Really, we just like saying her name. It's the kind of name that only a 1960's European sexpot actress could have. Gorgeous, Roman-born Luciana Paluzzi could never be a cuddly old nonna, stirring sauce and kneading pasta dough and putting up jars of preserved olives; she had to have a wild mane of hair, dangerous curves, and a sultry accent thicker than a blanket of mozzarella cheese. La Paluzzi's trio of early-to-mid-1960's films (1961's Return to Peyton Place, 1964's Muscle Beach Party, and 1965's Thunderball) guarantee her a little corner shrine here at Stirred, Straight Up, with a Twist; despite her potent showing as one of the sexiest Bond villainesses, ever (see below), it was soon on to such fare as The Green Slime (1968) and something called Chuka (1967). Retired since 1980, La Paluzzi lives a quiet life in Bel-Air with her husband, and we're sure she still decks herself out in a headscarf and Pucci prints every single day.
:-P I love Luci ("Luchi!") too! Her abortion by slolom in "RTPP" is a hoot. I actually have "Chuka" on DVD!!!!!! Not a great film, but far better than "The Klansman" in which she appeared with Richard Burton, Lee Marvin and OJ Simpson (!), yet had her voice dubbed by a flat, benign, American woman! Horror. My favorite tidbit about Ms. Paluzzi is that she was briefly married to the blue-eyed hunk Brett Halsey, her "RTPP" costar. Yum!
ReplyDeleteLet me get this straight -- "Chuka" is out on DVD, while we're still waiting for, say, Susie Hayward & John Gavin's "Back Street," Kim Stanley in "The Goddess," La Novak as "The Legend of Lylah Clare," etc.? Criminal!
ReplyDeleteI recently saw a segment on a decorating show about her fabulous cliff side home in Mexico. She had like a dozen servants and maids. She also wore a yellow silky flowing outfit, so yes she still dresses the part. Her Hollywood producer husband was fine off his old ass but looked much younger than she.
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