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Diane Varsi is a Actor American born on 23 february 1938 at San Mateo (USA)
"The very thing that led me to want to act was very mysterious, even to me. I thought there was a whole communal feeling in film. That the idea of film was to be a service of humanity, a means of communication. But the spirit was power."
Varsi on her acting motives and the film industry.
Diane Marie Antonia Varsi (February 23, 1938 – November 19, 1992) was an American film actress best known for her performances in Peyton Place – her film debut, for which she was nominated for an Academy Award – and the cult film Wild in the Streets. She left Hollywood in order to pursue personal and artistic aims, notably at Bennington College in Vermont, where she studied poetry with poet and translator Ben Belitt, among others.
From November 26, 1956, to August 29, 1958, Varsi was married to James Dickson, whom she made her manager while working as an actress. She was married to Michael Hausman on May 21, 1961; they had a daughter, Willo.
In 1968, while working on the set of Wild in the Streets, Varsi suffered extreme trauma to her cervical spine, which led to years of misdiagnosed pain. In 1977, she contracted Lyme disease and lived for five years with undiagnosed and unremitting meningitis which brought her close to death several times. The Lyme disease, combined with her neck injury, which had resulted from numerous surgeries, was not diagnosed until 1989.
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Diane Varsi
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Birth name Diane Marie Antonia Varsi
Nationality USA
Birth 23 february 1938 at San Mateo (USA)
Death 19 november 1992 (at 54 years) at Los Angeles (USA)
Nationality USA
Birth 23 february 1938 at San Mateo (USA)
Death 19 november 1992 (at 54 years) at Los Angeles (USA)
Varsi on her acting motives and the film industry.
Diane Marie Antonia Varsi (February 23, 1938 – November 19, 1992) was an American film actress best known for her performances in Peyton Place – her film debut, for which she was nominated for an Academy Award – and the cult film Wild in the Streets. She left Hollywood in order to pursue personal and artistic aims, notably at Bennington College in Vermont, where she studied poetry with poet and translator Ben Belitt, among others.
Biography
While in Hollywood, Varsi was known for being unglamorous, never wearing any make-up or fancy clothes. Furthermore, she avoided the Hollywood parties and was quoted saying: "I'd rather meet Aldous Huxley than Clark Gable." Other actors at Fox recalled her as "a frightened, birdlike girl who was bewildered by her sudden success" and as "disillusioned by the way certain studio officials treated her". Russ Tamblyn, her co-star in Peyton Place, stated they dated following the film's release.From November 26, 1956, to August 29, 1958, Varsi was married to James Dickson, whom she made her manager while working as an actress. She was married to Michael Hausman on May 21, 1961; they had a daughter, Willo.
In 1968, while working on the set of Wild in the Streets, Varsi suffered extreme trauma to her cervical spine, which led to years of misdiagnosed pain. In 1977, she contracted Lyme disease and lived for five years with undiagnosed and unremitting meningitis which brought her close to death several times. The Lyme disease, combined with her neck injury, which had resulted from numerous surgeries, was not diagnosed until 1989.
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Filmography of Diane Varsi (10 films)
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, 1h36Directed by Anthony Page
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Comedy-drama
Themes Medical-themed films, Films about psychiatry, Films set in psychiatric hospitals
Actors Kathleen Denise Quinlan, Bibi Andersson, Lorraine Gary, Ben Piazza, Sylvia Sidney, Martine Bartlett
Roles Sylvia
Rating63%
The film was directed by Anthony Page. It follows a girl who is ill with schizophrenia. A doctor is asked to help her out of her state.
The People (1972)
Directed by John Korty
Genres Science fiction, Comedy
Actors Kim Darby, William Shatner, Diane Varsi
Rating59%
This science fiction film tells the story of Melodye Amerson (Kim Darby), a young teacher who goes to a remote area to work with a group of individuals who have isolated themselves from civilization and maintained an independent community, vaguely similar to the Amish or a religious commune. Melodye is unnerved by the secretive behavior of her students, and the fact that all fun, games and activities she proposes are forbidden to them. Valancy (Diane Varsi), an elder in the community, advises Melodye to stay, because she senses that things are about to change in the valley, and Melodye herself is a part of that change.
Johnny Got His Gun (1971)
, 1h51Directed by Dalton Trumbo
Origin USA
Genres Drama, War, Horror
Themes Films about euthanasia, Medical-themed films, Politique, Films about disabilities, Political films
Actors Timothy Bottoms, Jason Robards, Donald Sutherland, Kathy Fields, Diane Varsi, Marsha Hunt
Roles Nurse #4
Rating77%
Joe Bonham (Bottoms), a young American soldier hit by an artillery shell during World War I, lies in a hospital bed. He is a quadruple amputee who has also lost his eyes, ears, mouth and nose. He remains conscious and able to reason, but his wounds render him a prisoner in his own body. As he drifts between reality and fantasy, he remembers his old life with his family and girlfriend (Kathy Fields). He also forms a bond, of sorts, with a young nurse (Diane Varsi) who senses his plight.
