Marisa Mell was an Austrian actress who became a cult figure of 1960s Italian B-movies. She was best known for her roles as Eva Kant in Danger: Diabolik and Susan Dumurrier/Monica Weston in One on Top of the Other. She had a turbulent personal life and a series of misfortunes that led to her premature death from throat cancer in 1992. This article will explore the life and career of Marisa Mell, and the circumstances of her death.
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Early Life and Career
Marisa Mell was born as Marlies Theres Moitzi on February 24, 1939, in Graz, Austria. She loved to paint and one of her hobbies was archaeology. She left her home city to attend the Max Reinhardt drama school, where she met fellow actress Senta Berger. After four years of stage work, she began to appear in starring roles in European films.
Some of her early films include Venusberg (1963), French Dressing (1964), Masquerade (1965), and Casanova 70 (1965). She also starred in several spy films, such as Secret Agent Super Dragon (1966), where she played Charity Farrel, a femme fatale who dies in the arms of the hero.
The Accident and the Plastic Surgery
In 1963, Mell was involved in a serious automobile accident in France. For six hours, she lay unconscious, unaware that she nearly lost her right eye. The disfigurement extended to her lip as well. She spent the next two years undergoing plastic surgery, and no damage remained in her face, except for a distinctive curl of her upper lip.
According to Mell, the accident changed her personality and made her more confident and adventurous. She also claimed that the plastic surgery improved her appearance and gave her more opportunities in the film industry.
The Broadway Flop and the Move to Italy
In 1967, Mell secured the title role in the musical Mata Hari, alongside Pernell Roberts. The show was based on the life of the exotic dancer and spy who was executed by the French during World War I. However, the production was plagued by technical problems and negative reviews, and was closed by the producer David Merrick before it reached Broadway. Mell later said that she had turned down a lucrative seven-year Hollywood contract because “the contract was a whole book. I think that even to go to the toilet I would have needed a permission.”
Mell moved to Italy, where she found more success and fame in the Italian cinema. She worked with directors such as Mario Bava, Lucio Fulci, Umberto Lenzi, and Sergio Corbucci. She also had a high-profile love life, dating actors such as Stephen Boyd, Helmut Berger, and Alain Delon. She was married to Henri Tucci, a French journalist, from 1959 to 1963, but they had no children.
The Peak of Her Career and the Decline
Mell reached the peak of her career in the late 1960s and early 1970s, when she starred in some of her most memorable films. She played Eva Kant, the seductive and loyal partner of the master thief Diabolik, in Danger: Diabolik (1968), a cult classic based on the comic book character. She also played a dual role of a wealthy wife and a nightclub singer who are involved in a murder plot in One on Top of the Other (1969), a giallo thriller by Lucio Fulci.
She also appeared in comedies, such as Anyone Can Play (1968), where she played one of the three wives of Vittorio Gassman, and Casanova & Co. (1977), where she played one of the many lovers of Tony Curtis. She also ventured into other genres, such as westerns, such as Ben and Charlie (1972), and crime films, such as Gang War in Milan (1973) and Mad Dog Killer (1977).
However, her career began to decline in the mid-1970s, as she faced competition from younger actresses and the changing tastes of the audience. She also suffered from bad luck, ill-judged personal choices, and drug use. She had a long association with Pier Luigi Torri, a playboy who later became one of the world’s most-wanted fugitives for his involvement in a banking scandal. She also had a brief appearance in Mahogany (1975), a Hollywood film starring Diana Ross, but her scenes were mostly cut from the final version.
Marisa Mell Cause of Death and Legacy
Mell returned to Austria in the late 1980s, where she lived in straitened circumstances. She was diagnosed with throat cancer in 1991, and underwent several surgeries and chemotherapy. She died in Vienna on May 16, 1992, at the age of 53. She was buried in the Zentralfriedhof cemetery.
Mell is remembered as a very sensual beauty with a tragic destiny, who left a mark on the Italian cinema of the 1960s and 1970s. She has a cult following among the fans of B-movies, especially Danger: Diabolik, which was featured on the final episode of the television show Mystery Science Theater 3000. She also inspired the character of Eva Kant in the comic book series Diabolik by Angela and Luciana Giussani, who dedicated an issue to her memory.
