Lelia Vita Goldoni (nee Rizzuto; October 1, 1936 – July 22, 2023) was an American actress. She was best known for co-starring in John Cassavetes's groundbreaking independent film Shadows (1959). She received two BAFTA Award nominations throughout her career, the first for Shadows and the second for her performance in Martin Scorsese's Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974).
Early life Goldoni was born Lelia Vita Rizzuto in New York City and raised in Los Angeles, California. Her father was an Italian actor and she was a second cousin to baseball player Phil Rizzuto. She attended Los Angeles City College and was one of the Lester Horton Dancers in the 1950s.
Career
Goldoni began her screen career as a child in the late 1940s with uncredited cameos in Joseph L. Mankiewicz's House of Strangers (1949) and John Huston's We Were Strangers (1949).
A decade later, after moving back to New York and meeting John Cassavetes in an acting workshop, Goldoni attracted considerable attention and critical acclaim for her performance in his groundbreaking film Shadows (1959). The film launched Goldoni's acting career, and earned her a BAFTA Award nomination for Most Promising Newcomer. The New York Times wrote that she "brings a freshness and a touching sort of natural gaucherie to the role of the girl."
Goldoni later co-starred in the episodes "Fair Exchange" and "Two Birds with One Bullet" of the British television series Danger Man (1964) with Patrick MacGoohan. She next starred as Denise James in the 1965 horror film Hysteria. In 1969, Goldoni appeared in The Italian Job and, in 1972, in an episode of the British sitcom “Doctor at Large”.
Goldoni attracted further acclaim and a second BAFTA Award nomination for portraying the best friend of Ellen Burstyn's character in Martin Scorsese's feature film Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974).
In 1975, she appeared in the historical drama film The Day of the Locust.
In 1978, she appeared in the horror film Invasion of the Body Snatchers and the coming-of-age film Bloodbrothers.
In 2010, she appeared in the drama film Chain Link. Two years later, her final performance was in the horror film The Devil Inside.
In addition to performing, Goldoni also taught acting throughout her life at various institutions, including the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute, UCLA, and Hampshire College.
Personal life Goldoni was married twice, first to her Shadows co-star Ben Carruthers and then to writer Robert Rudelson. With Rudelson, she had a child named Aaron.
Goldoni is a second cousin of New York Yankees player Phil Rizzuto.
Goldoni died at the Actors Fund Home in Englewood, New Jersey, on July 22, 2023, at the age of 86.
Partial filmography +Feature filmsYearTitleRoleNotes1949 We Were Strangers Consuelo Valdés Uncredited1949 House of Strangers Italian Girl Uncredited1959 Shadows Lelia 1965 Hysteria Denise James 1967 Theatre of Death Dani Gireaux 1969 The Italian Job Mrs. Beckerman Uncredited1974 Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore Bea 1975 The Day of the Locust Mary Dove 1976 Baby Blue Marine Mrs. Townsley 1976 The Disappearance of Aimee Sister Emma Shaffer 1978 Bloodbrothers Maria 1978 Invasion of the Body Snatchers Katherine Hendley 1980 The Unseen Virginia Keller 1981 Choices Jean Carluccio 1981 Gangster Wars Mrs. Lasker 1985 Rainy Day Friends Barbara Marti 1994 Somebody to Love Venice Waitress 2000 A Constant Forge Herself 2008 Chain Link Floraine 2010 The Pacific Dora Basilone 2012 The Devil Inside Susan Meadows
References
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