Gastoni, Lisa


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PeplumParadise
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Gastoni, Lisa

Post by PeplumParadise » 03/05/2022, 0:32

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Lisa Gastoni in La pecora nera (1968)

Lisa Gastoni is an Italian-born actress, active in British films in the 1950's and in Italian films and television from 1961 until the present.

She was born Elisabetta Gastone on July 28th 1935 in Alassio, Italy to an Irish mother and Italian father. She is 1,7 m (5’7”) tall with grey-green eyes.

Her father ran a hotel in Liguria and on the nazi-fascist occupation was offered the post of mayor, which he refused. This resulted in him somehow winding up in a concentration camp, after which he was never the same.

Lisa moved to England at a young age, where she became a protégée of actor Charles Laughton and began working as a stage actress and model. This in turn led to her joining the Rank Charm School, where she studied film acting alongside the likes of Diana Dors, Joan Collins and Belinda Lee.

Making her film debut with 6 appearances in 1954, she worked steadily in British films and television for the next 7 years, achieving some success, but never landing any roles prestigious enough to launch her career to the next level. She was married briefly to an English physics professor in the mid-1950’s.

In 1961 she married Constantine Maurus and accepted the lead in the Italian production Le avventure di Mary Read. The success of this film led to further offers and she relocated to her native Italy, where she would remain for the rest of her life. She scored a major success with her appearance in Svegliati e uccidi (1966), for which she won a number of acting awards, however her role as a “decadent and desirable bourgeois woman“ also somewhat typecast her. She scored a further success and more awards for her performance in Grazie zia (1968).

Following a series of films where she played a sexual victim in fairly graphic scenarios, disattisfied with the direction of her career, Lisa retired from the screen in 1978.

For the next 27 years she disappeared from view, preferring to live out of the public eye, painting and writing. In 2005 she accepted an offer from Ferzan Ozpetek to appear in a major role in his production of Cuore sacro. This initiated a belated comeback at the age of 70 and for the next 12 years she worked steadily in films and television.

Currently her last screen roles date from 2017. Whether or not these will be her final appearances remains to be seen…

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In Annuario degli attori 1976
Filmography

1954
  1. Beautiful Stranger .... Yvette (credited)
  2. Dance Little Lady .... Amaryllis (credited)
  3. Doctor in the House .... Jane (uncredited)
  4. The Runaway Bus .... Receptionist (credited as "Liza Gastone")
  5. They Who Dare .... George Two's girlfriend (credited)
  6. You Know What Sailors Are …. Palace girl (uncredited)

    1955
  7. Josephine and Men .... Italian girl (credited)
  8. Man of the Moment .... Chambermaid (credited)

    1956
  9. The Baby and the Battleship .... Maria Vespucci (credited)
  10. Three Men in a Boat .... Primrose (credited)

    1957
  11. Blue Murder at St. Trinian's .... Myrna Mangan (credited)
  12. Face in the Night .... Jean Francis (poster credit - unconfirmed role)
  13. Man from Tangier .... Michele (credited)
  14. Second Fiddle .... Pauline (credited)
  15. The Truth About Women .... Mary Maguire (credited)

    1958
  16. Chain of Events .... Simone Day (credited)
  17. Family Doctor .... Kitty Mortlock (poster credit - unconfirmed role)
  18. Intent to Kill .... Carla Menda (credited)
  19. The Strange Awakening .... Marny Friend (credited)

    1959
  20. Skyport (TV series) 2 episodes .... Pooch (credited)
  21. Wrong Number .... Maria (poster credit - unconfirmed role)
  22. The Four Just Men (TV series) Ep. 12: "Maya" .... Giulia (credited)
  23. The Third Man (TV series) S. 2, Ep.19: "Death in Small Instalments" …. Roxane (credited)

    1960
  24. Danger Man (TV series) S. 1, Ep. 4: "The Blue Veil" .... Clare Nichols (credited)
  25. The Four Just Men (TV series) Ep. 39: "Treviso Dam" .... Giulia (credited)
  26. Visa to Canton .... Lola Sanchez (credited)

    1961
  27. Danger Man (TV series) S. 1, Ep. 25: "The Brothers" .... Lita Rossi (credited)
  28. Le avventure di Mary Read .... Mary Read (credited)
  29. One Step Beyond (TV series) S. 3, Ep. 28: "The Avengers" .... Marianne (credited)
  30. The Great Armored Car Swindle .... Eva (no credit info - unconfirmed role)

    1962
  31. Diciottenni al sole .... Frances (credited)
  32. Duello nella Sila .... Miss Leonore Barker (credited)
  33. Tharus figlio di Attila .... Princess Gamal (credited)

    1963
  34. Gidget Goes to Rome .... Signora Cellini (credited)
  35. I quattro moschettieri .... Milady de Winter (credited)
  36. Il monaco di Monza .... Fiorenza, marchesa del Giglio (credited)
  37. Il vendicatore mascherato .... Elena (credited)
  38. Ro.Go.Pa.G. .... Togni's wife (credited)

    1964
  39. Crimine a due .... Elisabeth Buckner (credited)
  40. Gli invincibili tre .... Alina (credited)
  41. I maniaci .... Giulio's wife (credited)
  42. I tre centurioni .... Elena (credited)
  43. L'ultimo gladiatore .... Messalina (credited)
  44. Le sette vipere .... Erika Montesanto (credited)

    1965
  45. La violenza e l'amore .... Luisa (poster credit - unconfirmed role)
  46. Le notti della violenza .... Linda (credited)

    1966
  47. I criminali della galassia .... Lieutenant Connie Gomez (credited)
  48. I diafanoidi vengono da Marte .... Lieutenant Connie Gomez (credited)
  49. L'uomo che ride .... Lucrezia Borgia (credited)
  50. Svegliati e uccidi .... Yvonne Lutring (credited)

