Who Are Those Gals? ~ Lorella De Luca

 

Lorella DeLuca was born in Florence, Tuscany, Italy on September 17, 1940. We know her by her alias Hally Hammond.

She made her debut in 1955 in “Il bidone” directed by Federico Fellini. She then attended the Experimental Center of Cinematography; in 1956 Dino Risi launched it with Poveri ma belli. The success of the film made her a darling of the public, as well as the later films in the series, “Belle ma povere” (Beautiful but Poor) and “Poveri milionari” (Poor Millionaires).

She specialized in the character of the naïve young girl, a kind of Italian Sandra Dee, revived in a series of successful comedies: “Il medico e lo stregone” (The Doctor and the Sorcerer) (1957) by Mario Monicelli with Vittorio De Sica and Marcello Mastroianni, “Domenica è sempre Domenica” (Sunday is Always Sunday) (1958) by Camillo Mastrocinque, “Primo amore” (First Love) (1959) by Mario Camerini along with several others.

In 1958, with Alessandra Panaro, she joined Mario Riva in the very popular television quiz show ‘Il Musichiere’ in the role of the "sister-in-law" and valet of the show. In 1965, under the pseudonym of Hally Hammond, she starred in her two Spaghetti westerns “Una pistola per Ringo” (A Pistol for Ringo) and “Il ritorno di Ringo” (The Return of Ringo), directed by the man who in 1971 would become her husband, Duccio Tessari, and with whom she would have two daughters, one of whom, Fiorenza Tessari, also became an actress. She later appeared in nine more films directed by her husband and also directed the second unit in some of them.

In her late 60s she developed a brain tumor which eventually led to blindness and her death on January 9, 2013, in Civitavecchia, Rome, Lazio, Italy at the age of 73.

De LUCA, Lorella (aka Hally Hammond) [9/17/1940, Florence, Tuscany, Italy - 1/9/2013, Civitavecchia, Rome, Lazio, Italy (brain tumor)] – assistant director, film, voice actress, married to director, screenwriter Duccio Tessari [1926-1994] (1971-1994) mother of assistant director, actress, writer Federica Tessari [1968-    ], actress Fiorenza Tessari [1968-    ].

A Pistol for Ringo – 1965 (Ruby Brown) [as Hally Hammond]

The Return of Ringo – 1966 (Helen Brown/Hally Fitzgerald) [as Hally Hammond]

Stracult (TV) – 2005 [herself]

They Called Him Ringo – 2008 [herself]

A Greek Western Tragedy – 2009 [herself]