Tina Scala (July 16, 1935 – January 10, 2022) was an Italian-born American actress, model, singer and poet.

Early life

The daughter of an Italian father and an Irish mother, Scala's early life was one of privilege. As Agatina Carmen Maria Scoglio, she was born in Mili San Marco,

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

, but became known as Tina. At 17, she settled in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

. In 1962, Scala began modeling fur coats in Toronto. When she heard that the

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the governmen ...

was holding auditions, she applied, was accepted and began working in daytime television.

Career

Scala studied acting at the

Actors Studio The Actors Studio is a membership organization for professional actors, theatre directors and playwrights at 432 West 44th Street between Ninth and Tenth avenues in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. It was founde ...

, dancing at Luigi School of Dance with Eugene Louis Faccuito and voice with

Gian Carlo Menotti Gian Carlo Menotti (, ; July 7, 1911 – February 1, 2007) was an Italian composer, librettist, director, and playwright who is primarily known for his output of 25 operas. Although he often referred to himself as an American composer, he kept ...

. She made appearances on some radio shows and television shows. In 1961, she made her film debut in '' The Children's Hour''. On December 27, 1966, Scala was dressed in a mini-skirt when a photographer from the

New York Daily News The New York ''Daily News'', officially titled the ''Daily News'', is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, NJ. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in ...

by chance snapped her picture as she was stepping over a snow bank when making her way through the snows in Central Park. That photo was published in

The Saratogian ''The Saratogian'' is a broadsheet-style daily newspaper published in Saratoga Springs, New York, United States. The paper has been published daily since 1855, first as ''The Daily Saratogian'', and then as ''The Saratogian'' beginning in 1910. ...

and seen by many U.S. soldiers stationed in Vietnam. The newspaper received requests as to the identity of the mini-skirted young lady. When Scala discovered that the boys overseas liked her photograph, she posed in a two-piece bikini and became a pin-up. While Scala was working as a model and actress in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, her sister and her mother were living in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. When her mother — a life-time smoker — became ill from

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from transformed, mali ...

, Scala moved to Los Angeles to be near her family. She often accompanied her sister — actress Gia Scala — onto movie sets, where she had the opportunity to meet many famous movie stars. In an interview, she was asked, "Who was the first star you met?" She answered, " Audie Murphy ... his dressing room was next to Gia's and we could hear him talking to some girls and the girls were laughing loudly. When I met him he was very polite and personable." Scala continued to work in film, appearing as a woman in a laundromat in ''

Midnight Cowboy ''Midnight Cowboy'' is a 1969 American drama film, based on the 1965 novel of the same name by James Leo Herlihy. The film was written by Waldo Salt, directed by John Schlesinger, and stars Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight, with notable smaller ...

'' (1969). In 1972, Tina's sister Gia was found dead in her

Hollywood Hills The Hollywood Hills are a residential neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. Geography The Hollywood Hills straddle the Cahuenga Pass within the Santa Monica Mountains. The neighborhood touches Studio City, Un ...

home. Her death was ruled accidental. Gia Scala was interred next to their mother in the Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City. In 1976, Frank Cavestani interviewed Scala for his documentary ''Making It In Hollywood''. She was dressed as Cinderella from the wedding scene, and he asked her, "Which is easier, working in film or theater?" She replied, "Film. Because in theater there are no second takes. You have to get it right the first time."

Personal life

Scala died on January 10, 2022, at the age of 86.

Filmography

* ''Southern Fried Shakespeare'' Gold Medal Winner at WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival (1991) http://worldfest.org/

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Scala, Tina 1935 births 2022 deaths Actors from Messina Italian emigrants to the United States Italian people of Irish descent Models from Sicily