    1968
  51. Grazie zia .... Lea (credited)
  52. I sette fratelli Cervi .... Lucia Sarzi (credited)
  53. La pecora nera .... Alma Galletti (credited)

    1969
  54. L'amica .... Lisa Marchesi (credited)

    1970
  55. L'invasione .... Marina (poster credit - unconfirmed role)

    1971
  56. Maddalena .... Maddalena (credited)

    1973
  57. La seduzione .... Caterina (credited)

    1974
  58. Amore amaro .... Renata Andreoli (credited)
  59. Mussolini ultimo atto .... Claretta Petacci (credited)

    1975
  60. Labbra di lurido blu .... Elli (credited)

    1976
  61. Scandalo .... Eliane (credited)

    1978
  62. L'immoralità .... Vera, Simona's mother (credited)

    2005
  63. Cuore sacro .... Eleonora (credited)

    2006
  64. La provinciale (TV movie) .... Giacinta Foresi (no credit info - unconfirmed role)

    2007
  65. Maria Montessori: una vita per i bambini (TV movie) .... Gemma Montesano (credited)
  66. Tutte le donne della mia vita .... Diletta (poster credit - unconfirmed role)

    2010
  67. Cocapop .... Bibi (credited)

    2011
  68. Dove la trovi una come me? (TV mini-series) Eps. 1, 2 .... Donna Anna (credit unknown)

    2012
  69. Sposami (TV series) Eps. 1-6 .... Aunt Clo Clo (credited)

    2017
  70. Voice from the Stone .... Lilla (credited)

Titles to check
  • Assignment Foreign Legion (1957 TV series) Ep. 16: "The White Kepi", IMDb as Jacqueline
  • O.S.S. (1957 TV series) Ep. 8: "Operation Blue Eyes", IMDb as Blue Eyes
  • Sailor of Fortune (1957 TV series) Ep.2: "The Golden Head", IMDb as Lucille
  • The New Adventures of Martin Kane (1957 TV series) Eps. 2 & 22, IMDb as Helen Reardon
  • You Are There (1958 TV series) S. 2, Ep.16: "The Fall of Robespierre", IMDb
  • The Four Just Men (1959-60 TV series) 16 episodes to be checked, IMDb as Giulia
  • International Detective (1960 TV series) S. 1, Ep.7: "The Prescott Case", IMDb as Monette
  • Knight Errant Limited (1960 TV series) S. 2, Ep.19: "Brother Cain", IMDb as Kendrick
  • The Odd Man (1960 TV series) Eps.1, 3, 4, 5 & 6, IMDb as Dorothy Berridge
  • BBC Sunday-Night Play (1961 TV series) S. 2, Ep.12: "Venus Brown", IMDb as Venus Brown
  • International Detective (1961 TV series) S. 1, Ep.38: "The Washington Case", IMDb as Denise De Montceau
  • The Cheaters (1961 TV series) S. 2, Ep.9: "Murder Fugue", IMDb as Ilona
  • Un giro di valzer (2014) IMDb as Marcella
  • L'onore e il rispetto (2017 TV series) Season 5, episodes 1-8, IMDb

No Gastoni!
Titles where Lisa is credited with appearing somewhere online, but cannot be found. There always has to be one!
  • Bikini pericolosi (Le roi du village) (1963) IMDb with no role. Lisa is not credited and does not appear.
Notes and sources
1. Cristiano Sanna Martini. Ero diventata un mito, la bellissima da desiderare. E io sono sparita. Le due vite di Lisa Gastoni. on Spettacoli Tiscali.it.
2. Profile of Lisa Gastoni in Tototruffa 2002.it.
3. Profile of Lisa Gastoni in Brian’s Drive-In Theatre.com.
Last edited by PeplumParadise on 29/01/2024, 9:55, edited 38 times in total.

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Gastoni, Lisa

Post by PeplumParadise » 03/05/2022, 0:58

Beautiful Stranger (1954) credited, as Yvette.

Lisa kick-started her career with bit-parts in 6 British productions in 1954.
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Gastoni, Lisa

Post by PeplumParadise » 03/05/2022, 1:01

Dance Little Lady (1954) credited, as Amaryllis.

Her credits get more screen time than she does!
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Gastoni, Lisa

Post by PeplumParadise » 03/05/2022, 1:05

Doctor in the House (1954) as Jane

I need to re-check this one as I wasn't happy with my ID.

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Gastoni, Lisa

Post by PeplumParadise » 03/05/2022, 1:16

The Runaway Bus (1954) credited as "Liza Gastone", as Receptionist.

Two places below Lisa in the cast you have Belinda Lee in her film debut, though they share no scenes. Belinda and Lisa's careers would share many more parallels:- Both learned their craft in Britain's Rank Charm School, both would play St. Trinian's schoolgirls, both would leave no-momentum careers in British films to become stars in Italy and both would play the roles of Empress Messalina and Lucrezia Borgia. Sadly whatever more parallels there may have been were cut short by Belinda's untimely death.
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Gastoni, Lisa

Post by PeplumParadise » 03/05/2022, 11:58

They Who Dare (1954) credited, as George Two's girlfriend
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Gastoni, Lisa

Post by PeplumParadise » 03/05/2022, 12:01

Josephine and Men (1955) credited, as Italian girl
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Post by PeplumParadise » 03/05/2022, 12:03

Man of the Moment (1955) credited, as Chambermaid
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Gastoni, Lisa

Post by PeplumParadise » 03/05/2022, 12:06

The Baby and the Battleship (1956) credited, as Maria Vespucci
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Gastoni, Lisa

Post by PeplumParadise » 03/05/2022, 12:09

Three Men in a Boat (1956) credited, as Primrose
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