biography

Lisa Gastoni Born on July 28, 1935 in Alassio, Liguria, Italy as Elisabetta Gastone, actress Lisa Gastoni moved to Britain with her Irish mother and Italian father in the 1940s, following the end of World War II. She began a modeling career as a teenager and parlayed that into a film career. Her first role came in the British Lion war drama They Who Dare (1954; with Dirk Bogarde). Gastoni married her first husband, a physics professor, in the mid 1950s, but this ended quickly. Her acting career, however, went very well during this period. Smaller roles in such films as Twist of Fate (1954; with Ginger Rogers, Jacques Bergerac, and Herbert Lom) and Dance Little Lady (1954; with Terence Morgan, Mai Zetterling, and Guy Rolfe) led to bigger roles, usually in lower budget British second features. Some of these include Second Fiddle (1957; with Adrienne Corri) and Wrong Number (1959; with Peter Reynolds).

Lisa GastoniLisa GastoniLisa Gastoni

LEFT: Lisa Gastoni on a 1957 cover of Picturegoer magazine. CENTER: A 1960 photo. RIGHT: A 1978 photo, after Gastoni walked away from her acting career

While her acting career in Britain was going well, her 1961 marriage to Costantine Maurus prompted a move back to her native Italy. She had no trouble making the transition to the Italian cinema and, in fact, had more success in Italy than in Britain. She acted in several swashbucklers, including Messalina vs. the Son of Hercules (1964; with Richard Harrison) and 3 Avengers (1964; with Alan Steel and Mimmo Palmara) before moving on to Antonio Margheriti's science fiction flicks The War of the Planets (1966; with Tony Russel and Franco Nero) and Wild, Wild Planet (1966; with Tony Russel, Franco Nero, and Massimo Serato). By the late 1960s, Gastoni transitioned into sexually charged Italian dramas including L'amica (1969; with Gabriele Ferzetti and Elsa Martinelli), Seduction (1973; with Maurice Ronet), and Submission (1976; with Franco Nero).

the films of lisa gastoni

The Baby and the Battleship (1956)

Richard Attenborough and Lisa Gastoni

With Richard Attenborough in the British Lion comedy The Baby and the Battleship

Menace in the Night (1957)

Lisa Gastoni

From the Grand National crime drama Menace in the Night

Female Fiends (1958)

Carole Mathews, Lisa Gastoni, and Lex Barker

With Carole Mathews and Lex Barker in the thriller Female Fiends

Passport to China (1960)

Richard Basehart and Lisa Gastoni

With Richard Basehart in the Columbia adventure Passport to China

Queen of the Seas (1961)

Lisa Gastoni

As the title character in Umberto Lenzi's adventure Queen of the Seas

Gidget Goes to Rome (1963)

James Darren, Lisa Gastoni, and Jessie Royce Landis

From the final entry in Columbia's Gidget series, Gidget Goes to Rome with James Darren and Jessie Royce Landis

Gentlemen of the Night (1964)

Guy Madison and Lisa Gastoni

With Guy Madison in the swashbuckler Gentlemen of the Night

The Myth (1965)

Lisa Gastoni

From the seldom-seen drama The Myth

Wild, Wild Planet (1966)

Lisa GastoniMassimo Serato, Lisa Gastoni, Franco Nero, and Tony Russel

From Antonio Margheriti's science fiction effort Wild, Wild Planet. LEFT: As Lt. Connie Gomez. RIGHT: With Massimo Serato, Franco Nero, and Tony Russel. The film is a follow-up to Margheriti's War of the Planets, with largely the same cast

Grazie Zia (1968)

Lisa Gastoni and Lou CastelGabriele Ferzetti and Lisa Gastoni

LEFT: Gastoni portrays Lou Castel's sensual aunt in the Italian comedy-drama Grazie Zia. RIGHT: With Gabriele Ferzetti

Amore Amaro (1974)

Lisa Gastoni

Gastoni has an affair with a much younger man in the period drama Amore Amaro

Submission (1976)

Franco Nero and Lisa Gastoni

Gastoni portrays a sexually frustrated wife who has an affair with Franco Nero in the Italian war drama Submission

lisa gastoni today

Between the late 1960s and the late 1970s, roles offered to Lisa Gastoni usually involved her character being a nymphomaniac or, often, a woman obsessed with a younger man. While she was good in these performances, she began to tire of them and the scripts offered to her. In her early 40s, she walked away from her film career in 1978 to paint and to act in the theater. Gastoni returned to acting in the late 1990s, first in theater and then television and film. Now 87 years old, she has retired from acting again. Married several times over the years, Gastoni's current husband, Carlo Isgrò, is a well-known attorney.

