Ada Anna Arena was born on
June 21, 1919 in Quiliano, Savona, Liguria, Italy. Anna began, at a very young
age, as a stage actress in local companies; in 1941 she made her entry into films,
playing a small role in “C'è un fantasma nel castello”, by director Giorgio
Simonelli, who specialized in this kind of film. While participating in a large
number of films, Arena’s career was relegated to second tier films as a minor
character actress.The only exception is her participation, but still in a secondary role, was in “Il bell'Antonio”, the film was directed by Mauro Bolognini in 1960 and based on the novel by Vitaliano Brancati, whose screenplay was also worked on by Pierpaolo Pasolini.
As a side note; the well-known actor Maurizio Arena (born Maurizio Di Lorenzo) chose his pseudonym in tribute to the actress, who he was romantically linked for a few years, despite the strong difference in their age.
Anna appeared in only one Euro-western: “The Dream of Zorro” (1951) as a washer woman.
Arena died in Jesolo, Veneto, Italy on August 19, 1974.
Today we remember Anna Arena on what would have been her 95th birthday.
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