Delia Scala
Scala in 1963
Born	Odette Bedogni (1929-09-25)25 September 1929 Bracciano, Lazio, Italy
Died	15 January 2004(2004-01-15) (aged 74) Livorno, Tuscany, Italy
Occupations	Actress singer dancer

Delia Scala (bornOdette Bedogni; 25 September 1929 – 15 January 2004) was an Italianballerina, actress and singer who played a leading role in the nascentcommedia musicale.^[1]

Scala was born asOdette Bedogni inBracciano, Lazio, Italy. When she was a young girl, her family moved toMilan where she studied ballet at"La Scala" Ballet School for seven years.^[2] She performed in numerous ballets untilWorld War II, after which she began appearing in motion pictures using the stage name, Delia Scala. These includeDifficult Years (Anni difficili, 1948),Side Street Story (Napoli milionaria, 1950),Rome 11:00 (Roma ore 11, 1952),Touchez pas au grisbi (1954),Gentlemen Are Born (Signori si nasce, 1960).

In 1954 Delia made her theatre debut withGiove in doppiopetto (Double-breasted Jupiter). The show is considered the first "Commedia musicale", an italian musical genre created by playwrightsPietro Garinei andSandro Giovannini with the collaboration of the musician and songwriterGorni Kramer. Scala later starred inBuonanotte Bettina (Goodnight Bettina, 1956) withWalter Chiari,L'adorabile Giulio (The Adorable Giulio, 1957) withCarlo Dapporto,Un trapezio per Lisistrata (A Trapeze for Lisistrata, 1958) withNino Manfredi andPaolo Panelli,Delia Scala Show (1960),Rinaldo in campo (Rinaldo into the Field, 1961) withDomenico Modugno,My Fair Lady (1964) withGianrico Tedeschi andMario Carotenuto, andIl giorno della tartaruga (The Day of the Turtle, 1965) withRenato Rascel.

In 1956 Scala appeared in the TV showLui e Lei (Him and Her, 1956) withNino Taranto. In 1959–60 she co-hostedCanzonissima withNino Manfredi andPaolo Panelli.

After twelve consecutive years of performances in Italy and Europe, Scala began to experience fatigue. In 1965, at the height of her success (she had received offers fromBroadway), she suddenly decided to drop out from live performances. In 1966 she married and temporarily retired to spend time with her family.

In 1968 Scala made a comeback withDelia Scala Story, a show written by Garinei and Giovannini. This was followed in 1970 by the very successfulSignore e signora (Mr. and Madame) withLando Buzzanca. After a nine-year break, she starred in the showChe combinazione (What a Coincidence) alongsideDon Lurio.

From 1980 to 1983, Scala conceived and hosted the showUna rosa per la Vita (A Rose for Life) to raise funds to support cancer prevention and research at the Bussoladomani arena inLido di Camaiore, together withRaimondo Vianello andSandra Mondaini, .

In 1982 Scala returned to television with theRAI fictionCasa Cecilia (Cecilia's Home), where she performed for three seasons. Her final TV role was in the sitcomIo e la mamma, (Mum and I) aired between 1996 and 1998 onCanale 5.^[3]

Scala achieved great professional success, but her personal life was marred by misfortune and tragedy. In 1946, at the age 17, she married a Greek military officer who had come to Italy to join the partisan forces in the fight against the Nazi-fascists. They separated two years later, and she got the marriage voided in 1956.

During the mid-1950s Scala was engaged withFormula One race car driverEugenio Castellotti. He died in 1957 when hisFerrari crashed while attempting a speed record at theModena race track.^[4]

In 1967 she married Piero Giannotti.The marriage lasted until 1982 when Giannotti died of a heart attack while cycling along the beach inViareggio. She married a third time in 1985 with industrialist Arturo Fremura. The marriage ended with her husband's death of liver cancer in 2001.^[5]

In 1974 Delia Scala was diagnosed with breast cancer, and underwent a radicalmastectomy. Although she appeared to have made a full recovery, in 2002 she was struck again with the same illness. Scala died in 2004 inLivorno, Tuscany. She rests in the Cimitero della Misericordia in Livorno.

At the time of her death, Italian PresidentCarlo Azeglio Ciampi called her a "model of enthusiasm and rigorous professionalism" and said he rated her among"the most beloved and popular artists in the history of Italian entertainment".

Wikimedia Commons has media related toDelia Scala.

• Delia Scala atIMDb

• 1929 births
• 2004 deaths
• People from Bracciano
• Actresses from Lazio
• Italian ballerinas
• Italian film actresses
• Italian television actresses
• Deaths from breast cancer in Italy
• Deaths from cancer in Tuscany
• Italian television presenters
• Italian women television presenters

• CS1 Italian-language sources (it)
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from December 2019
• Articles with hCards
• Commons category link from Wikidata