Tina Scala

Tina Scala
Born Agatina Carmen Maria Scoglio
July 16, 1935
Mili San Marco, Messina Province Sicily, Italy
Occupation Model, Singer, Actress
Years active 1955—present

Tina Scala (born July 16, 1935) is an actress, model, singer, poet, and author of Italian and Irish descent.

Early life

Tina's early life was one of privilege. Agatina Carmen Maria Scolgio, her birth name, was born in Mili San Marco; she became to be known as Tina. At 17, she settled in Toronto, Canada. In 1962, Tina began modeling fur coats in Toronto. When she heard that the – CBC—Canadian Broadcasting Corporation was holding auditions, she applied & was accepted & began working in daytime television.

Career

Tina studied acting at the Actors Studio, dancing at Luigi School of Dance —Eugene Louis Faccuito, and voice with Carlo Menotti. She made appearances on some radio shows and television shows. In 1961 she made her film debut in The Children’s Hour.

On December 27, 1966, while dressed in a mini-skirt, a photographer from the New York Daily News by chance snapped her picture as she was stepping over a snow bank when making her way through the snows in Central Park. That photo was published in The Saratogian and was seen by many U.S. soldiers in who were stationed in Viet Nam. The newspaper received requests as to the identity of the miniskirted young lady. When Tina discovered that the boys overseas liked her photograph, she posed in a two piece bikini and became a pin-up.[1] While Tina was working as a model and actress in New York, her sister & mother were living in Los Angeles, California. When her mother—a life time smoker—became ill from lung cancer, Tina moved to Los Angeles to be near her family. She often accompanied her sister onto the movie sets where she had the opportunity to meet many famous movie stars. In an interview she was asked: "Who was the first star you met?" She answered "Audie Murphy ... his dressing room was next to Gia's & we could hear him talking to some girls & the girls were laughing loudly. When I met him he was very polite & personable." [2] Tina continued to work in film—a role most remembered is when she played woman in the Laundromat in Midnight Cowboy 1969. In 1972 when her sister Gia Scala was found dead in her Hollywood Hills home at 7944 Woodrow Wilson Drive,[3] her death was ruled accidental,[4] [5] Gia Scala was interred next to her mother in the Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City. [6] In 1976 Frank Cavestani interviewed Tina for his documentary—Making It In Hollywood-- [7] she was dressed as Cinderella from the wedding scene and he asked her "Which is easier working in film or theater?" She replied, "Film. Because in theater there are no second takes. You have to get it right the first time."

Tina continues working in film & theater.

Tina Scala

Selected filmography

References

  1. ↑ http://fultonhistory.com/Newspapers%2021/Saratoga%20Springs%20NY%20Saratogian/Saratoga%20Springs%20NY%20Saratogian%201967/Saratoga%20Springs%20NY%20Saratogian%201967%20-%200562.pdf
  2. ↑ Interview with writer Sterling Saint James January 2014
  3. ↑ "Gia Scala Is Dead; Film Actress, 38". The New York Times. 1972-05-02. p. 46.
  4. ↑ "The Private Life and Times of Gia Scala". glamourgirlsofthesilverscreen.com. Retrieved 31 December 2011.
  5. ↑ web|url=http://www.glamourgirlsofthesilverscreen.com/show/241/Gia+Scala/index.html
  6. ↑ Crivello, Kirk (1990-01-01). Fallen Angels: The Lives and Untimely Deaths of 14 Hollywood Beauties. Berkley. p. 188. ISBN 0-425-11968-8.
  7. ↑ http://mediaburn.org/video/making-it-in-hollywood-raw-19/

External links

References