Teresa Mara Levis (June 6, 1923 – October 30, 1999), better known as Teresa Celli, was an American lyric soprano who apprenticed at

La Scala La Scala (, , ; officially , ) is a historic opera house in Milan, Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as (, which previously was Santa Maria della Scala, Milan, a church). The premiere performa ...

before achieving recognition in films such as ''

The Asphalt Jungle ''The Asphalt Jungle'' is a 1950 American heist film noir directed and cowritten by John Huston and starring Sterling Hayden, Louis Calhern, Jean Hagen, James Whitmore, Sam Jaffe, John McIntire and Marilyn Monroe in one of her earliest role ...

'' (1950) and '' Black Hand (1950)''.

Formative years and family

Celli was born on June 6, 1923, as Teresa Levis in

Dysart, Pennsylvania Dysart is an unincorporated community located in Dean Township, Cambria County, Pennsylvania, United States. The community lies along the railroad that runs parallel to the Clearfield Creek between Ashville and Frugality. The town grew up aroun ...

, in the United States. One of ten children born to an Italian family, she relocated with her family to

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

when she was just five years old because her father had inherited an estate there. Her grandmother, Maria Scagnet, and her great-grandmother, Mme. Duval Celli, both sang opera, and it was from the latter that Teresa Levis took her professional last name, "Celli." While she lived in Italy, Celli was a student of soprano Ersilde Cervi Caroli. Under his mentorship, she became active in both opera and dramatic productions. Sometime during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, she returned to the United States, but then returned to Italy when the war ended. She later became the first wife of actor Barry Nelson, and was married to him from 1951 to 1965.

Music and film career

During the early years of her performance career, Celli was under contract with Italy's renowned opera house,

. Her American radio debut occurred on March 5, 1949, on the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

program ''Star Theater'' with Frank Sinatra. Celli's film debut came in ''

Border Incident ''Border Incident'' is a 1949 American film noir featuring Ricardo Montalbán, George Murphy, and Howard Da Silva. Directed by Anthony Mann, the MGM production was written by John C. Higgins from a story by John C. Higgins and George Zuckerman. ...

'' (1949). In 1950, she appeared in ''

'', which was later nominated for four

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence in ...

, with

Gene Kelly Eugene Curran Kelly (August 23, 1912 – February 2, 1996) was an American dancer, actor, singer, director and choreographer. He was known for his energetic and athletic dancing style and sought to create a new form of American dance accessibl ...

in ''

Black Hand Black Hand or The Black Hand may refer to: Extortionists and underground groups * Black Hand (), 1919–1924 Mexican-American raiders of the Tierra Amarilla Land Grant * Black Hand (anarchism) (), a presumed secret, anarchist organization based ...

'' and in ''

Right Cross ''Right Cross'' is a 1950 American sports drama film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, directed by John Sturges, written by Charles Schnee and starring June Allyson, Ricardo Montalbán, Dick Powell, Lionel Barrymore and (in a small uncredi ...

'' with

Ricardo Montalbán Ricardo Gonzalo Pedro Montalbán y Merino, KSG ( ; ; November 25, 1920 – January 14, 2009) was a Mexican and American film and television actor. Montalbán's career spanned seven decades, during which he became widely known for performances ...

. Under contract to

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

, she was subsequently given a leave of absence to return to Italy for three months of additional operatic training that same year. That trip was postponed, however, when Celli was cast by

Peter Herman Adler Peter Herman Adler (2 December 1899, Jablonec nad Nisou, Gablonz an der Neiße, Bohemia – 2 October 1990, Ridgefield, Connecticut) was an American conducting, conductor born in Austria-Hungary in Gablonz an der Neiße, which is now in the Czec ...

in ''

The Great Caruso ''The Great Caruso'' is a 1951 biographical film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and starring Mario Lanza as famous operatic tenor Enrico Caruso. The movie was directed by Richard Thorpe and produced by Joe Pasternak with Jesse L. Lasky as ass ...

'' in August 1950; the film was released in 1951.

Later years

During her mid-sixties, Celli relocated to

Clearwater, Florida Clearwater is a city and the county seat of Pinellas County, Florida, United States, west of Tampa, Florida, Tampa and north of St. Petersburg, Florida, St. Petersburg. To the west of Clearwater lies the Gulf of Mexico and to the southeast lies T ...

, where she spent her remaining years and became a member of that community's Church of Christ.

Death

Celli died at her home in Clearwater, Florida, on October 30, 1999, at the age of seventy-six.Ancestry LifeStory: Teresa Mara Levis
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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Celli, Teresa 1923 births 1999 deaths Actresses from Pennsylvania American film actresses American radio actresses 20th-century American actresses Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract players