Anna Maria Alberghetti (; born May 15, 1936) is an Italian-American actress and soprano.

Biography

Born May 15, 1936, in Pesaro, Marche, in central

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, she starred on Broadway and won a

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

in 1962 as Best Actress (Musical) for '' Carnival!'' (she tied with Diahann Carroll for the musical ''

No Strings ''No Strings'' is a musical drama with book by Samuel A. Taylor and words and music by Richard Rodgers. ''No Strings'' is the only Broadway score for which Rodgers wrote both lyrics and music, and the first musical he composed after the death of ...

''). Alberghetti was a child prodigy. Her father was an opera singer and concert master of the Rome Opera Company. Her mother was a pianist. At age six, Anna Maria sang in a concert on the Isle of

Rhodes Rhodes (; el, Ρόδος , translit=Ródos ) is the largest and the historical capital of the Dodecanese islands of Greece. Administratively, the island forms a separate municipality within the Rhodes regional unit, which is part of the S ...

with a 100-piece orchestra. She performed at Carnegie Hall in New York at the age of 13. At 15, she was introduced to American film audiences in Frank Capra's 1951 musical ''

Here Comes the Groom ''Here Comes the Groom'' is a 1951 American musical romantic comedy film produced and directed by Frank Capra and starring Bing Crosby and Jane Wyman. Based on a story by Robert Riskin and Liam O'Brien, the film is about a foreign correspondent w ...

'', which starred Bing Crosby. At 16, she was

Red Skelton Richard Red Skelton (July 18, 1913September 17, 1997) was an American entertainer best known for his national radio and television shows between 1937 and 1971, especially as host of the television program '' The Red Skelton Show''. He has stars ...

's opening act during his

Sahara Hotel Sahara Las Vegas is a hotel and casino located on the Las Vegas Strip in Winchester, Nevada. It is owned and operated by the Meruelo Group. The hotel has 1,616 rooms, and the casino contains . The Sahara anchors the northern end of the Las Vegas ...

engagement in

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

. Her younger sister,

Carla Carla is the feminized version of Carl, Carlos or Charles, from ''ceorl'' in Old English, which means "free man". Notable people with the name include: * Carla, French singer and former member of the children's music group Kids United * Carla Abe ...

, also became a musical artist, who appeared in many stage productions. She eventually became Anna Maria's replacement in her Tony Award-winning role on Broadway. She has a brother, Paul Alberghetti, who is an entertainment attorney and film producer. He is married to filmmaker Michele Noble.

Professional career

Alberghetti appeared twice on the cover of ''

Life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for Cell growth, growth, reaction to Stimu ...

'' magazine. She appeared on ''

The Ed Sullivan Show ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in September 1971 by the '' CBS Sunday Night M ...

'' more than 50 times. She guest-starred in 1957 on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

's ''The Gisele MacKenzie Show''. That same year, she performed in the premiere episode of ''The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom'' on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

She co-starred with Dean Martin in 1957's ''

Ten Thousand Bedrooms ''Ten Thousand Bedrooms'' is a 1957 American romantic comedy film directed by Richard Thorpe and starring Dean Martin, Anna Maria Alberghetti, and Eva Bartok. Martin's first film in the wake of the dissolution of his partnership with Jerry Lewi ...

'' and with Jerry Lewis in ''

The Jazz Singer ''The Jazz Singer'' is a 1927 American musical drama film directed by Alan Crosland. It is the first feature-length motion picture with both synchronized recorded music score as well as lip-synchronous singing and speech (in several isolate ...

'' in 1959, and ''

Cinderfella ''Cinderfella'' is a 1960 American semi-musical comedy film adaptation of the classic ''Cinderella'' story, with most characters changed in gender from female to male and starring Jerry Lewis as Fella. It was released on November 22, 1960 by P ...

'' 1960, not long after the

Martin and Lewis Martin and Lewis were an American comedy duo, comprising singer Dean Martin and comedian Jerry Lewis. They met in 1945 and debuted at Atlantic City's 500 Club on July 25, 1946; the team lasted ten years to the day. Before they teamed up, Martin ...

comedy team parted ways. Alberghetti also appeared in 1955's '' The Last Command'', which starred

Sterling Hayden Sterling Walter Hayden (born Sterling Relyea Walter; March 26, 1916 – May 23, 1986) was an American actor, author, sailor and decorated Marine Corps officer and an Office of Strategic Services' agent during World War II. A leading man for mos ...

, and had the female lead in the Western '' Duel at Apache Wells'' in 1957. In 1959, the 22-year-old Alberghetti played the lead in "The Conchita Vasquez Story" of NBC's ''

Wagon Train ''Wagon Train'' is an American Western series that aired 8 seasons: first on the NBC television network (1957–1962), and then on ABC (1962–1965). ''Wagon Train'' debuted on September 18, 1957, and became number one in the Nielsen ratings ...

''. She was cast as part of a gang of

Comanchero The Comancheros were a group of 18th- and 19th-century traders based in northern and central New Mexico. They made their living by trading with the nomadic Great Plains Indian tribes in northeastern New Mexico, West Texas, and other parts of the ...

s who intend to attack the wagon train to steal rifles headed to the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

. Instead, she decides to leave the Comancheros and move west after she falls in love with scout Flint McCullough, played by Robert Horton. Tragically, as the episode ends, Conchita is killed by a bullet from her own people when they ambush the wagon train. On March 1, 1961, she appeared as a guest contestant on the television series ''

I've Got A Secret ''I've Got a Secret'' is an American panel game show produced by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman for CBS television. Created by comedy writers Allan Sherman and Howard Merrill, it was a derivative of Goodson-Todman's own panel show, ''What's My Line ...

