Marisa Solinas

Italian actress and singer born in Genoa on May 30, 1941 – 13 February 2019 Marisa Solinas – known under several pretty nicknames such as “The Pocket Venus of the Italian Cinema” and the “iron chick” – born in Genoa from a Tuscan mother and from a Sardinian father. Her passion for the opera and singing – that she has studied at the Carlo Felice in Genoa – together with the expressive beauty of a cover girl projected her very soon into the cinema world. Immortalized by the greatest international photographers for almost three hundred covers and an infinite number of the most important newspapers (among which, the foreign Paris Match, France-Soir, Jour de France, Daily News, Film und Frau, Primer Plano, Corriere Canadese, and the Italian Gente, Oggi, Epoca, Sorrisi e Canzoni, Il Giorno, Tempo, Il Borghese, La Domenica del Corriere, Confidenze, Playboy, etc.), her image, skilfully captured by Marquis Crispolti, has been also used for a very widespread "seal-stamp”. In 1973, Gina Lollobrigida choose her as "Italian Venus” for her photo book "Italia Mia". She has also posed for the great sculptor Francesco Messina, for a life-size bronze nude which has been exhibited in several international expositions. Cinema and theatre actress, she has played in more than 50 films for the cinema screen both in Italy and abroad, among which: "Boccaccio 70" (by Mario Monicelli; Festival Cannes '61), "La Commare Secca" (Pier Paolo Pasolini) by Bernardo Bertolucci (Festival Venice '62), "Noche De Verano" (Award of Festival Mar de la Plata '62) by Jorge Grau (with G. Maria Volonté, Francisco Rabal, Umberto Orsini), "Freddy, Tiere, Sensationen" (1965, with Freddy Quinn) by K. Vibak, "Buona Come Il Pane" (1966) by Edward Dein (director of Brando), "Padre Di Famiglia" (Festival Venice '67) by Nanni Loy (with Leslie Caron, Ugo Tognazzi and Nino Manfredi), "Riderà" (1967) by Bruno Corbucci (with Little Tony and Oreste Lionello), "Killer Adiòs" (1968) by Primo Zeglio, "Blind Man" (1971) by Ferdinando Baldi (with Ringo Starr), "L'Arbitro" (1972, with Lando Buzzanca and Joan Collins), "Ybris" (Festival Venice '83) by Gavino Ledda, "I Due Carabinieri" (1987) by and with Carlo Verdone (with Enrico Montesano), "Tutti Dentro" (1987) by and with Alberto Sordi, "L'Ombra Del Gigante" (Festival Berlin 2000) by Roberto Petrocchi, "Almost Blue" (Festival Cannes 2000) by Alex Infascelli. In '62, she was the only Italian actress selected by the great Lee Strasberg for a course of the "Actors Studio" in Italy. We remember her in the TV-films "Quo Vadis" (1987, with Karl Maria Brandauer, Frederic Forrest, Leopoldo Trieste) by Franco Rossi, "Tutti Gli Uomini Sono Uguali" (with Enzo Decaro and Maurizio Crozza) by Alessandro Capone, and the more recent "Lucia" (with Sabrina Ferilli) by Pasquale Pozzessere. Marisa Solinas is also known as professional singer, having started her career by recording for the most important record companies (EMI-Voce del Padrone, FONIT CETRA, RCA), with a repertoire ranging from the auteur Light Music to the operetta. She has singed with famous artists like Tony Renis, Adriano Celentano, Domenico Modugno, Gianni Morandi, Fausto Leali, Renato Zero, Edoardo Vianello, Pino Donaggio, Memo Remigi, Giorgio Gaber, Mal, Sacha Distel and her unforgettable bosom friend Luigi Tenco, who dedicated to her some songs, among which "Quando". In 1963 she interpreted pieces by some of the most important music authors all around the wrold such as Gilbert Becaud, who chose her as exclusive Italian interpreter of his two hits "Je T'Aime" and "Mon Arbre" for the EMI - Voce Del Padrone, J. Chavez ("Per Chi Sogna Annamaria"), Edoardo Vianello, Franco Califano, Nisa, Detto Mariano, Stelvio Cipriani, Giorgio Calabrese, Giacomo Dell'Orso, Giuseppe Cassia and Elvio Monti. From '66 to '72, she played in several music shows, among which, a recital with Mina in Vicenza, directed by Gianni Ferrio. During the opening of the broadcasting station "Tele Napoli", she sang Roberto Murolo’s songs together with their author. She was top of the charts with Elvio Monti’s piece "L'Estasi", sung together with Andrea Giordana. Furthermore she has performed in some of the most famous revenues all around the world, among which the ONU Palace (invited by Ruggero Orlando, who has also dedicated her a poem) in New York, the Skylon Room of the Niagara Falls in Canada, Caracas ("Renny Ottolina Show", with Sammy Davis and Djonne Warwick). In the television world she was launched (1959) as singer by Domenico Modugno. For the Rai she appeared as guest in "Alla Fiera del Mago Zurlì" (with Cino Tortorella and Johnny Dorelli), "Musicalissimo" (with Tony Dall'Ara) by and with Gino Bramieri, "Domenica In" (various editions, among which the ones by Corrado and the ones by Pippo Baudo), "Alle Nove della Sera" (show of Rai Uno by Maurizio Costanzo) together with Gianni Morandi, and "Musicrama" with Alida Valli. For Radio Uno, she has conducted for months the morning music programme "Il Topo di Discoteca", with all her songs. At the Bagaglino in Rome she was main interpreter in the show by Faele and Pingitore "Anche L'Occhio Vuole La Sua Partner", by executing a part of her own repertoire. At the Odeon in Milan she has sung within the recital "Il Dito Sulla...Mala" by Castellacci and Pingitore. She has interpreted several operettas among which "La Principessa della Czarda", "Cin-Ci-Là", "Il Paese Dei Campanelli", "Al Cavallino Bianco" and "Il Paese Del Sorriso" at the Teatro Cento in Ferrara, filmed by Rai for the television programme "Odeon" by Maurizio Costanzo.