Offscreen Notes
Mariangela Melato (1941-2013)
One of the greatest female comedienne’s at the tail end of Italy’s ‘golden era’ of film comedy, Mariangelo Melato, passed away on January 13, 2013 at the age of 71. Melato starred on the stage and screen since the 1970s and lit up both with an intelligence and vigor that made it appear as if she were living life at a constant full throttle. International fame came to her in her roles starring opposite Giancarlo Giannini in Lina Wertmuller’s Mimi the Metal Worker (1972) and Swept Away (1974). Melato worked with other great directors such as Luchino Visconti (Monaca di Monza, 1967), Elio Petri (The Working Class go to Heaven (1971), Steno (La polizia ringrazia, 1972), Vittorio De Sica (Lo chiameremo Andrea, 1972), Claude Chabrol (The Nada Gang), Sergio Corbucci (Di che segno sei?, 1975), Fernando Arrabal (The Tree of Guernica, 1975), and Luigi Comencini (Il Gatto, 1977).
