Rossella Falk (10 November 1926 – 5 May 2013) was an Italian actress. She had a long career and is possibly best known for appearing in 8½ by Federico Fellini in 1963.
Life and career Born in Rome as Rosa Antonia Falzacappa, Falk graduated from the Accademia d'Arte Drammatica in May 1948, a few months after having received the best new actress award at the World Youth Festival in Prague. In a few years she established herself as one of the more talented and requested Italian stage actresses. In 1951 she started a long collaboration with the director Luchino Visconti with the role of Stella in an adaptation of the play A Streetcar Named Desire.
In 1954, after having worked at the Piccolo Teatro in Milan, directed by Giorgio Strehler in La mascherata, Falk started, together with Giorgio De Lullo, Anna Maria Guarnieri, Romolo Valli and Umberto Orsini, the stage company "La compagnia dei giovani" with whom she achieved national and international success. Leaving the company in the 1970s, she continued her stage career working among others with Franco Zeffirelli, Gabriele Lavia, Giuseppe Patroni Griffi.
Less active in cinema, she is probably best known for her role in Federico Fellini's 8½, Falk was also active in television series and radio plays. Her last work was the 2009 stage play Est Ovest, in which she was directed by Cristina Comencini.
Filmography
Year Title Director Role Refs 1948 Guarany Riccardo Freda 1954 Angels of Darkness Giuseppe Amato Morena 1960 Vento del sud Franco Provenzale Deodata Macri 1964 8½ Federico Fellini Rosella 1965 Made in Italy Nanni Loy Erminia, His Wife (segment "5 'La Famiglia', episode 2") 1966 Modesty Blaise Joseph Losey Mrs. Fothergill 1968 The Legend of Lylah Clare Robert Aldrich Rossella Run, Psycho, Run Brunello Rondi 1970 May Morning Ugo Liberatore Mrs. Finley 1971 The Fifth Cord Luigi Bazzoni Sophia Bini Black Belly of the Tarantula Paolo Cavara Franca Valentino 1972 Seven Blood-Stained Orchids Umberto Lenzi Elena Marchi The Killer Is on the Phone Alberto De Martino Margaret Vervoort 1988 Days of Inspector Ambrosio Sergio Corbucci Moglie di Vittorio Borghi 1995 Love Story with Cramps Pino Quartullo Directrice agenzia 2001 Sleepless Dario Argento Laura de Fabritiis
References
Further reading Fabio Poggiali, Rossella Falk: la regina del teatro, Bulzoni editore, 2002. . Enrico Groppali, Rossella Falk: l'ultima diva, Mondadori, 2006. . Elsa Bartolini, Rossella Falk. La «regina», Pontari, 2011. .
External links