Lina Romay

Lina Romay (born Rosa María Almirall Martínez; 25 June 1954 – 15 February 2012), a.k.a. Candy Coster and Lulu Laverne, was a Spanish actress who often appeared in films directed by her long-time companion (and later husband) Jesús Franco. She appeared in approximately 109 Jesus Franco films made over a 30-year period.

Biography

Romay was born in Barcelona in 1954. Following graduation from high school, she studied the arts, married actor/photographer Ramon Ardid (aka Raymond Hardy), and began acting in stage productions. She began appearing in Jesús Franco's films from the time that they met in 1972. Her husband Ramon was working for Franco as a still photographer at the time, and she met Franco through him. She acted in more than a hundred feature films, most of them directed by Franco. The majority of their films together were in the erotic film genre (including many X titles), but she was also featured in many of his horror, comedy and action/adventure films as well. Among the better known of her horror films are '' The Bare Breasted Countess'' (a.k.a. ''Female Vampire'') (1973), '' Barbed Wire Dolls'' (1975) and ''Jack the Ripper'' (1976). Ramon co-starred with her in a number of Franco films until he realized she was leaving him for Franco in 1975. Lina and Ramon legally divorced in 1978.

She took the name Lina Romay from the actress and jazz artist from the 1940s. Although Romay was listed in the credits of several of Franco's films as a co-director, actor Antonio Mayans stated in a recent interview that Franco used to credit her in that manner for business reasons, although she never actually co-directed any of their films together. She did however contribute occasional story ideas and assist in the editing of some films and trailers.

Lina Romay and Jesús Franco lived as a couple for close to four decades, but only officially married on April 25, 2008. She died from cancer at the age of 57 on 15 February 2012, in Málaga, Spain. Franco died soon after in 2013.

