Italian actress Marisa Pavan never achieved the fame of her twin sister, Pier Angeli, a 1950s film ingénue who appeared on the covers of national magazines and whose romance with James Dean and subsequent marriage to singer Vic Damone became Hollywood tradition theme.
Analytical, sometimes defiant and, in her opinion, less conventionally beautiful than her sister, Pavan nevertheless carved out a successful career. She appeared in several high-profile films throughout the 1950s, including ““The rose tattoo” (1955), for which she was nominated for an Oscar for best supporting actress.
And she did it her way, getting angry at the star-making machine she believed had turned her sister into a sexualized creation of the big screen.
“The studies made her be what they wanted her to be, but from that moment on, it was no longer my sister in front of me,” Pavan said in an interview with Margaux Soumoy, author of a biography of Ms. Pavan. “Let go of the baby; Put a veil over the width! (2021). “It had become a studio product.”
Pavan died Dec. 6 at his home in Gassin, a town on the French Riviera, Soumoy said. She was 91 years old.
Maria Luisa Pierangeli, known as Marisa, and her twin, Anna Maria Pierangeli, were born on June 19, 1932 in Cagliari, on the island of Sardinia, to Luigi Pierangeli, an architect, and Enrichetta (Romiti) Pierangeli, who later helped guide their daughters' careers. (Her younger sister, Patrizia, born 15 years after them, also became an actress.)
The family moved to Rome when the twins were 3 years old and, during World War II, housed a Jewish general in the Italian army who was hiding from the Nazis and Italian fascists. His last name was Pavan, which Marisa, who had become close to him, would eventually adopt as her screen name.
Her sister's career began in her adolescence, when she was discovered on a street in Rome. When Mr. Pierangeli died in 1950, the family moved to the United States to further his career.
Marisa had no interest in the spotlight until a family friend, Albert R. Broccoli, an agent who would later produce the James Bond film franchise, invited her to visit the set of “What Price Glory” (1952). ). a film set during World War I starring James Cagney and directed by John Ford.
Once there, producer Sol Siegel asked him if he could sing in French. She could and she did. “I sang a Jacqueline François song,” Pavan said in a 2015 interview with Film Talk, an online film magazine. He recalled Mr. Siegel responding, “You're taking the test tomorrow!”
“I took this all as a joke,” Pavan said. But he took the script home, learned about the scene, and returned the next day.
She landed the role (a French girl who falls in love with an American marine, played by Robert Wagner) and discovered her passion for acting.
His career peaked three years later with “The Rose Tattoo,” based on a play by Tennessee Williams. Ms. Pavan played Rosa, the rebellious daughter of a grieving Sicilian widow (Anna Magnani) whose life in a Gulf of Mexico town takes a turn when she meets an exuberant truck driver (Burt Lancaster).
His sister, who by then was named Pier Angeli, had a long-term contract with MGM that limited her freedom to choose her roles and control her image, Soumoy wrote. But Ms. Pavan wanted to preserve her independence and she worked with several studios.
“From the moment I realized I wanted to build a career as an actress, I kept telling my agents to only find me quality parts that fit my own personality and tastes,” Ms. Pavan said in the book. Mrs. Soumoy. . “The last thing I wanted was to be kept prisoner under contract to a studio like Anna was.”
Her other notable roles included the noble Catherine de Medici in “Diane” (1956), a romance set in the 16th century starring Lana Turner; the wartime adventure of Gregory Peck's troubled suburban husband and father in “The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit” (1956); and Tony Curtis' love interest in the murder mystery “The Midnight Story” (1957).
Ms. Pavan married French theater and film star Jean-Pierre Aumont in 1956. He died in 2001.
Her sister's life eventually took a tragic turn when she found herself with a faltering career, a series of unhappy relationships, and struggles with physical and mental health. In 1971, Angeli was found dead at the age of 39.
Although speculation about suicide has circulated for years, Pavan remained adamant that his sister's death was accidental, a reaction to a medication a doctor had given her during an anxiety attack. It was a loss from which Pavan never fully recovered.
“She felt like she had lost half of herself,” Soumoy said.
Ms. Pavan is survived by her sons, Jean-Claude and Patrick Aumont; her sister Patrizia; six grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.
His eventual separation from the movie business seemed to arise from one particular clash. While filming the striking historical romance “Solomon and Sheba” (1959), the headstrong Mrs. Pavan clashed with a producer after many of her scenes were cut and she threatened to leave the project. The move resulted in her being effectively blacklisted by the studios, according to her biography.
Pavan moved into television, making appearances on shows such as the police procedural “Naked City,” the snappy private investigator drama “The Rockford Files” and the soap opera “Ryan's Hope.” He acted until the early 1990s. At the end of his life, he expressed no regrets about his fate in Hollywood.
“It wasn't in my nature to compromise,” he told Film Talk. “They did change my sister; She was made up like a pin-up girl. She could wear a wig to play a certain role, but they couldn't change me in life.”
