Chapter Twenty-One

Exploring the 1970s, we are with Rossano and Lydia in their Beverly Hills home. I can't establish whether these are a family photos, hence they appear here rather than in the book. The couple were keen cooks and spent a considerably amount of time creating their favourite dishes. Rumour had it that Lydia, who was known for her spaghetti parties in Hollywood and Italy, had a cookbook published but I can't find any record of that.

This chapter explores the 1970s, including some major TV successes in Italy.

With thanks to Ralph Edwards Productions for use of this still from This is Your Life. A fantastic shot of Rossano with his brother, Oscar. The two were inseparable from childhood and through their adult life. They set up a production company in Rome and had a couple of major TV successes, both of which starred Rossano: Coralba and La Promessa. Arthur Freed also made use of their studio for some of the work on Light in the Piazza.

Coralba was a major success for Rossano. It was a 5-part Italian TV series with Rossano in the lead role of Dr Mark Danon. It is available on DVD but only in Italian. Importantly, it came out of the studio owned by Rossano and Oscar so, not only an acting success, but a business success too. The series is very much in the style of the thrillers of the time. If you can follow a little of the Italian language, it's worth a watch. The acting, by all performers, is good and the plot line keeps you guessing.

Here we see Rossano in his role as Marc Danon and, taking a small part as a taxi driver, his brother Oscar appeared who proved himself to be a very natural actor.

In this chapter, Rossano talks about a family matter that he was asked to mediate involving his niece, Maria-Lidia, and what appears to be her first love. You can read about this in the book. Thanks to Raul Ferrari for this photo that was taken when the pair met up a few years ago. Raul kindly gave me some insight into dealing with Rossano who was clearly playing the protective uncle!

We touch briefly on a few English speaking during this era; Mr Kingstreet's War and The Omen III (both available on DVD and regularly shown in TV). Rossano, like many Hollywood greats, found themselves as guests on various hit TV shows of the time i.e. Hawaii 5-0, Charlie's Angels, Hart to Hart. Some of those TV shows can be found on YouTube, including the one shown here which an episode called The Naples Beat from Madison.

Thanks to The Everett Collection Inc for this photo of Rossano appearing in Madison. Here he is alongside another Hollywood legend, Richard Widmark who played the lead role.

Although appearing in many TV shows in the United States, Rossano and Lydia still spent a lot of time in Italy where Rossano returned to his first love, the stage. He always said that the stage was where he displayed his best acting. When on holiday in Volterra, near Florence, I happened upon a beautiful theatre in the small town and stumbled across this photo of Rossano in the foyer. He appeared there in 1975.  And what a beautiful little theatre it was.

That town is well worth a visit. It takes some time to get there but there are some lovely shops, wonderful architecture and historic ruins. 

La Promessa was another Italian TV series that wowed audiences and put Rossano back on the map where his popularity was concerned. He played a top ranking detective who slowly goes insane during the investigation into the murder of a young girl. 

If you're a huge fan of Rossano's and want to view this, it is available on DVD and, quite honestly, even if you don't speak Italian, you may get the gist of what is happening. It's worth watching in respect of Rossano's acting. It really was outstanding and far exceeded the shallow roles he was being asked to play in Hollywood. But, to help make things easier, you can always read the book and then watch the DVD. The book is more like a novella, so an easy and quick read. It's by Friedrich Durrenmatt and its called The Pledge.

These photos show the transition Rossano's character makes as he transforms from a respectable police detective to someone who has gone insane trying to find the killer. A powerful story.