Selected filmography

* ''The Erotic Rites of Frankenstein'' (1972) Lina's scenes as a gypsy girl only appear in the 1973 Spanish language version
* ''The Sinister Eyes of Dr. Orloff'' (1972) brief role as a neighbor
* ''Pleasure for Three'' (1973) aka ''How to Seduce a Virgin''
* ''The Perverse Countess'' (1973)
* ''Maciste vs the Amazon Queen'' (1973)
* ''The Erotic Exploits of Maciste in Atlantis'' (1973)
* '' Female Vampire'' (1973) aka ''The Bare-Breasted Countess'' (released in 1975)
* ''Night of the Killers'' (1973)
* ''Linda's Hot Nights'' (1973) aka ''Who Raped Linda?''
* ''Tender and Perverse Emanuelle'' (1973)
* ''Kiss Me Killer'' (1973)
* '' Exorcism and Black Masses'' (1974) aka ''Exorcisme''
* ''Celestine, Maid at your Service'' (1974)
* ''Lorna the Exorcist'' (1974)
* ''Les Chatouilleuses'' (1974) aka ''Nuns in Madness''
* ''Roland, the Sexiest Man in the World'' (1974)
* ''Les Emmerdeuses''/ ''The Troublemakers'' (1974)
* ''The Obscene Mirror'' (1975) Lina only appeared in the 1975 re-edited hardcore Italian version of Jess Franco's 1973 film ''The Other Side of the Mirror''
* ''Julietta 69'' (1975) aka ''Justine'', Lina only appeared in the 1975 re-edited hardcore Italian version co-edited by Joe D'Amato
* ''Midnight Party'' (1975) aka ''Lady Porno''
* '' Rolls Royce Baby'' (1975) (not directed by Franco)
* '' Barbed Wire Dolls'' (1975)
* ''Women Behind Bars'' (1975)
* ''Downtown: The Naked Dolls of the Underworld'' (1975)
* ''Die Sklavinnen''/ ''The Slaves (1975)
* '' Doriana Gray'' (1975)
* ''Jack the Ripper'' (1976)
* '' Ilsa, the Wicked Warden'' (a.k.a. ''Greta the Mad Butcher'', 1976)
* ''Women Without Innocence'' (1977)
* ''Cocktail Special'' (1978)
* ''Elles Font Tout''/ ''They Do It All'' (1978)
* ''Two Flowered Spies with Flowered Panties'' (1978) aka ''Opal of Fire''
* ''The Girls of Copacabana'' (1979)
* ''Erotic Symphony'' (1979)
* ''The Sadist of Notre Dame'' (1979)
* ''What a Honeymoon'' (1979) a.k.a. ''The Gold Bug''
* '' Mondo Cannibale'' (1980) a.k.a. ''White Cannibal Queen''
* ''Sex Is Crazy'' (1980)
* ''Sexual Aberrations of a Married Woman'' (1980) a.k.a.''Cecilia''
* ''Eugenie: The Story of a Perversion'' (1980)
* ''The Girl in the Transparent Panties'' (1980)
* ''The Night of the Open Sexes'' (1981)
* '' Macumba Sexual'' (1981)
* ''Oasis of the Zombies'' (1981)
* ''Intimate Confessions of an Exhibitionist'' (1982)
* ''Black Boots, Leather Whip'' (1982)
* ''House of the Lost Women'' (1982)
* ''The Hotel of Love Affairs'' (1982)
* '' Mansion of the Living Dead'' (1982)
* ''The Shadow of Judoka vs. Dr. Wong'' (1982)
* ''Gemidos de Placer''/ ''Moans of Pleasure'' (1982)
* ''The Blues of Pop Street'' (1983)
* ''Fury in the Tropics'' (1983)
* '' Revenge in the House of Usher'' (1983)
* '' The Treasure of the White Goddess'' (1983)
* ''Lillian the Perverted Virgin'' (1983)
* ''The Night Has a Thousand Sexes'' (1983)
* ''The Sexual Story of O'' (1983)
* ''Scarlet'' (1983)
* ''Camino Solitario''/ ''Lonely Road'' (1983)
* ''Alone Against Terror'' (1983)
* ''Blood on my Shoes'' (1983)
* ''How Much Does a Spy Cost?'' (1983)
* ''Una Rajita Para Dos'' (1983) x-rated
* ''Bahia Blanca'' (1984)
* ''Last of the Filipinas'' (1985)
* ''Bangkok, Appointment with Death'' (1985)
* ''Travel to Bangkok, Coffin Included'' (1985)
* ''White Slave'' (1985) unreleased
* ''Lulu's Buttonhole'' (1985) x-rated
* ''Lulu's Pacifier'' (1985) x-rated
* ''Un Pito Para Tres'' (1985) x-rated
* ''Entre pitos anda el juego'' (1985) x-rated
* ''The Watcher and the Exhibitionist'' (1986) x-rated
* ''Las Chuponas'' (1986) x-rated
* ''Para Las Nenas Leche Calentita'' (1986) x-rated
* ''Slaves of Crime'' (1986)
* ''Teleporno'' (1986) unfinished x-rated project
* ''Bragueta Story'' (1986) unreleased
* ''Phollastia'' (1987) x-rated
* ''Falo Crest'' (1987) x-rated
* '' Faceless'' (1988) a.k.a. ''Predators of the Night''
* ''Emerald Bay''/ ''Esmeralda Bay'' (1987)
* ''Downtown Heat'' (1990)
* '' Killer Barbys'' (1996)
* ''Tender Flesh'' (1997)
* '' Lust for Frankenstein'' (1998)
* '' Mari-Cookie and the Killer Tarantula'' (1998)
* '' Dr. Wong's Virtual Hell'' (1999)
* '' Broken Dolls'' (1999)
* ''Red Silk'' (1999)
* ''Blind Target'' (2000)
* '' Helter Skelter'' (2001)
* ''Vampire Blues'' (2001)
* '' Vampire Junction'' (2001)
* ''Incubus'' (2002)
* ''Antenna Criminal'' (2002) documentary
* ''Killer Barbys vs. Dracula'' (2002)
* ''Flowers of Passion'' (2003)
* ''Flowers of Perversion'' (2003)
* '' Snakewoman'' (2005)
* '' Paula-Paula'' (2010)Thrower, Stephen (2018). Flowers of Perversion: The Delirious Cinema of Jesús Franco. Strange Attractor Press. ISBN 978-1-907222-60-3.

References

External links

*

Mexican horror film index

{{DEFAULTSORT:Romay, Lina
1954 births
2012 deaths
Spanish film actresses
Actresses from Barcelona
Film actresses from Catalonia
Deaths from cancer in Spain
Spanish pornographic film actresses