Italian actress Isa Barzizza (1929-2023) was considered one of the most important interpreters of the Italian revue, cinema, and television. On 28 May, she passed away in Palau, Italy, at the age of 93.
![Isa Barzizza]()
Italian postcard by Bromofoto, Milano, no. 565. Photo: DEAR Film.
![Isa Barzizza]()
German postcard by Kunst und Bild, Berlin, no. A.619. Photo: Allfram / Allianz Film. Isa Barzizza in the Italo-German revue film Wir tanzen auf dem Regenbogen/We're Dancing on the Rainbow (Arthur Maria Rabenalt, Carmine Gallone, 1952), in which Barzizza plays a revue star. With the same cast, an Italian version was made, called Senza veli, which was released in 1953.
![Isa Barzizza]()
Italian postcard by Rotalfoto, Milano, no. 233. Photo: Lux Film.
Luisita 'Isa' Barzizza was born in 1929 in San Remo in Italy. She is the daughter of the famous orchestra conductor and musician Pippo Barzizza and of Tatina Salesi.
She studied at the Liceo Classico Vincenzo Gioberti in Turin and at the same time, she began to participate in prose theatre performances in secondary roles next to actors such as Ruggero Ruggeri, Elsa Merlini, and Eduardo De Filippo. At first, Pippo Barzizza was against his daughter's theatrical activity. It was Erminio Macario who launched her into the theatre world after Barzizza had finished her high school studies. The great actor personally asked Isa's father to let her make her debut in one of his revues. The father agreed on the condition that Isa was always looked after by a governess, and this was the case.
Isa Barzizza made her debut with 'Le educande di San Babila' in 1947, followed by 'Follie di Amleto' in 1947-48. Gifted with a handsome physique and a light-hearted irony, she soon became one of the darlings of post-war Italian light and musical theatre. Her second godfather was Totò, from whom she learned all the secrets of the trade: from his direct relationship with the audience to his comic timing, from mimicry to the use of space on stage. In the theatrical field, she starred in two plays with Totò: 'C'era una volta il mondo' (1948) and 'Bada che ti mangio' (1949). In this last comedy, the gag of the sleeping car was born, which was also proposed in the film Totò a colori/Toto in Color (Steno, 1952).
As a film actress, Barzizza was most active in the late 1940s and early 1950s. She was often paired with popular male comedians and with some of them she had already worked on stage, such as Nino Taranto, Macario, Aldo Fabrizi, Carlo Dapporto, Tino Scotti, Walter Chiari, and the French comedian Fernandel, but above all Totò. In 1947, Barzizza also made her film debut with Totò in the film I due orfanelli/The Two Orphans (Mario Mattoli, 1947). She made 11 films with him, often directed by Mario Mattoli, including Fifa e arena/Fear and Sand (Mario Mattoli, 1948) and Totò al giro d'Italia/Toto Tours Italy (Mario Mattoli, 1948). She also starred in a few films, such as the comedies Porca miseria/Holy shit (Giorgi Bianchi, 1951) and Bellezze in moto-scooter/Beauties on Motor Scooters (Carlo Campogalliani, 1952), while she less often also acted in dramas such as the Christmas Carol-inspired Non è mai troppo tardi/It's Never Too Late (Filippo Walter Ratti, 1953), starring Paolo Stoppa.
Thus between 1947 and 1956, Barzizza acted in some 35 films, including the Italo-German coproduction Senza veli/ Wir tanzen auf dem Regenbogen/We're Dancing on the Rainbow (1953/1952), a musical melodrama shot in both a German and an Italian version at Cinecittà, plus another Italo-German film shot in two versions: Die Tochter der Kompanie/La figlia del reggimento/The Daughter of the Regiment (Géza von Bolváry, Goffredo Alessandrini, Tullio Cova, 1953). The last film of this avalanche of mostly (partly musical) comedies was I pinguini ci guardano/Penguins Look at Us (1956) by Guido Leoni, which included many famous names such as Barzizza, Isa Miranda, Ave Ninchi, and the singers Renato Rascel and Domenico Modugno.
![Isa Barzizza]()
Italian postcard by Bromofoto, Milano, no. 313. Photo: DEAR Film.
![Isa Barzizza]()
French postcard by Editions P.I., Paris, no. 496. Photo: Sam Levin.
In the 1951-52 stage season, Isa Barzizza worked with Garinei and Giovannini, who paid homage to her great beauty and sense of humour in revues such as 'Gran baldoria', which was a great success with the public. In the same years, she also tried her hand at prose theatre, playing in William Shakespeare's 'The Twelfth Night' directed by Renato Castellani. On 3 January 1954, the day the official Italian television programmes began, Rai broadcast Carlo Goldoni's one-act play 'Osteria della posta' in which Barzizza was the leading actress. Numerous other comedies followed. In 1955-1956 she had another success with the musical comedy Valentina, the love story of two fiancés who take a leap forward in time.
