Marisa Mell

Marisa Mell
Born Marlies Theres Moitzi
(1939-02-24)February 24, 1939
Graz, Austria
Died May 16, 1992(1992-05-16) (aged 53)
Vienna, Austria
Spouse(s) Henri Tucci (divorced)
Stephen Boyd (1971, gypsy wedding, not recognized as legal)

Marisa Mell (24 February 1939 – 16 May 1992) was an Austrian actress who became a cult figure of 1960s Italian B-movies. She was born as Marlies Theresa Moitzi in Graz, Austria.

Life and career

In 1963, she was involved in a violent automobile accident in France. For six hours, she lay unconscious, unaware that she nearly lost her right eye. The disfigurement extended to her lip as well. She spent the next two years undergoing plastic surgery, and no damage remained in her face, except for a distinctive curl of her upper lip.

She turned down a seven-year Hollywood contract, saying that while the payment would have been great, "the contract was a whole book. I think that even to go to the toilet I would have needed a permission."

In 1967, she performed the title role in the "utterly calamitous"[1] musical Mata Hari alongside Pernell Roberts. After a preview performance in Washington, D.C. that became infamous for its numerous technical problems, producer David Merrick decided to close the production before its scheduled Broadway run.[2]

She is best known for the role of Eva Kant in Danger: Diabolik (1968). In the late 1990s, the television show MST3K brought the actress to a new generation of B-movie viewers when the film was featured on an episode. The show also spoofed another of her starring roles in the film Secret Agent Super Dragon.

Mell died in Vienna from throat cancer in 1992, aged 53.

Selected filmography

References

Notes
  1. ↑ "A Role Rekindled", The Washington Post
  2. ↑ "Merrick Shoots Mata", Time

External links

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