Pamela Tiffin Wonso (October 13, 1942 – December 2, 2020) was an American film and television actress.

Early life

Tiffin was born in Oklahoma City to Stanley Wonso and Grace Irene (Tiffin) Wonso of Russian and British ancestry, but grew up in suburban Chicago, where she achieved success as a teen model. She attended Hunter College and appeared in a short film, ''Music of Williamsburg'' (1960).

Hollywood career

Tiffin was vacationing in Hollywood when she visited the Paramount Pictures lot at the age of 19. She was spotted by producer

Hal B. Wallis Harold Brent Wallis (born Aaron Blum Wolowicz; October 19, 1898 – October 5, 1986) was an American film producer. He is best known for producing '' Casablanca'' (1942), '' The Adventures of Robin Hood'' (1938), and ''True Grit'' (1969), along ...

, who had her

screen test A screen test is a method of determining the suitability of an actor or actress for performing on film or in a particular role. The performer is generally given a scene, or selected lines and actions, and instructed to perform in front of a came ...

ed. This led to her being cast in the film version of ''

Summer and Smoke ''Summer and Smoke'' is a two-part, thirteen-scene play by Tennessee Williams, completed in 1948. He began working on the play in 1945 as ''Chart of Anatomy'', derived from his short stories "Oriflamme" and the then-work-in-progress "Yellow Bir ...

'' (1961). She then played the daughter of James Cagney's boss in the comedy ''

One, Two, Three ''One, Two, Three'' is a 1961 American political comedy film directed by Billy Wilder and written by Wilder and I. A. L. Diamond. It is based on the 1929 Hungarian one-act play ''Egy, kettő, három'' by Ferenc Molnár, with a "plot borrowed par ...

'' (1961), directed by

Billy Wilder Billy Wilder (; ; born Samuel Wilder; June 22, 1906 – March 27, 2002) was an Austrian-American filmmaker. His career in Hollywood spanned five decades, and he is regarded as one of the most brilliant and versatile filmmakers of Classic Hol ...

who called her "the biggest find since Audrey Hepburn". She earned a Golden Globe nomination for this film as well as one for ''Summer and Smoke''. 20th Century Fox gave her the leading role in the musical ''

State Fair A state fair is an annual competitive and recreational gathering of a U.S. state's population, usually held in late summer or early fall. It is a larger version of a county fair, often including only exhibits or competitors that have won in th ...

'' (1962), a remake of an earlier film, where she was romanced by

Bobby Darin Bobby Darin (born Walden Robert Cassotto; May 14, 1936 – December 20, 1973) was an American musician and actor. He performed jazz, pop, rock and roll, folk, swing, and country music. He started his career as a songwriter for Connie ...

and directed by

José Ferrer José Vicente Ferrer de Otero y Cintrón (January 8, 1912 – January 26, 1992) was a Puerto Rican actor and director of stage, film and television. He was one of the most celebrated and esteemed Hispanic American actors during his lifetime, w ...

. She was one of the three leads in MGM's comedy '' Come Fly with Me'' (1963). Tiffin studied at Columbia and continued to model. She guest starred on '' The Fugitive'' and filmed a pilot for Fox, ''Three in Manhattan'', that was not picked up. She made two films with

James Darren James William Ercolani (born June 8, 1936) known by his stage name James Darren, is an American television and film actor, television director, and singer. During the late 1950s and early 1960s, he had notable starring and supporting roles in fi ...

, both aimed at teen audiences: '' For Those Who Think Young'' (1964) and '' The Lively Set'' (1964). Fox put her in another remake, '' The Pleasure Seekers'' (1964), a new version of '' Three Coins in the Fountain''. She co-starred with Burt Lancaster in the 1965 western ''

The Hallelujah Trail ''The Hallelujah Trail'' is a 1965 American Western mockumentary spoof directed by John Sturges, with top-billed stars Burt Lancaster, Lee Remick, Jim Hutton and Pamela Tiffin. It was based on the book of the same title (originally released as ...

'' and went to Italy where she appeared in a segment of '' Kiss the Other Sheik'' (1965) with Marcello Mastroianni. She returned to make the private-detective film '' Harper'' (1966) with Paul Newman. She then performed in '' Dinner at Eight'' on Broadway.