In 1960, when she was only 31 years old, she decided to interrupt her career in brilliant theatre following the death of her husband in 1953, the television director Carlo Alberto Chiesa, in a car accident on 3 June 1960 on the Via Aurelia. For a few years, she devoted herself entirely to her only daughter, Carlotta. Later, she became romantically involved with the builder Enzo Villoresi. Following a suggestion at the beginning of the 1960s, Isa Barzizza founded a dubbing company and devoted herself to this activity, both as a businesswoman and as an artistic director. In the 1970s she returned to the film sets for supporting parts in Ettore Scola's famous C'eravamo tanto amati/We All Loved Each Other So Much (1974) but also the lesser-known Il garofano rosso/The red carnation (Luigi Faccini, 1976), based on a novel by Elio Vittorini and starring Miguel Bosé.
Barzizza only returned to the theatre in the early nineties, again in comedies such as 'La pulce nell'orecchio' (The Flea in the Ear) directed by Gigi Proietti, and 'Arsenico e vecchi merletti' (Arsenic and old lace) directed by Mario Monicelli. In 1995 she took part in the Spoleto Festival with 'L'ultimo Yankee' (The Last Yankee) by Arthur Miller and in 1999 she starred in a version of the theatrical reduction of Aldo Palazzeschi's novel 'Sorelle Materassi' (The Materassi sisters), alongside Lauretta Masiero.
In the same period, she also returned to work in film and television. She acted e.g. in Luca Barbareschi's coming-of-age film Ardena (1997). She hosted the TV show Mai dire mai (Never say never) on Rai 3 in 1989 with Fabio Fazio and Giampiero Mughini, and took part in a fiction series of Rai 1 Non lasciamoci più (Let's not leave each other anymore) (1999 and 2001). In the film 7 km da Gerusalemme/Seven Kilometers from Jerusalem (Claudio Malaponti, 2007), she plays a rich old lady willing to "buy luck" for her grandchildren at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
In the autumn of her life, Barzizza played various grandmothers in films, such as the one in Maledimiele/Damn Me (Marco Pozzi, 2011 ), while she played Marisa, an elderly woman in a hospital, in the bittersweet comedy Viva Italia!/Long live Italy! (Massimiliano Bruno, 2012), starring Michele Placido, Raul Bova, Alessandro Gassman, and Ambra Angiolini. Barzizza's last film role was that of grandmother Emma in the comedy Indovina chi viene a Natale?/Guess who's coming for Christmas? (Fausto Brizzi, 2013), with Diego Abatantuono and Raul Bova.
![Isa Barzizza]()
Italian postcard by Rotalfoto, Milano, no. 234.
![Isa Barzizza]()
Italian postcard. Publicity for Canapa. This may perhaps refer to hemp fibre, of which Italy used to be an active producer. Caption: Hemp? It is my best friend. I want it to be around all over the house, from the kitchen to the living room.
Sources: Wikipedia (Italian and English), and IMDb.
Italian postcard by Bromofoto, Milano, no. 565. Photo: DEAR Film.
German postcard by Kunst und Bild, Berlin, no. A.619. Photo: Allfram / Allianz Film. Isa Barzizza in the Italo-German revue film Wir tanzen auf dem Regenbogen/We're Dancing on the Rainbow (Arthur Maria Rabenalt, Carmine Gallone, 1952), in which Barzizza plays a revue star. With the same cast, an Italian version was made, called Senza veli, which was released in 1953.
Italian postcard by Rotalfoto, Milano, no. 233. Photo: Lux Film.
Her two godfathers Macario and Totò
Luisita 'Isa' Barzizza was born in 1929 in San Remo in Italy. She is the daughter of the famous orchestra conductor and musician Pippo Barzizza and of Tatina Salesi.
She studied at the Liceo Classico Vincenzo Gioberti in Turin and at the same time, she began to participate in prose theatre performances in secondary roles next to actors such as Ruggero Ruggeri, Elsa Merlini, and Eduardo De Filippo. At first, Pippo Barzizza was against his daughter's theatrical activity. It was Erminio Macario who launched her into the theatre world after Barzizza had finished her high school studies. The great actor personally asked Isa's father to let her make her debut in one of his revues. The father agreed on the condition that Isa was always looked after by a governess, and this was the case.
Isa Barzizza made her debut with 'Le educande di San Babila' in 1947, followed by 'Follie di Amleto' in 1947-48. Gifted with a handsome physique and a light-hearted irony, she soon became one of the darlings of post-war Italian light and musical theatre. Her second godfather was Totò, from whom she learned all the secrets of the trade: from his direct relationship with the audience to his comic timing, from mimicry to the use of space on stage. In the theatrical field, she starred in two plays with Totò: 'C'era una volta il mondo' (1948) and 'Bada che ti mangio' (1949). In this last comedy, the gag of the sleeping car was born, which was also proposed in the film Totò a colori/Toto in Color (Steno, 1952).
