Argentina Brunetti

Argentine actress (1907–2005)

Argentina Brunetti
Brunetti in The Fighter (1952)
Born	Argentina Josefina Ángela Ferraù (1907-08-31)August 31, 1907 Buenos Aires, Argentina
Died	December 20, 2005(2005-12-20) (aged 98) Rome, Italy
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1910–2002
Spouse(s)	Vladimiro Brunetti (m. 1936; died 1966)
Children	1

Argentina Brunetti (born Argentina Josefina Ángela Ferraù^[1]; August 31, 1907 – December 20, 2005)^[2] was an Argentine stage and film actress and writer.

Biography

Brunetti was born Argentina Ferraù in Buenos Aires, Argentina, to Italian parents;^[3] her mother was the Sicilian actress Mimi Aguglia.^[4] She began her show-business career at the age of three with a walk-on role in the opera Cavalleria rusticana and followed in the footsteps of her mother, performing supporting roles on stage throughout Europe and South America.^[2] In 1928 she and her family entered the U.S.

In 1937, she was placed under contract to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and began dubbing the voices of Jeanette MacDonald and Norma Shearer into Italian. She became a narrator for the Voice of America, interviewing American movie stars for broadcast in Italy. At the same time, she made her movie debut in the classic It's a Wonderful Life (1946) as Mrs. Maria Martini.^[5]

Brunetti wrote and performed in daily radio shows; she became a member of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, writing numerous articles on Hollywood personalities; she authored books, wrote music, and appeared in nearly 60 television programmes and almost 70 films.^[5] She hosted a weekly weblog on the Internet called Argentina Brunetti's Hollywood Stories, which her son plans to continue running, and wrote a biographical novel called In Sicilian Company. She continued to act into her nineties, most notably as a relative from the Old World who visits and stays with the (wrong) Barone family in a 1998 episode of Everybody Loves Raymond; her last role was in 2002.

Marriage

She wed Miro Brunetti, a foreign correspondent in Hollywood. The two helped to co-found the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. The couple had one son, Mario. Miro Brunetti died in 1966. Argentina Brunetti never remarried.

Last years and death

She moved to Rome in 2004 to be with her family and passed away on December 20, 2005, aged 98.