filmography

FILM
Voice from the Stone (2017)
Dove la trovi una come me? (2011)
Cocapop (2010)
Maria Montessori: una vita per i bambini (2007)
Tutte le donne della mia vita (2007)
La provinciale (2006) with Barbara Bouchet
Sacred Heart (2005) with Erika Blanc
Immorality (1978) with Howard Ross and Mel Ferrer
Submission (1976) with Franco Nero
Labbra di lurido blu (1975) with Jeremy Kemp and Hélène Chanel
Amore amaro (1974) with Leonard Mann
The Last 4 Days, aka Last Days of Mussolini (1974) with Rod Steiger, Franco Nero, and Giacomo Rossi Stuart
Seduction (1973) with Maurice Ronet and Jenny Tamburi
Maddalena (1971) with Paolo Bonacelli
Invasion (1970) with Michel Piccoli and Enzo Cerusico
L'amica (1969) with Gabriele Ferzetti, Elsa Martinelli, Ray Lovelock, and Jean Sorel
La pecora nera (1968) with Vittorio Gassman
Grazie Zia, aka Come Play With Me (1968) with Lou Castel
The Seven Cervi Brothers (1968) with Gian Maria Volontè
Wild, Wild Planet (1966) with Tony Russel, Franco Nero, and Massimo Serato
The War of the Planets (1966) with Tony Russel and Franco Nero
Wake Up and Kill (1966) with Robert Hoffmann
The Man Who Laughts (1966) with Jean Sorel and Edmund Purdom
Night of Violence (1965) with Alberto Lupo and Marilù Tolo
The Myth (1965)
Gentlemen of the Night (1964) with Guy Madison
Three Swords for Rome (1964) with Roger Browne and Mimmo Palmara
Eighteen in the Sun (1964) with Catherine Spaak
3 Avengers (1964) with Alan Steel, Mimmo Palmara, Rosalba Neri, and Carlo Tamberlani
A Game of Crime (1964) with John Drew Barrymore
Le sette vipere (1964)
Messalina vs. the Son of Hercules (1964) with Richard Harrison and Marilù Tolo
I maniaci (1964) with Barbara Steele and Margaret Lee
Gidget Goes to Rome (1963) with James Darren, Cindy Carol, Cesare Danova, Joby Baker, Noreen Corcoran, Don Porter, and Jeff Donnell
Le roi du village (1963)
Il monaco di Monza (1963)
Ro.Go.Pa.G. (1963) with Rosanna Schiaffino, Orson Welles, and Ugo Tognazzi
The Four Musketeers (1963)
Eva (1962) with Jeanne Moreau, Stanley Baker, and Virna Lisi
Duel of Fire (1962) with Fernando Lamas and Liana Orfei
Colussus and the Huns (1962) with Jerome Courtland, Mimmo Palmara, and Rik Van Nutter
Queen of the Seas (1961) with Jerome Courtland
The Great Armored Car Swindle (1961) with Peter Reynolds
Passport to China (1960) with Richard Basehart
Wrong Number (1959) with Peter Reynolds
Chain of Events (1958) with Dermot Walsh
Intent to Kill (1958) with Richard Todd, Betsy Drake, Herbert Lom, and Warren Stevens
Female Fiends, aka Strange Awakening (1958) with Lex Barker, Carole Mathews, and Joe Robinson
Prescription for Murder (1958) with Rick Jason
Blue Murder at St. Trinian's (1957) with Terry-Thomas and Lionel Jeffries
Thunder Over Tangier (1957) with Robert Hutton
The Truth About Women (1957) with Laurence Harvey, Julie Harris, Diane Cilento, Mai Zetterling, Eva Gabor, and Jocelyn Lane
Menace in the Night (1957) with Griffith Jones
Second Fiddle (1957) with Adrienne Corri
Three Men in a Boat (1956) with Laurence Harvey, Shirley Eaton, and Jill Ireland
The Baby and the Battleship (1956) with John Mills, Richard Attenborough, André Morell, and Lionel Jeffries
Man of the Moment (1955) with Norman Wisdom, Lana Morris, and Belinda Lee
Josephine and Men (1955) with Glynis Johns and Peter Finch
Dance Little Lady (1954) with Terence Morgan, Mai Zetterling, Guy Rolfe, and Eunice Gayson
Twist of Fate (1954) with Ginger Rogers, Herbert Lom, Stanley Baker, Jacques Bergerac, and Coral Browne
The Runaway Bus (1954) with Margaret Rutherford, Belinda Lee, Petula Clark, and Frankie Howerd
They Who Dare (1954) with Dirk Bogarde, Akim Tamiroff, and Denholm Elliott

TELEVISION SERIES
Sposami, 2012 TV series. Gastoni portrayed Zia Clo Clo
The Odd Man, 1960-1963 BBC TV series. Gastoni portrayed Dorothy Berridge
The Four Just Men, 1959-1960 ITV TV series. Gastoni portrayed Giulia

TELEVISION GUEST APPEARANCES
The Cheaters, episode Murder Fugue, originally aired February 17, 1962
International Detective, episode The Washington Case, originally aired June 6, 1961
One Step Beyond, episode The Avengers, originally aired April 25, 1961
Danger Man, episode The Brothers, originally aired March 5, 1961
BBC Sunday-Night Play, episode Venus Brown, originally aired January 8, 1961
International Detective, episode The Prescott Case, originally aired February 6, 1960
Danger Man, episode The Blue Veil, originally aired October 2, 1960
The Third Man, episode Death in Small Installments, originally aired December 22, 1959
Skyport, episode The Spanish Girl, originally aired September 10, 1959
O.S.S., episode Operation Blue Eyes, originally aired November 14, 1957
Sailor of Fortune, episode The Golden Head, originally aired July 27, 1957
Assignment Foreign Legion, episode The White Kepi, originally aired October 15, 1957
The New Adventures of Martin Kane, episode The Absconder Story, originally aired 1957
The New Adventures of Martin Kane, episode The Kidnap Story, originally aired 1957

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Watch the trailer for Lisa Gastoni's 1966 sci-fi thriller Wild Wild Planet
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