As a film actress, Barzizza was most active in the late 1940s and early 1950s. She was often paired with popular male comedians and with some of them she had already worked on stage, such as Nino Taranto, Macario, Aldo Fabrizi, Carlo Dapporto, Tino Scotti, Walter Chiari, and the French comedian Fernandel, but above all Totò. In 1947, Barzizza also made her film debut with Totò in the film I due orfanelli/The Two Orphans (Mario Mattoli, 1947). She made 11 films with him, often directed by Mario Mattoli, including Fifa e arena/Fear and Sand (Mario Mattoli, 1948) and Totò al giro d'Italia/Toto Tours Italy (Mario Mattoli, 1948). She also starred in a few films, such as the comedies Porca miseria/Holy shit (Giorgi Bianchi, 1951) and Bellezze in moto-scooter/Beauties on Motor Scooters (Carlo Campogalliani, 1952), while she less often also acted in dramas such as the Christmas Carol-inspired Non è mai troppo tardi/It's Never Too Late (Filippo Walter Ratti, 1953), starring Paolo Stoppa.
Thus between 1947 and 1956, Barzizza acted in some 35 films, including the Italo-German coproduction Senza veli/ Wir tanzen auf dem Regenbogen/We're Dancing on the Rainbow (1953/1952), a musical melodrama shot in both a German and an Italian version at Cinecittà, plus another Italo-German film shot in two versions: Die Tochter der Kompanie/La figlia del reggimento/The Daughter of the Regiment (Géza von Bolváry, Goffredo Alessandrini, Tullio Cova, 1953). The last film of this avalanche of mostly (partly musical) comedies was I pinguini ci guardano/Penguins Look at Us (1956) by Guido Leoni, which included many famous names such as Barzizza, Isa Miranda, Ave Ninchi, and the singers Renato Rascel and Domenico Modugno.
Italian postcard by Bromofoto, Milano, no. 313. Photo: DEAR Film.
French postcard by Editions P.I., Paris, no. 496. Photo: Sam Levin.
Great beauty and sense of humour
In the 1951-52 stage season, Isa Barzizza worked with Garinei and Giovannini, who paid homage to her great beauty and sense of humour in revues such as 'Gran baldoria', which was a great success with the public. In the same years, she also tried her hand at prose theatre, playing in William Shakespeare's 'The Twelfth Night' directed by Renato Castellani. On 3 January 1954, the day the official Italian television programmes began, Rai broadcast Carlo Goldoni's one-act play 'Osteria della posta' in which Barzizza was the leading actress. Numerous other comedies followed. In 1955-1956 she had another success with the musical comedy Valentina, the love story of two fiancés who take a leap forward in time.
In 1960, when she was only 31 years old, she decided to interrupt her career in brilliant theatre following the death of her husband in 1953, the television director Carlo Alberto Chiesa, in a car accident on 3 June 1960 on the Via Aurelia. For a few years, she devoted herself entirely to her only daughter, Carlotta. Later, she became romantically involved with the builder Enzo Villoresi. Following a suggestion at the beginning of the 1960s, Isa Barzizza founded a dubbing company and devoted herself to this activity, both as a businesswoman and as an artistic director. In the 1970s she returned to the film sets for supporting parts in Ettore Scola's famous C'eravamo tanto amati/We All Loved Each Other So Much (1974) but also the lesser-known Il garofano rosso/The red carnation (Luigi Faccini, 1976), based on a novel by Elio Vittorini and starring Miguel Bosé.
Barzizza only returned to the theatre in the early nineties, again in comedies such as 'La pulce nell'orecchio' (The Flea in the Ear) directed by Gigi Proietti, and 'Arsenico e vecchi merletti' (Arsenic and old lace) directed by Mario Monicelli. In 1995 she took part in the Spoleto Festival with 'L'ultimo Yankee' (The Last Yankee) by Arthur Miller and in 1999 she starred in a version of the theatrical reduction of Aldo Palazzeschi's novel 'Sorelle Materassi' (The Materassi sisters), alongside Lauretta Masiero.
In the same period, she also returned to work in film and television. She acted e.g. in Luca Barbareschi's coming-of-age film Ardena (1997). She hosted the TV show Mai dire mai (Never say never) on Rai 3 in 1989 with Fabio Fazio and Giampiero Mughini, and took part in a fiction series of Rai 1 Non lasciamoci più (Let's not leave each other anymore) (1999 and 2001). In the film 7 km da Gerusalemme/Seven Kilometers from Jerusalem (Claudio Malaponti, 2007), she plays a rich old lady willing to "buy luck" for her grandchildren at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
In the autumn of her life, Barzizza played various grandmothers in films, such as the one in Maledimiele/Damn Me (Marco Pozzi, 2011 ), while she played Marisa, an elderly woman in a hospital, in the bittersweet comedy Viva Italia!/Long live Italy! (Massimiliano Bruno, 2012), starring Michele Placido, Raul Bova, Alessandro Gassman, and Ambra Angiolini. Barzizza's last film role was that of grandmother Emma in the comedy Indovina chi viene a Natale?/Guess who's coming for Christmas? (Fausto Brizzi, 2013), with Diego Abatantuono and Raul Bova.
Italian postcard by Rotalfoto, Milano, no. 234.
Italian postcard. Publicity for Canapa. This may perhaps refer to hemp fibre, of which Italy used to be an active producer. Caption: Hemp? It is my best friend. I want it to be around all over the house, from the kitchen to the living room.
Sources: Wikipedia (Italian and English), and IMDb.