''. She guest-starred on ''

The Andy Williams Show ''The Andy Williams Show'' was an American television variety show that ran from 1962 to 1971 (alternating during the summer of 1970 with ''Andy Williams Presents Ray Stevens'')Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh, ''The Complete Directory to Prime Time N ...

'' on March 28, 1963, and performed on ''

The Hollywood Palace ''The Hollywood Palace'' was an hour-long American television variety show that was broadcast weekly Saturday nights (except September 1967 to January 1968, when it was seen Monday nights) on ABC from January 4, 1964, to February 7, 1970. Titl ...

'' variety program's episode of May 2, 1964. She appeared as a mystery guest on ''

What's My Line ''What's My Line?'' is a panel game show that originally ran in the United States on the CBS Television Network from 1950 to 1967, originally in black and white and later in color, with subsequent U.S. revivals. The game uses celebrity panelis ...

'' on November 23, 1958. She appeared for a second mystery-guest appearance on April 30, 1961. In 1965, Alberghetti went on tour and performed on stage with Bob Hope in Okinawa for U.S. servicemen. Alberghetti has toured in many theatrical productions and continues with her popular one-woman cabaret act. She had roles in a pair of 2001 films, ''

The Whole Shebang ''The Whole SHeBANG'' is the debut studio album by the American country music group SHeDAISY. It was released on May 11, 1999 on Lyric Street Records, and has been certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. Singles from ...

'' and '' Friends & Family''. Alberghetti appeared in television commercials for Good Seasons salad dressing during the 1970s and early 1980s, where she was cast as "The Good Seasons Lady".

Personal life

Alberghetti became a U.S. citizen in 1961. She was married to television producer-director

Claudio Guzmán Claudio Guzmán (August 2, 1927 – July 12, 2008) was a Chilean-American television director, producer, art director, and production designer. Biography Guzmán was born in Rancagua, Chile in 1927. As a young man, Guzmán enrolled at the ...

from 1964 to 1974. They had two children: Alexandra (b. 1966) and Pilar (b. 1970).

Partial filmography

Stage work

*''

Rose-Marie ''Rose-Marie'' is an operetta-style musical with music by Rudolf Friml and Herbert Stothart, and book and lyrics by Otto Harbach and Oscar Hammerstein II. The story is set in the Canadian Rocky Mountains and concerns Rose-Marie La Flemme, a ...

'' (1960) *'' Carnival!'' (1961) *'' Fanny'' (1963; 1968) *''

The Fantasticks ''The Fantasticks'' is a 1960 musical with music by Harvey Schmidt and book and lyrics by Tom Jones. It tells an allegorical story, loosely based on the 1894 play ''The Romancers'' (''Les Romanesques'') by Edmond Rostand, concerning two neigh ...

'' (1968) *''

West Side Story ''West Side Story'' is a musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents. Inspired by William Shakespeare's play '' Romeo and Juliet'', the story is set in the mid ...

'' (1964) *''

The Most Happy Fella ''The Most Happy Fella'' is a 1956 musical with a book, music, and lyrics by Frank Loesser. The story, about a romance between an older man and younger woman, is based on the 1924 play '' They Knew What They Wanted'' by Sidney Howard. The show i ...

'' (1969) *''

Cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining o ...

'' (1970) *'' Kismet'' (1971) *''

The Student Prince ''The Student Prince'' is an operetta in four acts with music by Sigmund Romberg and book and lyrics by Dorothy Donnelly. It is based on Wilhelm Meyer-Förster's play '' Old Heidelberg''. The piece has a score with some of Romberg's most enduri ...

'' (1976) *''

The Sound of Music ''The Sound of Music'' is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the 1949 memoir of Maria von Trapp, ''The Story of the Trapp Family Singers''. S ...

'' (1978; 1985) *''

Side by Side by Sondheim ''Side by Side by Sondheim'' is a musical revue featuring the songs of Broadway and film composer Stephen Sondheim. Its title is derived from the song "Side by Side by Side" from '' Company''. History The musical had its origins when David ...

'' (1980) *''

Camelot Camelot is a castle and court associated with the legendary King Arthur. Absent in the early Arthurian material, Camelot first appeared in 12th-century French romances and, since the Lancelot-Grail cycle, eventually came to be described as th ...

'' (1981) *''The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies'' (2000) *''Senior Class'' (2007)

References

External links

* *
Anna Maria Alberghetti
at

MSN MSN (meaning Microsoft Network) is a web portal and related collection of Internet services and apps for Windows and mobile devices, provided by Microsoft and launched on August 24, 1995, alongside the release of Windows 95. The Microsoft Net ...

Movies {{DEFAULTSORT:Alberghetti, Anna Maria 1936 births Living people People from Pesaro Italian film actresses Italian women singers Italian emigrants to the United States Tony Award winners 20th-century Italian actresses Italian musical theatre actresses 21st-century Italian actresses USO Entertainer