Pia Zadora(ble)
Having spent virtually her entire life in entertainment and in the public eye, Pia Zadora refers to her early career as being a “Broadway Baby.” Pia was born in 1954 of Italian-American and Polish ancestry. Discovered by Burgess Meredith in an acting class when she was 6 years old, she began her stage career at the age of 7 in Midgie Purvis with the legendary Tallulah Bankhead, followed by a role as Tevye’s (Zero Mostel’s) youngest daughter in the original Broadway production of “Fiddler on the Roof.” It was Bankhead who gave her a life lesson when she told the young Pia: “You do what you want to do.”
These performances, she tells ChanceTV and being on stage helped her to overcome her shyness, which led to countless opportunities on screen and stage. Before “Butterfly” came along, Pia opened for Wayne Newton, Neil Sedaka & Tony Bennett. In “Butterfly“, “Pia is more manipulative and sexy than Marilyn Monroe in “How to Marry a Millionaire.” She is far more earthy even if you can say she has less class. Especially in “Butterfly.” “She is dirt poor but she lives and breathes sex,” according to Cult Film Allee. Pia won the 1982 Golden Globe for Best New Actress for her performance in the film “Butterfly.” Although controversy followed her win, she clarifies fact from fiction stating the award was not “for best actress, but rather Best New Star.”
“[Hollywood} may resent somebody infringing on their territory which is a natural thing. You don’t come out of nowhere and win a Golden Globe! If I were a struggling little actress who won, they’d say, ‘Oh come on, sweetheart. You won! Great!’ and I’d be part of their clique. But no. They don’t have that power over me; I’m not at their mercy. That may be what they resent.” – on her Golden Globe win. It was intended for the performer that made the biggest splash, the biggest impact on the screen, and had the most “charisma”; there is no denying that Pia was the unforgettable new star of 1982. Pia was even considered for the role of Evita Peron in Evita
In 1977, Pia created her own show at the Riviera Hotel in Las Vegas. In 1990, Pia landed the coveted spot of touring with Frank Sinatra and Don Rickles (after Liza Minnelli canceled due to illness.) Her natural connection with Frank Sinatra, while performing at the Riviera in Las Vegas taught her a strong work ethic and to give everything you have to your audience.
“Every night before the show, he’d take my hands in his, look me in the eyes and give me a three-word pep talk: ‘Don’t screw up,’” Zadora said. “He was a taskmaster.” He told her to stick to the standards, which she still does today, “when Frank tells you to do something, you do it.”
Pia scored her first worldwide hit with “When the Rain Begins to Fall“, a duet with Jermaine Jackson.
In 1984, her song “Rock It Out” earned a Grammy nomination for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance. Among her fellow nominees: Lita Ford, Bonnie Tyler, Wendy O. Williams and eventual winner Tina Turner.
Her newly released “All or Nothing at All” is proof she carries that advice today. All of her songs still stick to the standards, and are ones “you will really enjoy playing when you have friends over or having a cocktail party”.
in 2013, Pia opened her own cabaret room, named Pia’s Place, in the legendary Piero’s Restaurant in Las Vegas. You will enjoy her conversation with Chance as she discusses what it was like working with legendary stars like Sinatra, Don Rickles, Telly Savalas and Desi Arnez Jr.
Pia jokes she is the first actress to leave a show business hospital with the same breasts she came in with; an arrest that made national headlines, and a near fatal golf cart accident; yet somehow she has weathered it all and for the past several years has one of the most successful nightclub acts in Las Vegas.
Pia Zadora has lived a life that surpasses anything written in Hollywood. See below, the spectacular statement Pia made to ChanceTV that left him blown him away & wanting to headline it on his own IMDB page.
“I probably would be jealous of myself”
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