Filmography

Gilda (1946) .... Woman (uncredited)
The Return of Monte Cristo (1946) .... (uncredited)
It's a Wonderful Life (1946) .... Mrs. Maria Martini
California (1946) .... Elvira
High Tide (1947) .... Mrs. Cresser
Tycoon (1947) .... Señora Ayora – House Guest (uncredited)
Tenth Avenue Angel (1948) .... Boy's Mother (uncredited)
Man-Eater of Kumaon (1948) .... Sita
Mexican Hayride (1948) .... Indian Woman (uncredited)
Shockproof (1949) .... Stella (uncredited)
Knock on Any Door (1949) .... Ma Romano (uncredited)
El Paso (1949) .... Don Nacho's Woman (uncredited)
We Were Strangers (1949) .... Mother (uncredited)
House of Strangers (1949) .... Applicant (uncredited)
The Red Danube (1949) .... Italian Woman (uncredited)
Holiday in Havana (1949) .... Mrs. Estrada (uncredited)
The Silver Theater (1950, TV Series) .... Mama Romani
The Blonde Bandit (1950) .... Mama Sapelli
Captain Carey, U.S.A. (1950) .... Villager (uncredited)
The Lawless (1950) .... Mrs. Rodriguez
Broken Arrow (1950) .... Nalikadeya, Cochise's Wife (uncredited)
Dial 1119 (1950) .... Bus Passenger (uncredited)
Southside 1–1000 (1950) .... Storekeeper Babo's Wife (uncredited)
Ghost Chasers (1951) .... Mrs. Parelli
The Great Caruso (1951) .... Signora Barretto
Sirocco (1951) .... Woman (uncredited)
Force of Arms (1951) .... Signora Maduvalli (uncredited)
Rose of Cimarron (1952) .... Red Fawn
The Fighter (1952) .... Maria
When in Rome (1952) .... Mrs. Lugacetti
Bal Tabarin (1952) .... Teresa (uncredited)
Apache War Smoke (1952) .... Madre
Woman in the Dark (1952) .... 'Mama' Morello
The Iron Mistress (1952) .... Duenna (uncredited)
Hopalong Cassidy (1952, TV Series) .... Senora Soledad
Racket Squad (1952, TV Series) .... Mrs. Scarpita
My Cousin Rachel (1952) .... Signora (uncredited)
Tropic Zone (1953) .... Tia Feliciana
San Antone (1953) .... Mexican Woman
The Story of Three Loves (1953) .... Saleswoman (segment "Mademoiselle") (scenes deleted)
The Caddy (1953) .... Mama Anthony
King of the Khyber Rifles (1953) .... Lali
Waterfront (1954, TV Series) .... Mama Ferrera
Make Haste to Live (1954) .... Mrs. Gonzales
The Lone Wolf (1954, TV Series) .... Mama Crocetti
The Public Defender (1954, TV Series) .... Mrs. Derek
Lux Video Theatre (1954, TV Series)
The Lone Ranger (1955, TV Series) .... Maria
The Prodigal (1955) .... Townswoman (uncredited)
Hell's Island (1955) .... Pottery Maker (uncredited)
The Far Horizons (1955) .... Old Crone
The Last Command (1955) .... Maria (uncredited)
Jane Wyman Presents The Fireside Theatre (1955, TV Series) .... Mrs. Adams
The Tall Men (1955) .... Maria the Dressmaker (uncredited)
Letter to Loretta (1954–1955, TV Series) .... Mrs. Nardo / Mrs. Ferenzi
The Rains of Ranchipur (1955) .... Mrs. Adoani (uncredited)
TV Reader's Digest (1955, TV Series) .... Mrs. Barrett
The 20th Century-Fox Hour (1956, TV Series) .... Mrs. Rosa Hernandez
Matinee Theatre (1956, TV Series)
Celebrity Playhouse (1956, TV Series)
Anything Goes (1956) .... Suzanne
Telephone Time (1956, TV Series) .... Senora Valdes
Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1956, TV Series) (Season 2 Episode 7: "Alibi Me") .... Mrs. Salvatore
Navy Log (1956, TV Series) .... Mme. Deschamps
Three Violent People (1956) .... Maria
Duel at Apache Wells (1957) .... Tia Maria
The Adventures of Jim Bowie (1957, TV Series) .... Tri Rosa
Panic! (1957, TV Series) .... Tina D'Alessio
Code 3 (1957, TV Series) .... Mrs. Morales
The Unholy Wife (1957) .... Theresa
The Midnight Story (1957) .... Mama Malatesta
The Brothers Rico (1957) .... Mrs. Rico
The Veil (1958, TV Mini-Series) .... Maria
The Thin Man (1958, TV Series) .... Shana Daupha
Showdown at Boot Hill (1958) .... Mrs. Barabbas
M Squad (1959, TV Series) .... Mrs. Doris Michaels
Jet Over the Atlantic (1959) .... Miss Hooten
Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse (1959, TV Series) .... Elena
The Detectives Starring Robert Taylor (1960, TV Series) .... Mrs. Moretti
The Untouchables (1959–1960, TV Series) .... Mrs. Swoboda / Sophia Cestari