Italy

Giornata nera per l'ariete (1971) - Pamela Tiffin

In 1967, Tiffin decided to move to Italy "to find out what I want". She appeared in ''

The Almost Perfect Crime ''The Almost Perfect Crime'', also known as ''Delitto quasi perfetto'' and ''Imperfect Murder'', is a 1966 Italian crime-comedy film written and directed by Mario Camerini. Cast * Philippe Leroy: Paolo Respighi * Pamela Tiffin: Annie Robson ...

'' (1966) with Philippe Leroy; '' The Protagonists'' (1968); '' Torture Me But Kill Me with Kisses'' (1968), a hugely popular comedy; and '' The Archangel'' (1969) with Vittorio Gassman. The February 1969 issue of ''

Playboy ''Playboy'' is an American men's Lifestyle magazine, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from H ...

'' did a photo feature titled "A Toast to Tiffin". She made her first American film in two years when she played a liberal college student and the love interest to Peter Ustinov in the comedy ''

Viva Max! ''Viva Max!'' is a 1969 comedy film directed by Jerry Paris and starring Peter Ustinov, Jonathan Winters and John Astin. The film was written by Elliott Baker and based on the 1966 novel of the same name by James Lehrer. Plot Riding a white h ...

'' (1969). She performed ''

Uncle Vanya ''Uncle Vanya'' ( rus, Дя́дя Ва́ня, r=Dyádya Ványa, p=ˈdʲædʲə ˈvanʲə) is a play by the Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. It was first published in 1898, and was first produced in 1899 by the Moscow Art Theatre under the dir ...

'' on stage and was in an episode of ''The Survivors''. Tiffin returned to Italy to appear in '' Cose di Cosa Nostra'' (1971), '' No One Will Notice You're Naked'' (1971), '' The Fifth Cord'' (aka Evil Fingers) (1971), '' E se per caso una mattina...'' (1972), ''

Deaf Smith & Johnny Ears ''Deaf Smith & Johnny Ears'', also known as ''Los Amigos'', is a 1973 Spaghetti Western film starring Anthony Quinn and Franco Nero. The film is loosely based on the life of Deaf Smith, with direction by Paolo Cavara. Plot The Republic of Texas ...

'' (1973), '' Kill Me, My Love!'' (1973) with

Farley Granger Farley Earle Granger Jr. (July 1, 1925 – March 27, 2011) was an American actor, best known for his two collaborations with director Alfred Hitchcock: ''Rope'' in 1948 and '' Strangers on a Train'' in 1951. Granger was first noticed in a small ...

, '' La signora è stata violentata!'' (1973), and '' Brigitte, Laura, Ursula, Monica, Raquel, Litz, Florinda, Barbara, Claudia, e Sofia le chiamo tutte... anima mia'' (1974). She returned to Hollywood briefly to appear in the TV movie '' The Last of the Powerseekers'' (1971). She appeared as herself in a 2003 documentary, ''Abel Ferrara: Not Guilty'', opposite her daughter Echo Danon. She released a memoir, ''Daring: My Passages'' with Gail Sheehy in 2014 and a biography of her life, ''Pamela Tiffin: Hollywood to Rome'', was written by Tom Lisanti in 2015.

Personal life

Tiffin married twice. Her first marriage was to

Clay Felker Clay Schuette Felker (October 2, 1925 – July 1, 2008) was an American magazine editor and journalist who co-founded ''New York'' magazine in 1968. He was known for bringing numerous journalists into the profession. ''The New York Times'' wrote ...

, an American magazine editor, whom she married in 1962 and divorced in 1969. Her second marriage was to Edmondo Danon, a philosopher, who is a son of the Italian movie producer Marcello Danon. They married in 1974 and had two daughters, Echo and Aurora. Tiffin died on December 2, 2020, in a

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

hospital, at the age of 78 from natural causes.

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tiffin, Pamela 1942 births 2020 deaths 20th-century American actresses Actresses from New York City Actresses from Oklahoma City American expatriates in Italy American female models American film actresses American people of British descent American people of Russian descent American stage actresses American television actresses Hunter College alumni Theatre World Award winners 21st-century American women