| On the 4th of May, Pia Zadora is born as Pia Alfreda Schipani, the only daughter of Alphonse Schipani, who plays first violin on Broadway, and Saturnina Zadorowski, a theatre wardrobe supervisor. While attending catholic school, one of her teachers suggests to her mother that dramatic school might help Pia overcome her shyness. It's at the American Academy of Dramatic Art, in 1961, that Burgess Meredith chooses Pia to play opposite Tallulah Bankhead in "Midgie Purvis". Pia's carreer is launched and she appeares on Broadway in shows like "Fiddler on the Roof" and "Henry, Sweet Henry" . When she is ten, she appears in the movie "Santa Claus Conquers the Martians", still a Christmas cult-favorite today! In 1972, Pia is a member of the cast of the touring production "Applause", with Alexis Smith. It's probably the most important play she's ever done, because it takes her to Ohio, and a man called Meshulam Riklis. "Rik" Riklis, who was born in Istanbul in 1922 and grew up in Israel, is a multi-millionaire who was one of the original corporate takeover artists. His 1966 master's thesis at Ohio State University was on "the effective non-use of cash" in business, and he built a vast fortune running numerous companies, including McCrory Corp. and the Riviera Hotel in Las Vegas. In 1972, He'd come back to his Alma Mater to lecture on business, and he decided to take in "Applause". He liked singers in general and Pia Zadora in particular. Rik courts Pia for four years, and although he is broke, they marry on September 18, 1977. At first, Pia tries to play the perfect housewife, but isn't very succesfull at it. It's Riklis who encourages her to go into showbizz again. So Pia starts singing -something she has always done in her past Broadway carreer- and tours the US with "The Pia Zadora Show".. She releases several singles, one of them being a duet with Lou Christie, and shares cabaret stages with Frank Sinatra, Rich Little, Neil Sedaka, Bobby Vinton, Don Rickles, Alan King, Bob Hope, Bob Newhart and Buddy Hackett. Sinatra suggests she'd try evergreens instead of the country and Top-40, so at the age of 22, Pia's already belting "The Man That Got Away". But she doesn't do anything more with it. Yet. She also becomes the ad girl for Dubonnet , a French wine that is distributed in America by Shenkley Ind. Corp.(Mr. Riklis is the head shareholder). The "big break" comes in 1981, when Pia playes the role of Kady in "Butterfly". Not that the movie is thàt good. No, it's the Golden Globe scandal that follows that makes Pia Zadora a household name. There are allegations that Meshulam Riklis somehow 'bought' this award for his wife. Shortly hereafter, "Pia", the first full album is released but passes quite unnoticed. Pia stars in "Fake-Out" in 1982, and in "The Lonely Lady" in 1983 and by that time she has become the poster girl for the Raspberry Awards. "Voyage Of The Rock Aliens", a classic for all the wrong reasons, is Pia' last starring role. But the movie provides Pia's first n°1 single in Europe : "When The Rain Begins To Fall", a duet with Jermaine Jackson. Several hits in Europe follow : Let's Dance Tonight, Little Bit of Heaven and Rock It Out. After all the movie disasters, Miss Zadora finally passes the credibility corner with a concert at the Beverly Theatre in Los Angeles where she performes some of the greatest American classics. Finally Pia's carreer takes off in the right direction. She releases three albums, "Pia & Phil" (1985), "I Am What I Am" (1986) and "Pia - Today!"(1988), she tours with Charles Aznavour (1987), Frank Sinatra (1990). Also,in 1985, Pia gives birth to Kady and two years later to Christopher Barzie. Although she's very successfull, singing the standards, for Pia they are just a way to get some respect. She wants to do pop music again and teams up with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis for "When the Lights Go Out" (1988) and with Narada Michael Walden for "Pia Z." (1989). Unfortunately, the public doesn't accept the new, poppy Pia. In 1988, Meshulam Riklis and Pia Zadora buy Pickfair, the legendary estate of Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks Sr., Hollywood royalty of the silent film era. Apart from the occasional cameo in a film ("Hairspray", "Naked Gun 33 1/3", a.o...) Pia combines her singing carreer with her first love : the theatre. And with success : she gets stellar reviews for her performance as Fanny Brice in "Funny Girl"(1990) in LA and her autobiographical show "Too Short To Be A Rockette" (1991) doesn't do bad either. In 1993, Pia divorces Meshulam Riklis, and keeps a low profile for a while. Only the compilation set "Pia - The Platinum Collection" is released. In 1995, Pia marries director Jonathan Kaufer and accepts a part in the Broadway production "Crazy For You", again earning rave reviews. During this production she sufferes a miscarriage and decides to quit showbizz. In 1997 Jordan Maxwell Kaufer is born. In November 2001, Pia Zadora files for a divorce from Kaufer, citing irreconcilable differences. |
| The Pia Zadora Story |
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