Pia Zadora

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Biography

Pia Zadora (born May 4, 1954) is an United States|American actress and singing|singer . After working as a child actress on Broadway, in regional theater, and in the film Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (1964), she came to national attention in 1981 when, following her starring role in the highly criticized Butterfly (1982 film)| Butterfly , she won a Golden Globe Award as New Star of the Year.

When her film career failed to take off, she became a singer of popular standards and made several successful albums backed by a symphonic orchestra; as a singer she earned a measure of respect from critics who had previously written her off as an actress.

Early life

Zadora was born Pia Alfreda Schipani in Hoboken, New Jersey . Her mother, Saturnina "Nina" ( married and maiden names|née Zadorowski), was a theatrical wardrobe supervisor for Broadway theatre|Broadway productions, the Metropolitan Opera , and the New York City Opera , and her father, Alphonse Schipani, a violin ist. She is of Polish-American|Polish maternal and Italian-American|Italian paternal descent. She adapted part of her mother's maiden name as her stage name. Zadora appeared as a child actress with Tallulah Bankhead in Midgie Purvis . She played the youngest sister (Bielke) in the Broadway production of Fiddler on the Roof (1964–1966).

Career

Film

Zadora's first film was in 1964 in film|1964's Santa Claus Conquers the Martians , as Girmar, a young Martian girl (the movie became notorious years later on the TV series Mystery Science Theater 3000 ). She also sang Hooray for Santy Claus in that movie. Her career made little headway until she met Meshulam Riklis , 30 years her senior, in 1972, while touring with a musical production. The couple married on 18 September 1977 (and divorced 29 March 1995). Not long after her marriage, she made her breakthrough as the Dubonnet Girl, appearing in print and television commercials for the apéritif . Her husband was a shareholder in Dubonnet's American distributor.
Zadora starred with Stacy Keach and Orson Welles in the 1982 in film|1982 film Butterfly (1982 film)| Butterfly , with a plot around father-daughter incest , and featuring Zadora singing "It’s Wrong For Me To Love You". She won that year's Golden Globe Award as "Best New Star of the Year", amid charges that her husband had bought the award with a promotional campaign. of '' Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! '' Zadora's image filled billboards on Sunset Boulevard . Not all critics were enamored of her performance; however, she was also awarded "Razzies" as "Worst New Star" and "Worst Actress" in the 1982 Golden Raspberry Awards .

Zadora next starred in the 1982 in film|1982 film Fake-Out (aka Nevada Heat ), a women in prison B-movie comedy co-starring Telly Savalas , and in the 1983 in film|1983 film adaptation of a Harold Robbins novel, The Lonely Lady , playing an aspiring screenwriter who achieves success after surviving sexual assault . She was awarded another Razzie as Worst Actress of 1983. On the basis of her multiple awards, the Golden Raspberry Awards later named her Worst New Star of the Decade (1980–1989).

In 1985 Zadora starred as the object of an Extraterrestrial life|extraterrestrial 's affections in the musical-comedy Voyage of the Rock Aliens . In addition to showing off her comedic side, the film showcased her musical talents and featured half of the songs from her 1984 album '' Let's Dance Tonight .

In 1988 , she played a beatnik in John Waters (filmmaker)|John Waters ' Hairspray (1988 film)|Hairspray .

Music

She attained success in Europe as a singer, and had several hit singles throughout the world. In 1984 , she received a nomination for a Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance for the song "Rock It Out". Her cover of the Shirley Ellis hit " The Clapping Song ", reached the U.S. Top 40 in 1983 in music|1983 , and she had a hit duet with Jermaine Jackson titled " When the Rain Begins to Fall " in 1984 in music|1984 from the movie Voyage of the Rock Aliens . A minor hit in the US, the song reached #1 in some European countries. She released Pia & Phil , an album of standards with the London Philharmonic Orchestra in 1985, and recorded a follow up entitled I Am What I Am shortly after.
In 1988, she worked with producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis on an album entitled When the Lights Go Out (Pia Zadora album)|When the Lights Go Out . The single "Dance Out of My Head" wasn't a hit despite the top producers and club remixes by Shep Pettibone and Ben Liebrand . The album was only released in Europe. In 1989 she recorded the album Pia Z with producer Narada Michael Walden ; it was not a hit. The single "Heartbeat of Love" included club remixes by Robert Civillés and David Cole of C& C Music Factory . A further album of standards entitled Pia Today! was recorded and received a limited promotional release.

Later in 1994, Zadora played a small role in Naked Gun 33?: The Final Insult|Naked Gun 33: The Final Insult , in the final act in a comedy sketch as she sang at the Oscars. In this segment, she performed the Steve Allen -penned "This Could Be the Start of Something Big" during a parody of an Academy Awards musical number.

A compilation, The Platinum Collection , was released around this time and sold via infomercials in the US. It included repackaged versions of Pia & Phil , I Am What I Am , and Pia Today! A further CD of standards Only for Romantics was also recorded, but is very scarce and only promotional copies are available.

Cabaret show: 2011 and beyond

In 2011, Zadora began a small attempt at a comeback with a cabaret show titled Pia Zadora: Back Again, And Standing Tall . In February, she performed at the Eissey Campus Theatre in Palm Beach Gardens and the Kaye Auditorium in Boca Raton . She took the show to The Rrazz Room in San Francisco on June 8 where it ran for five performances until June 12. On August 6, Zadora will be performing her show at the Seneca Niagara Casino & Hotel in Niagara Falls, New York . In 2012, she will be performing her show with the Desert Symphony Orchestra at the McCallum Theatre in Palm Desert, California .

