Gia Scala was an English born Italian-American actress and model.
Early life
Scala was born March 3, 1934, in Liverpool, England, to Sicilian father Pietro Scoglio, and Irish mother Eileen O'Sullivan. She had one sister, Tina Scala, also an actress. Scala was brought up in Messina and Mili San Marco in Sicily, the latter on the estate of her grandfather, Natale Scoglio, who was one of the largest citrus growers in Sicily. When Scala was 16, she moved to the United States to live with her aunt Agata in Whitestone, Queens, New York City. After graduating from Bayside High School, she moved to Manhattan to pursue acting. Scala supported herself by working at a travel agency. During this time, Scala studied acting with Stella Adler, where she met Steve McQueen. The two dated from 1952 to 1954. Scala began to appear on game shows, including Stop the Music, where she was spotted by Maurice Bergman, an executive of Universal International located in New York City.
Career
In 1954, accompanied by her mother, Scala flew to Los Angeles to screen test for the role of Mary Magdalene in The Gallileans. Although she did not get the part, Peter Johnson at Universal Studios was impressed with Scala's screen test. Scala had her first official job in Hollywood when she was given a non-speaking, uncredited part in the movie All That Heaven Allows, starring Rock Hudson. Despite her minor role in the movie, Universal Studios signed her to a contract, dyed her hair dark brown, had her four front teeth capped, and gave her the stage name Gia Scala. Songwriter Henry Mancini met Scala on the set of Four Girls in Town. Inspired by her beauty, he wrote "Cha Cha for Gia", which appeared uncredited in the 1957 film.
in Don't Go Near the Water Scala became emotionally distraught following the death of her mother in 1957. In 1958, she became a naturalizedAmerican citizen. Scala soon after landed roles in such films as Tip on a Dead Jockey, The Garment Jungle, The Tunnel of Love, and The Guns of Navarone, starring Gregory Peck and David Niven. Scala made frequent appearances on American television during the 1960s, appearing in such series as Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Convoy,The Islanders,The Rogues,Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea,Twelve O'Clock High, Tarzan, and It Takes a Thief in the episode "The Artist Is for Framing", her final acting role.
Later years
On August 21, 1959, Scala married Don Burnett, an actor turned investment banker. After 10 years of marriage, Burnett left her and married actress Barbara Anderson. Gia and Don divorced on September 1, 1970. Scala had difficulties with alcohol and her career began to wane. In 2015, author/researcher Sterling Saint James wrote a book about Gia Scala's life titled Gia Scala: The First Gia. Tina Scala provided intimate details about her sister's life.
Death
On the night of April 30, 1972, 38-year-old Scala was found dead in her Hollywood Hills home. Los Angeles County CoronerThomas Noguchi reported her cause of death was from an "acute ethanol and barbiturate intoxication" and was later ruled accidental. The circumstances surrounding Scala's death have been questioned, with some believing it was a result of either murder or suicide rather than accidental. Her sister believed that she did not intend to take her life nor that her death was accidental. Scala had a prescription for valium and three tablets were missing from the bottle, but valium is a benzodiazepine, not a barbiturate. Also, Scala was discovered nude sprawled across her bed and bruises were found on her body and blood was on her pillow. Scala is interred next to her mother, Eileen O'Sullivan-Scoglio, in the Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California.
Legacy
In 2008, the Democratic Republic of the Congo released a postage stamp bearing Scala's image. A biography of Scala, Gia Scala: The First Gia, was published in 2014.
