Marla Landi

Marla Landi, Lady Dashwood (born Marcella Teresa Scarafina in 1933, Turin, Italy) is an Italian-born British film actress.

Career

Landi's major roles included Across the Bridge (1957), Dublin Nightmare (1958), First Man into Space (1959), The Murder Game (1965), and the Hammer films The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959, as Cecille Stapleton) and The Pirates of Blood River (1962).[1] She was a Play School presenter from 1964–70.[2] Joy Whitby, the programme's creator and earliest producer, recalled in 2013: "She spoke English with a heavy accent, but she was very loveable and children adored her".[3] Landi also presented Parliamo Italiano.[4] She also appeared in an episode of the television version of Hancock's Half Hour known as "The Italian Maid" in 1959 (an off-air recording of the soundtrack was recovered by Tristan Brittain-Dissont, archivist of the Tony Hancock Appreciation Society).[5][6][7]

She was a top photographic model and had a number of magazine covers including Vogue, Harper's Bazaar and Tatler.[8] She later became the Fashion editor for Harper's Bazaar.

She then went on to set up her own successful international wig business.[9]

Personal life and honours

In 1977, she married Sir Francis Dashwood, 11th Baronet; she had been married twice before, according to the Dashwood family history. Together they lived at West Wycombe House in Buckinghamshire.[10]

She was made a Knight of the Italian Republic for promoting the Italian language and culture in the United Kingdom.

Filmography

#	Year	Film	Role	Notes
1	1954	The Golden Link	Maria
2	1955	The Hornet's Nest
3	1957	Across the Bridge	Mary
4	1958	Dublin Nightmare	Anna Monti
5	1958	First Man into Space	Tia Francesca
6	1959	The Hound of the Baskervilles	Cecile Stapleton
7	1962	The Pirates of Blood River	Bess Standing
8	1965	The Murder Game	Marie Aldrich

References

1. "Marla Landi". BFI.
2. "BFI Screenonline: Play School (1964-88) Credits". www.screenonline.org.uk.
3. Sarah Williams "How we made: Joy Whitby and Phyllida Law on Play School", The Guardian, 15 October 2012
4. "Parliamo Italiano: 24: All'agenzia di Viaggio". 25 April 1964. p. 11 – via BBC Genome.
5. "IMdB". Retrieved 20 May 2013.
6. Buckley, Rob (1 September 2017). "Watch some lost Crossroads and Hancock if you're in Birmingham tomorrow".
7. "The Italian Maid (1959)". BFI.
8. Vaccaro, Michael A. (20 July 1957). "Marla Landi". www.loc.gov.
9. Cotter, Robert Michael “Bobb” (10 January 2014). The Women of Hammer Horror: A Biographical Dictionary and Filmography. McFarland. ISBN 9781476602011 – via Google Books.
10. "Marla Landi - The Private Life and Times of Marla Landi. Marla Landi Pictures". www.glamourgirlsofthesilverscreen.com.

External links

• Marla Landi at IMDb