her body and blood on her pillow, the bedroom seemed to be staged with wine bottles and dirty wine glasses strewn about. Gia was a very organized and neat person. For those reasons, her sister Tina Scala never believed that Gia intended to take her life, nor was her death accidental. She was 38 years old.^[5] Scala's death was later ruled "Accidental".^[6] She is interred next to her mother, Eileen O'Sullivan-Scoglio, in the Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California.

Postal Stamp: Republic of the Congo

In 2008, the Democratic Republic of the Congo put Gia Scala's image on their postage stamp.

Gia Scala: The First Gia

Gia Scala: The First Gia is the title of a book published first in December 2014, then re-published in July 2015. The book discusses in detail about her personal and professional life. Video on YouTube

One of the Most Beautiful Women Ever in Hollywood

IMDb chose Gia Scala as one of the “Most Beautiful Women Ever in Hollywood.” ^[7]

Film and television credits

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1954	Stop the Music (American TV series)		Game show contestant, later became Bert Parks assistant
1955	All That Heaven Allows	Marguerita	Uncredited
1956	Never Say Goodbye	Minnie	Uncredited
1956	The Price of Fear	Nina Ferranti	Gia Scala
1957	TV- Goodyear Theater	Giovanna
1957	Four Girls in Town	Vicki Dauray
1957	The Big Boodle	Anita Ferrer	Filmed in Cuba
1957	Don't Go Near the Water (film)	Melora Alba	MGM
1957	The Garment Jungle	Theresa Renata
1957	Tip on a Dead Jockey	Paquita Heldon	Filmed in Spain & Culver City, Calif.
1958	Ride a Crooked Trail	Tessa Milotte	Filmed in Los Angeles
1958	The Tunnel of Love	Estelle Novick	MGM
1958	The Two-Headed Spy	Lili Geyr	Filmed I London
1959	The Angry Hills	Eleftheria	Filmed in Greece & London
1959	Battle of the Coral Sea	Karen Philips
1960	I Aim at the Stars	Elizabeth Beyer	Filmed in Munich, Germany
1960	TV- Alfred Hitchcock Presents	Lottie Rank	Mother, May I Go Out to Swim?
1960	TV- The Islanders	Rhea	Duel of Strangers
1961	The Guns of Navarone	Anna	Filmed at Rhodes Island & London
1961	TV - Here’s Hollywood	Herself	Episode 1.154
1961	TV Hong Kong	Maria Banda	The Runaway
1961	TV Alfred Hitchcock Presents	Lisa Talbot	Deathmate
1962	Il trionfo di Robin Hood	Anna	Filmed in Croatia & Italy
1964	Operation Delilah	Dalida	Filmed in Spain
1964	TV -Alfred Hitchcock Presents	Kitty Frazier	The Sign of Satan
1964	TV –The Rogues	Simone Carnot	Take Me to Paris
1965	TV – The Rogues	Lisa de Monfort	The Laughing Lady of Luxor
1965	TV- Convoy	Madeline Duval	Passage to Liverpool
1965	TV- Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea	Dr. Katya Markova	Jonah & the Whale
1965	TV -Twelve O'Clock High (TV series)	Ilka Zradra	Rx for a Sick Bird
1965	TV - Run for Your Life	Marika Takacs	How to Sell Your Soul for Fun & Profit
1966	TV - Jericho	Simone DuBray	Upbeat & Underground
1967	TV - Tarzan	Martha Tolboth	The Golden Runaway
1969	TV – The Name of the Game	Renata Marino	The Inquiry
1969	TV – It Takes a Thief	Angel	The Artist Is for Framing

References

1. "Gia Scala: The First Gia".
2. Crivello, Kirk (1990-01-01). Fallen Angels: The Lives and Untimely Deaths of 14 Hollywood Beauties. Berkley. p. 188. ISBN 0-425-11968-8.
3. Crivello, Kirk (1990-01-01). Fallen Angels: The Lives and Untimely Deaths of 14 Hollywood Beauties. Berkley. pp. 187–188. ISBN 0-425-11968-8.
4. "Four Girls in Town Sound Track".
5. "Gia Scala Is Dead; Film Actress, 38". The New York Times. 1972-05-02. p. 46.
6. "The Private Life and Times of Gia Scala". glamourgirlsofthesilverscreen.com. Retrieved 31 December 2011.
7. "Most Beautiful Women Ever in Hollywood".

External links

• Gia Scala at the Internet Movie Database
• Gia Scala at Find a Grave