Zadora has also been performing and making appearances throughout 2011 at benefit galas and fundraisers. She appeared at San Francisco's Rrazz Room's 3rd annual Rrazziversary Gala Celebration and Benefit for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital on March 17 and at the Nevada Children's Center's Great Gatsby Gala on April 3.

Personal life

Zadora married businessman Meshulam Riklis in 1977, when she was 23 and he 54. Zadora and Riklis bought the Beverly Hills, California|Beverly Hills mansion Pickfair in January 1988 from Los Angeles Lakers owner Jerry Buss for almost $7 million. They demolished most of the structure (keeping the guest houses), claiming that termites and time had made repairs difficult. The mansion, which was once home of Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford (hence the name "Pickfair"), was razed and a new mansion was built on the property. Riklis commissioned a nude oil portrait of Zadora. Visitors were greeted by the portrait.

Zadora remained there until late 2005 or early 2006 when she sold the mansion to Korean businessman Corry Hong for $17,650,000.

Zadora's second husband was writer-director Jonathan Kaufer. They were married from August, 1995 to November 2001, and had one child, Jordan Maxwell Kaufer., Beverly Hills Courier , December 8, 2010 Zadora's three children are Kady Zadora, Kristofer Barzie, and Jordan Maxwell. Kady and Kristofer are her children with Meshulam Riklis. bio for Mr. Riklis Kady was named after Zadora's film character in Butterfly , which later inspired the call letters for station KBEH|KADY-TV / Oxnard, California after Riklis acquired it in 1988.

Zadora has been married to Michael Jeffries, a detective with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department , since 2005 and currently resides in Las Vegas. Zadora and Jeffries met after Zadora contacted the Las Vegas Police to report a stalking incident.

She is a contributor to both Republican Party (United States)|Republican and Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic political candidates.

Filmography

Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (1964)

Butterfly (1982 film)|Butterfly (1982)

Fake-Out aka Nevada Heat (1982)

The Lonely Lady (1983)

Voyage of the Rock Aliens (1984)

Hairspray (1988 film)|Hairspray (1988)

Troop Beverly Hills (1989)

Feel the Motion aka Der Formel Eins Film

Naked Gun 33?: The Final Insult|Naked Gun 33: The Final Insult (1994)

Television

Pajama Tops (1984)

'' Mother Goose Rock 'n' Rhyme (1990) (played Little Miss Muffet )

Frasier (1 episode, 1999; voice only)

Discography

Albums

1982: Pia (album)|Pia

1984: '' Let's Dance Tonight

1985: Pia & Phil

1986: I Am What I Am (Pia Zadora album)|I Am What I Am

1988: When the Lights Go Out (album)|When the Lights Go Out

1989: Pia Z

1989: Pia Today! (Promo only until it was issued as part of The Platinum Collection )

1993: Only for Romantics (Promo only)

1993: The Platinum Collection (Pia Zadora album)|The Platinum Collection (inc. Pia & Phil, I Am What I Am, and Pia Today!)

Singles

Year	Single	Peak chart positions
Year	Single	US	US Country	UK	Germany http:/ / www.charts.de/ suche.asp? search=pia+zadora& x=0& y=0& country=de& kategorie=single
1978	"Come Share My Love"	—	—	—	—
1979	"Bedtime Stories"	—	76	—	—
	"Tell Him"^A	—	98	—	—
	"I Know a Good Thing When I Feel It"	—	65	—	—
1980	"Baby It's You"	—	55	—	—
1982	"I'm in Love Again"	45	—	—	—
1983	"The Clapping Song"	36	—	—	—
1984	" When the Rain Begins to Fall " (with Jermaine Jackson )	54	—	68	1
	"Follow My Heartbeat"^B	—	—	—	—
	"Let's Dance Tonight"	—	—	—	11
	"Little Bit of Heaven"	—	—	—	10
	"Rock It Out"	—	—	—	—
1985	"Come Rain, Come Shine"	—	—	—	—
1986	"I Am What I Am"	—	—	—	—
1988	"Dance Out of My Head"	—	—	65	—
1989	"Heartbeat of Love"	—	—	—	—
1989	"If You Were Mine"	—	—	—	—

^A B-side to "Bedtime Stories"

^B B-side to "When the Rain Begins to Fall"

Awards and nominations

Golden Globe Awards

Won: New Star of the Year, Butterfly (1981)

Golden Raspberry Awards

Won: Worst New Star, Butterfly (1983)

Won: Worst Actress, Butterfly (1983)

Won: Worst Actress, The Lonely Lady (1984)

Won: Worst New Star of the Decade, Butterfly and The Lonely Lady (1990)

Nominated: Worst Actress of the Decade, Butterfly and The Lonely Lady (1990)

Nominated: Worst Actress of the Century, Voyage of the Rock Aliens , Butterfly , and The Lonely Lady (2000)

Golden Apple Award

Won: Sour Apple (1982)

Grammy Awards

Nominated: Best Rock Vocal Performance Female, for "Rock It Out" (1984)

ShoWest Award

Won: Young Star of the Year (1982)

Copyright Citations

This article is licensed under the GNU License
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1. Shirley Ellis

Undetermined Music Artists