Bloody Mama (1970)
, 1h30Directed by Roger Corman
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Thriller, Action, Crime
Themes Films about families, Gangster films
Actors Shelley Winters, Bruce Dern, Don Stroud, Diane Varsi, Robert De Niro, Robert Walden
Roles Mona Gibson
Rating56%
Young Kate Barker (Lisa Jill) is brutalized by her father and older brothers, who rape her. Thirty-five years later, the middle-aged Kate 'Ma' Barker (Shelley Winters) now brutalizes innocent people herself, while indulging her monstrous sexual appetites. She lives by robbing banks with her four sons; the pragmatic Arthur (Clint Kimbrough), the sadistic Herman (Don Stroud), the bisexual Fred (Robert Walden), and the loyal, drug-addicted Lloyd (Robert De Niro). It all begins in the late 1920s when Ma leaves her husband, George, and her Arkansas home and embarks on her own with her four sons on a robbery-murder spree to make her own fortune, while keeping them under a tight leash.
Wild in the Streets (1968)
, 1h34Directed by Barry Shear
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Comedy, Musical, Politic
Themes Medical-themed films, Films about music and musicians, Politique, Films about drugs, Musical films, Political films, Dystopian films
Actors Christopher Jones, Shelley Winters, Richard Pryor, Diane Varsi, Hal Holbrook, Millie Perkins
Roles Sally LeRoy
Rating59%
Christopher Jones stars as rock singer and aspiring revolutionary Max Frost (born Max Jacob Flatow Jr.; his first public act of violence was blowing up his family's new car). Frost's band, The Troopers, live together with him, their women, and others in a sprawling Los Angeles mansion. The band includes his 15-year-old genius attorney Billy Cage (Kevin Coughlin) on lead guitar, ex-child actor and girlfriend Sally LeRoy (Diane Varsi) on keyboards, hook-handed Abraham Salteen (Larry Bishop) on bass guitar and trumpet, and anthropologist Stanley X (Richard Pryor) on drums.
Roseanna (1967)
, 1h44Origin Suede
Genres Drama, Thriller, Crime
Actors Keve Hjelm, Hans Ernback, Tor Isedal, Gio Petré, Kerstin Tidelius, Diane Varsi
Roles Mary Jane
Rating52%
Compulsion (1959)
, 1h43Directed by Richard Fleischer
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Thriller, Crime
Themes Prison films, Films about capital punishment
Actors Orson Welles, Diane Varsi, Dean Stockwell, Bradford Dillman, E. G. Marshall, Martin Milner
Roles Ruth Evans
Rating73%
Artie Strauss and Judd Steiner (Bradford Dillman and Dean Stockwell) kill a boy on his way home from school in order to commit the "perfect crime". Strauss tries to cover it up, but they are caught when police find a key piece of evidence — Steiner's glasses, which he inadvertently leaves at the scene of the crime. Famed attorney Jonathan Wilk (Orson Welles) takes their case, saving them from hanging by making an impassioned closing argument against capital punishment.
From Hell to Texas (1958)
, 1h40Directed by Henry Hathaway
Origin USA
Genres Western
Actors Don Murray, Diane Varsi, John Larch, Chill Wills, Dennis Hopper, R.G. Armstrong
Roles Juanita Bradley
Rating68%
Tod Lohman is on the run from a posse. The ruthless land baron Hunter Boyd has sent men, including sons Otis and Tom, in pursuit of Tod for having killed another son.
Ten North Frederick (1958)
, 1h42Directed by Philip Dunne
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Romance
Themes Children's films
Actors Gary Cooper, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Diane Varsi, Suzy Parker, Tom Tully, Tom Tully
Roles Ann Chapin
Rating67%
In April 1945, outside the titular address in the fictional town of Gibbsville, Pennsylvania, a radio reporter is describing the funeral of distinguished attorney Joseph Chapin (Gary Cooper). While his shrewish wife Edith (Geraldine Fitzgerald) delivers his eulogy, daughter Ann (Diane Varsi) thinks back to Joe's fiftieth birthday celebration five years earlier.
Peyton Place (1957)
, 2h37Directed by Mark Robson
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Romance
Themes Films about families, Pregnancy films, Films about sexuality, Children's films
Actors Lana Turner, Diane Varsi, Hope Lange, Lloyd Nolan, Lee Philips, John Arthur Kennedy
Roles Allison MacKenzie
Rating71%
In the seemingly idyllic New England town of Peyton Place, drunkard Lucas Cross (Arthur Kennedy) stumbles out of his house as his son leaves town. Lucas's downtrodden wife, Nellie (Betty Field) goes to work as the housekeeper for Constance "Connie" MacKenzie (Lana Turner), a local dress shop owner. The daughters of the two families, Allison MacKenzie (Diane Varsi) and Selena Cross (Hope Lange) are best friends and are about to graduate high school.