Franca Bettoia (or Bettoja; born 14 May 1936) is an Italian actress known for her role as Ruth Collins in the film ''The Last Man on Earth''.

Life and career

Born in Rome, she made her first film appearance in ''Un palco all'opera ''(1955, by Siro Marcellini). The following year she appeared in ''

Los amantes del desierto ''Desert Warrior'' ( it, Gli amanti del deserto, es, Los amantes del desierto) is a 1957 Italian-Spanish adventure film directed by Goffredo Alessandrini, Fernando Cerchio, León Klimovsky and Gianni Vernuccio and starring Carmen Sevilla, Ricar ...

''("Desert Warrior", a Spanish-Italian desert epic starring Ricardo Montalbán,

Carmen Sevilla María del Carmen García Galisteo (born 16 October 1930), in Seville, Spain, known professionally as Carmen Sevilla, is a retired Spanish actress, singer and dancer. She began her career in the 1940s and became one of the most popular and hi ...

and Gino Cervi. She next appeared opposite

Pietro Germi Pietro Germi (; 14 September 1914 – 5 December 1974) was an Italian film director, screenwriter, and actor, noted for his development of the neorealist and commedia all'Italiana genres. His 1961 film ''Divorce Italian Style'' earned him a Be ...

in ''

L'uomo di paglia ''A Man of Straw'' ( it, L'uomo di paglia) is a 1958 Italian drama film directed by Pietro Germi. It was entered into the 1958 Cannes Film Festival. Cast * Pietro Germi - Andrea * Franca Bettoia - Rita * Luisa Della Noce - Luisa * Edoardo Nevol ...

'' (1958), and opposite Macha Méril and Jacques Charrier in the French production ''La main chaude ''(1960, by

Gérard Oury Gérard Oury (born Max-Gérard Houry Tannenbaum; 29 April 1919 – 20 July 2006) was a French film director, actor and writer. Life and career Max-Gérard Houry-Tannenbaum was the only son of Serge Tannenbaum, a violinist of Russian-Jewish orig ...

). She appeared as a nun in ''Apocalisse sul fiume giallo'' (''

The Dam on the Yellow River ''The Dam on the Yellow River'' ( it, Apocalisse sul fiume giallo, french: Le dernier train de Shanghai, released in UK as ''Last Train to Shanghai'') is a 1960 Italian-French drama film written and directed by Renzo Merusi. Plot In China, durin ...

'', 1960), an

anti-Communist Anti-communism is Political movement, political and Ideology, ideological opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in the Russian Empire, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, w ...

propaganda film which portrays the victory of Mao Zedong's

People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the principal military force of the People's Republic of China and the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The PLA consists of five service branches: the Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, ...

as seen through the eyes of an American journalist (Georges Marchal) reporting from the side of the nationalists. In 1961, she starred opposite

Alan Ladd Alan Walbridge Ladd (September 3, 1913 – January 29, 1964) was an American actor and film producer. Ladd found success in film in the 1940s and early 1950s, particularly in films noir and Westerns. He was often paired with Veronica Lake ...

in '' Orazi e Curiazi ''(''Duel of the Champions''), a

sword and sandals Sword-and-sandal, also known as peplum (pepla plural), is a subgenre of largely Italian-made historical, mythological, or Biblical epics mostly set in the Greco-Roman antiquity or the Middle Ages. These films attempted to emulate the big-budget H ...

adventure set in ancient Rome. In 1964, Bettoia co-starred with Vincent Price in the horror/science fiction film '' The Last Man on Earth ''(1964, by Ubaldo Ragone and Sidney Salkow), the first screen adaptation of Richard Matheson's novel '' I Am Legend''. She then played a princess in the adventure films ''

Sandokan to the Rescue ''Sandokan to the Rescue'' (Italian: ''Sandokan alla riscossa'') is a 1907 adventure novel by the Italian writer Emilio Salgari. It is the seventh in his series featuring the nineteenth century Malayan pirate Sandokan. It is also known by the alt ...

'' (1964) and ''

Sandokan Against the Leopard of Sarawak ''Sandokan Against the Leopard of Sarawak'' (Italian: ''Sandokan contro il leopardo di Sarawak'') is a 1964 historical adventure film directed by Luigi Capuano and starring Ray Danton, Franca Bettoia and Guy Madison.Goble p.939 It was made as a co ...

'' (1964). In 1967 she appeared as Ugo Tognazzi’s lover in the comedy ''

Il fischio al naso ''The Seventh Floor'' ( it, Il fischio al naso) is a 1967 Italian comedy film directed by and starring Ugo Tognazzi. It is based on the short story "Sette piani" by Dino Buzzati, featured in the 1942 short story collection ''The Seven Messengers ...

''(''The Seventh Floor'', 1967). Bettoia and Tognazzi married in 1972. They had a daughter, film director Maria Sole Tognazzi. Bettoia acted in only three more films after ''Il fischio al naso''. In the comedy ''

Riusciranno i nostri eroi a ritrovare l'amico misteriosamente scomparso in Africa? ''Riusciranno i nostri eroi a ritrovare l'amico misteriosamente scomparso in Africa?'', internationally released as ''Will Our Heroes Be Able to Find Their Friend Who Has Mysteriously Disappeared in Africa?'', is a 1968 Italian comedy film directed ...

''(1968, by

Ettore Scola Ettore Scola (; 10 May 1931 – 19 January 2016) was an Italian screenwriter and film director. He received a Golden Globe for Best Foreign Film in 1978 for his film ''A Special Day'' and over the course of his film career was nominated for fiv ...

) she starred alongside Alberto Sordi and Bernard Blier. In ''Touche pas à la femme blanche ''(''Don’t Touch the White Woman''), directed by

Marco Ferreri Marco Ferreri (11 May 1928 – 9 May 1997) was an Italian film director, screenwriter and actor, who began his career in the 1950s directing three films in Spain, followed by 24 Italian films before his death in 1997. He is considered one of t ...

in 1974) she starred alongside Catherine Deneuve, Marcello Mastroianni, and Michel Piccoli. Her last film, ''Teste rasate ''(1993) is a drama about skinheads, in which her son,

Gianmarco Tognazzi Gianmarco Tognazzi (born 11 October 1967) is an Italian actor. Life and career Born on 11 October 1967 in Rome, the son of actors Ugo Tognazzi and Franca Bettoia,Giorgio Dell’Arti, Massimo Parrini. ''Catalogo dei viventi''. Marsilio, 2009. . ...

, plays the lead role. In 1975, Franca Bettoia and her mother Maris founded the Gran Loggia Femminile d'Italia, the first Italian Masonic obedience exclusively for women which was officially recognized by the

Grand Orient of Italy The Grand Orient of Italy (GOI) ( it, Grande Oriente d'Italia) is an Italian masonic grand lodge founded in 1805; the viceroy Eugene of Beauharnais was instrumental in its establishment. It was based at the Palazzo Giustiniani, Rome, Italy fr ...

.''Lettera aperta di Luca Bagatin alla giornalista de "Il Fatto Quotidiano" Antonella Beccaria a proposito del suo libro "I segreti della Massoneria in Italia"''
/ref>

Selected filmography

*'' Desert Warrior'' (1957) *'' The Last Man on Earth'' (1964) * ''

'' (1964) * ''

'' (1964)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bettoia, Franca 1936 births Living people Actresses from Rome