Pamela Tiffin

Pamela Tiffin
Tiffin in 1965
Born
Pamela Tiffin Wonso

(1942-10-13)October 13, 1942
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S.
DiedDecember 2, 2020(2020-12-02) (aged 78)
Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
EducationHunter College
Occupations
  • Actress
  • model
Years active1960–1989
Known forDinner at Eight
Summer and Smoke
One, Two, Three
State Fair
Come Fly with Me
Harper
Spouses
  • ​
    ​
    (m. 1962; div. 1969)​
  • Edmondo Danon
    ​
    (m. 1974)​
Children2

Pamela Tiffin Wonso (October 13, 1942 – December 2, 2020) was an American film and television actress.

Early life

Tiffin was born in Oklahoma City to Stanley Wonso and Grace Irene (Tiffin) Wonso[1] of Russian and British ancestry,[2] but grew up in suburban Chicago, where she achieved success as a teen model. She attended Hunter College and appeared in a short film, Music of Williamsburg (1960).[3]

Hollywood career

While vacationing in Hollywood at the age of 18, Tiffin visited the Paramount Pictures lot and was spotted by producer Hal B. Wallis, who arranged for her to take a screen test. As a result, she was cast in the film version of Summer and Smoke, which was released in 1961.[4]

Tiffin next played the daughter of James Cagney's boss in the comedy One, Two, Three (1961). The film's director Billy Wilder called her "the biggest find since Audrey Hepburn".[5] She earned a Golden Globe nomination for each of her first two films,[6]

She won the leading role in the Twentieth Century-Fox musical remake State Fair (1962), in which she was played Bobby Darin's love interest.[7] She was one of the three leads in MGM's comedy Come Fly with Me (1963).

Tiffin studied at Columbia and continued to model. She appeared as a guest star on The Fugitive and filmed a television pilot for Fox titled Three in Manhattan that did not materialize into a series.[8][5]

She made two films with James Darren, both aimed at teen audiences: For Those Who Think Young (1964) and The Lively Set (1964).[9] Fox cast her The Pleasure Seekers (1964), a remake of Three Coins in the Fountain (1954).

Tiffin costarred with Burt Lancaster in the 1965 Western The Hallelujah Trail and appeared in a segment of Kiss the Other Sheik (1965) that was filmed in Italy. She next appeared in the mystery film Harper (1966) with Paul Newman and performed in Dinner at Eight on Broadway.[10]

Italy

Tiffin on the set of the 1971 Italian giallo film The Fifth Cord

In 1967, Tiffin relocated to Italy "to find out what I want."[3] She appeared in The Almost Perfect Crime (1966) with Philippe Leroy; The Protagonists (1968); Torture Me But Kill Me with Kisses (1968), a hugely popular comedy; and The Archangel (1969) with Vittorio Gassman.[11][3]

The February 1969 issue of Playboy included a photo feature titled "A Toast to Tiffin."

She appeared in her first American film in two years when she played a liberal college student and the love interest to Peter Ustinov in the comedy Viva Max! (1969). She performed in Uncle Vanya on stage and appeared in the final episode of the ABC series The Survivors, which aired in January 1970.[3]

Tiffin returned to Italy to appear in Gang War (1971), No One Will Notice You're Naked (1971), The Fifth Cord (a.k.a. Evil Fingers) (1971), E se per caso una mattina... (1972), Deaf Smith & Johnny Ears (1973), Kill Me, My Love! (1973) with Farley Granger, La signora è stata violentata! (1973) and Brigitte, Laura, Ursula, Monica, Raquel, Litz, Florinda, Barbara, Claudia, e Sofia le chiamo tutte... anima mia (1974).

She returned to Hollywood briefly to appear in the TV movie The Last of the Powerseekers (1971).

Tiffin retired from acting in the mid-1970's after marrying her second husband and becoming a mother.[12]

She appeared in the 2003 documentary Abel Ferrara: Not Guilty with her daughter Echo Danon.

A biography of Tiffin titled Pamela Tiffin: Hollywood to Rome was written by Tom Lisanti in 2015.[citation needed]

Personal life

Tiffin married twice. Her first marriage was to Clay Felker, an American magazine editor, whom she married in 1962 and divorced in 1969.[13] Her second marriage was to Edmondo Danon, a philosopher, and the son of Italian film producer Marcello Danon. They married in 1974 and had two daughters, Echo and Aurora.[12]

Tiffin died on December 2, 2020, in a Manhattan hospital at the age of 78[14] from natural causes.[15]

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Title of work Result
1962 Golden Globe Most Promising Female Newcomer Summer and Smoke Nominated
1962 Golden Globe Best Supporting Actress One, Two, Three Nominated
1962 Laurel Award Top Female New Personality Nominated
1967 Theatre World Award Dinner at Eight Won

References

  1. ^ Gates, Anita (2020-12-06). "Pamela Tiffin, Movie Star Who Shone Brightly but Briefly, Dies at 78". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-12-08.
  2. ^ Pamela Tiffin Wonso
  3. ^ a b c d ABA, MARIKA (July 6, 1969). "Pamela Tiffin---American Sex Queen in Exile". Los Angeles Times. p. l15.
  4. ^ Hopper, Hedda (July 18, 1961). "Entertainment: Pamela Tiffin New Film Cinderella 18-Year-Old Model in Third Picture, Sought for More". Los Angeles Times. p. C6.
  5. ^ a b Hopper, Hedda (Feb 9, 1964). "Under Hedda's hat: Pamela Tiffin, a onetime teen model from Chicago, after scoring a success thru films in Hollywood, is working on a television series about Manhattan. When you're pushing 22, what's left?". Chicago Tribune. p. h12.
  6. ^ "Tiffin Is Movies' New Cup of Tea". Los Angeles Times. Jan 14, 1962. p. B4.
  7. ^ Murray Schumach (July 18, 1961). "Jose Ferrer ends long film famine: Actor-Director in deal With Fox, Explains 4-Year Lapse". New York Times. p. 33.
  8. ^ Pauley, Gay (Dec 19, 1963). "Ex-Tribunite, Too: Pamela Tiffin a Busy Actress, Model, Student and Housewife". Chicago Tribune. p. f1.
  9. ^ Scheuer, P. K. (Mar 7, 1963). "Kubrick's Sellers Takes Four Parts". Los Angeles Times. ProQuest 168347895.
  10. ^ "The Alvin to get 'Dinner at Eight'". New York Times. July 21, 1966. p. 20.
  11. ^ Masolino D'Amico (2008). La commedia all'italiana. l Saggiatore, 2008. ISBN 978-88-565-0026-4.
  12. ^ a b Barnes, Mike (December 4, 2020). "Pamela Tiffin, Actress in 'The Pleasure Seekers,' 'State Fair' and 'Come Fly With Me,' Dies at 78". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on December 7, 2021. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
  13. ^ "Pamela Tiffin, Actress, Is Wed to Clay Felker". New York Times. Oct 7, 1962. p. 90.
  14. ^ "È morta Pamela Tiffin, accanto a Tognazzi e Mastroianni nelle commedie anni Sessanta". La Repubblica. December 4, 2020. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
  15. ^ Pike, Molly (December 5, 2020). "Pamela Tiffin dead: Playboy model and The Fugitive actress dies aged 78". Mirror. Archived from the original on November 2, 2021. Retrieved March 19, 2022.

Further reading

Lisanti, Tom (2015). Pamela Tiffin: Hollywood to Rome, 1961–1974. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Co. ISBN 9780786496617. [1]