General Electric Theater (1960, TV Series) .... Saral
Bonanza (1960, TV Series) .... Bruja's Helper
Rawhide (1960, TV Series) .... Rosa Patines
The Deputy (1960, TV Series) .... Evita
Thriller (1960, TV Series) .... Mrs. Romano
Wanted: Dead or Alive (1960, TV Series) .... Juanita Domingo
The Roaring Twenties (1960, TV Series) .... Mamma Zorich
Coronado 9 (1960, TV Series) .... Mrs. Dominguez
Tales of Wells Fargo (1961, TV Series) .... Maria
Lock Up (1961, TV Series) .... Mrs. Voltaire
Alcoa Presents: One Step Beyond (1960–1961, TV Series) .... Maria Gonzalez / Margarita Castera
Checkmate (1961, TV Series) .... Berta
Wagon Train (1961, TV Series) .... Lisa Canevari
Route 66 (1961, TV Series) .... Senora Maria Otero
The Lawless Years (1961, TV Series) .... Mama Matteo
Miami Undercover (1961, TV Series) .... Mrs. Alemada
The George Raft Story (1961) .... Mrs. Raft
The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis (1961, TV Series) .... Grandmother
The Rifleman (1962, TV Series) .... Mrs. Ramirez
The Horizontal Lieutenant (1962) .... The Nun (uncredited)
The Pigeon That Took Rome (1962) .... Relative at Easter Dinner (uncredited)
The Gallant Men (1962, TV Series) .... Mother Superior
Going My Way (1962–1963, TV Series) .... Mrs. Molletti / Mrs. Severino
General Hospital (1963, TV Series) .... Filomena Soltini (1985–1986)
7 Faces of Dr. Lao (1964) .... Sarah Benedict
Stage to Thunder Rock (1964) .... Sarita
Ben Casey (1965, TV Series) .... Mrs. Sanchez
The Money Trap (1965) .... Aunt
Gunsmoke (1965, TV Series) .... Louise Danby
The F.B.I. (1966, TV Series) .... Tia Rodriguez
The Fugitive (1966, TV Series) .... Mexican Woman
The Andy Griffith Show .... La Farona (1966, TV Series)
The Appaloosa (1966) .... Yaqui woman (uncredited)
The Venetian Affair (1967) .... The Nun (uncredited)
The Invaders (1967, TV Series) .... Luz
The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1967, TV Series) .... Proprietor
Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. (1967, TV Series) .... Cara
The Big Valley (1968, TV Series) .... Maria
I Spy (1968, TV Series) .... Chica
The Shakiest Gun in the West (1968) .... Squaw (uncredited)
Ironside (1968, TV Series) .... Rita's Aunt
The Flying Nun (1969, TV Series) .... Consuelo Gomez / Woman #2
The High Chaparral (1969, TV Series) .... Duena Lopez
To Rome with Love (1970, TV Series) .... Josie
The Barefoot Executive (1971) .... Mrs. Bernaducci (uncredited)
The Streets of San Francisco (1973, TV Series) .... Consuela
Temperatures Rising (1973, TV Series)
The Magician (1974, TV Series) .... Landlady
Kojak (1976, TV Series) .... Christina
Flight to Holocaust (1977, TV Movie) .... Woman in Elevator
Wonder Woman (1977, TV Series) .... Manageress
Black Market Baby (1977, TV Movie) .... Aunt Imelda
Blue Sunshine (1977) .... Mrs. Rosella
Quincy, M.E. (1978, TV Series) .... Mrs. Maggiore
Fantasy Island (1978, TV Series) .... Teresa
Tenspeed and Brown Shoe (1980, TV Series) .... Celeste Diagusta
Fatso (1980) .... Zi Jule
Evita Peron (1981, TV Movie) .... Old woman
The Quest (1982, TV Series)
Joanie Loves Chachi (1983, TV Series) .... Aunt Gina
1st & Ten (1985, TV Series) .... Mama Arcola
Booker (1990, TV Series) .... Grandma Petrelli
The New Adam-12 (1991, TV Series) .... Old Woman on Bus
Lookin' Italian (1998) .... Grandmother
Everybody Loves Raymond (1998, TV Series) .... Zia Sarina
That's Life (2000, TV Series) .... Aunt Rose
The 4th Tenor (2002) .... Neighbor Woman (final film role)

References

^ Baptism act
^ ^a ^b "Argentina Brunetti". The Independent. London. January 2, 2006. Archived from the original on November 1, 2017. Retrieved November 1, 2017.
^ Her father was "Vicente" Ferraù.
^ Estavan, Lawrence (1991). The Italian Theatre in San Francisco. Wildside Press LLC. p. 99. ISBN 9780893704643. Retrieved November 1, 2017.
^ ^a ^b Martone, Eric (2016). Italian Americans: The History and Culture of a People. ABC-CLIO. p. 288. ISBN 9781610699952. Retrieved November 1, 2017.