Gloria Paul (born 28 February 1940) is a British retired film actress and dancer.

Biography

Paul was born in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

in February 1940. Her father was a journalist and her mother was an opera singer. She began dancing at the age of three years, and began her professional career after high school. While on tour in Rome with an Argentinian ballet company, she decided to quit the company and try her luck in the film industry. She quickly became an appreciated actress in comedies, having her first major role in '' Totò, Peppino e... la dolce vita''. In 1964 she appeared with

Franco and Ciccio Franco () and Ciccio () were a comic comedy duo formed by Italian actors Franco Franchi (1928–1992) and Ciccio Ingrassia (1922–2003), particularly popular in the 1960s and 1970s. Their collaboration began in 1954 in the theater field, and e ...

in the '' Goldfinger'' parody ''

Two Mafiosi Against Goldfinger ''Two Mafiosi Against Goldfinger '' or ''Due mafiosi contro Goldginger'' is a 1965 Eurospy comedy film directed by Giorgio Simonelli starring the comic duo Franco and Ciccio. It is a spoof of the 1964 James Bond film, '' Goldfinger''. It was pick ...

''. In 1966 she starred in the comedy western ''

For a Few Dollars Less ''For a Few Dollars Less'' ( it, Per qualche dollaro in meno) is a 1966 Italian comedy film, a parody of Sergio Leone's '' For a Few Dollars More'' (the second film of his Dollars Trilogy), directed by Mario Mattoli and starring Lando Buzzanca ...

'' alongside

Lando Buzzanca Gerlando "Lando" Buzzanca (24 August 1935 – 18 December 2022) was an Italian stage, film, and television actor whose career spanned 65 years. Life and career Early years Born in Palermo the son of a cinema projectionist, at 16 years old Buz ...

. Beyond these, she also acted in theater and worked as a dancer in musical revues with

Renato Rascel Renato Rascel (), stage name of Renato Ranucci (; 27 April 1912 – 2 January 1991), was an Italian film actor and singer. He appeared in 50 films between 1942 and 1972. He represented Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1960 with the s ...

. She was also one of the first "showgirls" on Italian television.

Career

Paul also made several appearances on English TV, including ''

The Benny Hill Show ''The Benny Hill Show'' is a British comedy television show starring Benny Hill that aired on the BBC and ITV (from 1969) between 15 January 1955 and 1 May 1989. The show consisted mainly of sketches that were full of slapstick, mime, parody ...

'', and had a major role in the

Morecambe and Wise Eric Morecambe (John Eric Bartholomew, 14 May 1926 – 28 May 1984) and Ernie Wise (Ernest Wiseman, 27 November 1925 – 21 March 1999), known as Morecambe and Wise (and sometimes as Eric and Ernie), were an English comic double act, working i ...

film ''

The Intelligence Men ''The Intelligence Men'' is a 1965 comedy film starring the British comic duo Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise. In the US, it was retitled ''Spylarks''. It is subtitled " M.I.5 plus 2 equals 0". The film was successful enough to enable Morecambe a ...

''. She was also considered for the role of Domino Derval in the

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lyndo ...

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...

film '' Thunderball'', which eventually went to

Claudine Auger Claudine Auger (born Claudine Oger; 26 April 1941 – 18 December 2019) was a French actress best known for her role as a Bond girl, Dominique "Domino" Derval, in the James Bond film '' Thunderball'' (1965). She earned the title of Miss F ...

.Production notes for Thunderball — MI6.co.uk
In ''

Darling Lili ''Darling Lili'' is a 1970 American romantic-musical spy film, written by William Peter Blatty and Blake Edwards, the latter also directing the film. It stars Julie Andrews, Rock Hudson, and Jeremy Kemp, with music by Henry Mancini and lyrics by ...

'' (1970), starring

Julie Andrews Dame Julie Andrews (born Julia Elizabeth Wells; 1 October 1935) is an English actress, singer, and author. She has garnered numerous accolades throughout her career spanning over seven decades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Fi ...

and

Rock Hudson Rock Hudson (born Roy Harold Scherer Jr.; November 17, 1925 – October 2, 1985) was an American actor. One of the most popular movie stars of his time, he had a screen career spanning more than three decades. A prominent heartthrob in the Golde ...

, Paul played the pivotal role of "Crepe Suzette", who was Andrews's rival for Hudson's affections. Her role featured a

striptease A striptease is an erotic or exotic dance in which the performer gradually undresses, either partly or completely, in a seductive and sexually suggestive manner. The person who performs a striptease is commonly known as a "stripper" or an "ex ...

scene that Andrews parodied in a later sequence. Paul's last appearance was in the 1996 anthology film ''Esercizi di stile''. In 1996, she was victim of a freak accident in which a water heater fell on her through the ceiling while she was taking a shower. The accident paralyzed her from the waist down and forced her retirement from acting.

References

Sources

* :it:Gloria Paul#Biografia

External links

* http://www.gloriapaul.com/ Official website for Gloria Paul-www.gloriapaul.com *
WOmWAm Actress Page
*Gloria Paul interview http://www.thewildeye.co.uk/blog/?p=2082 {{DEFAULTSORT:Paul, Gloria 1940 births Living people 20th-century English actresses Actresses from London British people of Italian descent English film actresses English people of Italian descent English television actresses