#gabriella licudi

[weirdlookindog]

Unearthly Stranger (1963)

[erstwhile-punk-guerito]

[pop-art-sixties-seventies]

Gabriella Licudi, 1962.

[sasa-chan]

Casino Royale (1967)

Starring:

David Niven, Peter Sellers, Ursula Andress, Woody Allen, Joanna Pettet, Orson Welles, Daliah Lavi, George Raft, Deborah Kerr, William Holden, Charles Boyer, Jean-Paul Belmondo, John Huston, Terence Cooper, Barbara Bouchet, Gabriella Licudi, Graham Stark, Tracy Reed, Tracey Crisp, Kurt Kasznar, Elaine Taylor, Angela Scoular

Directed By:

John Huston, Ken Hughes, Robert Parrish, Joe McGrath, Val Guest

Genre:

Comedy

Rating:

Not Rated

Run Time:

2 Hours 17 Minutes

Release Date:

13 April 1967 (London)

28 April 1967 (United States)

Synopsis:

This wacky send-up of James Bond films stars David Niven as the iconic debonair spy, now retired and living a peaceful existence. Bond is called back into duty when the mysterious organization SMERSH begins assassinating British secret agents. Ridiculous circumstances lead to the involvement of a colorful cast of characters, including the villainous Le Chiffre (Orson Welles), seasoned gambler Evelyn Tremble (Peter Sellers) and Bond's bumbling nephew, Jimmy Bond (Woody Allen).

[serienoire]

gabriella licudi

[mariocki]

Special Branch: Double Exposure (4.1, Thames, 1974)

"So what're you gonna say?"

"Well I thought I might tell him the truth! That I'm afraid of becoming personally involved, and... I think I might not be able to do the job properly."

"Is the lady wealthy?"

"No, why?"

"Well, she might finish up keeping you. At least until you get another job."

[interfusor]

[scifipinups]

[groupiesoutrageously]

Remembering Lady Geneviève Waïte (1948-2019)

Born as Genevieve Weight in Cape Town, South Africa, in the sixties Waïte (who had changed her name to something more artistic) was described as “South Africa’s Twiggy.” Wanting to distance herself from the violence and hatred of apartheid South Africa, Waïte moved to London, England, when she was 19. She had her breakthrough in the 1968 counterculture film Joanna, in the controversial title role which was almost given to Kathy Simmonds and Gabriella Licudi. Waïte gained overnight fame and started mingling with celeb royalty such as Mick Jagger and The Mamas & the Papas frontman John Phillips, whom she met through Joanna’s director Michael Sarne. She lived at the Chelsea Hotel for some time, hung out at Andy Warhol’s Factory and was featured on Vogue. 

After three-and-a-half years together and a child, Waïte and Phillips were married on 31 January 1972. They had two children, Tamerlane (b. 1971) and Bijou (b. 1980). Phillips had previously been married twice, to Susan Adams (mother of Jeffrey and Mackenzie Phillips) and Michelle Phillips (also a member of The Mamas & the Papas and mother of Chynna Phillips). Their close circle of friends included Mick and Bianca Jagger, Princess Margaret of England, Joni Mitchell, Jack Nicholson and John Paul Getty, Jr., among many others. 

In 1974, Waïte released her debut album Romance Is on the Rise, produced by Phillips. With cover art by Richard Avedon and recordings of “Slumming on Park Avenue” and “Femme Fatale”, the album was fairly well-received and later included on Paul Gambaccini’s list Top 200 Albums of All Time. Waïte performed renditions of the song “Love is Coming Back” in the movies The Man Who Fell to Earth (starring David Bowie, 1976) and Just a Kiss (2002).

Waïte had minor roles in Myra Breckinridge (1970) and Move (1970). Her last acting credit was in a short film titled Short Distance, in 1989. She was a muse and collaborator to husband Phillips, who wrote songs such as “Lady Genevieve” and “Let It Bleed, Genevieve” (which explores Waïtes sexual curiosity and her desire to be reborn as a man). The title of his 1970 album, John, the Wolfking of L.A., was taken from a poem written by Waïte. Together the couple conceived the idea for a musical space opera titled Space, which was initally considered as a followup to the 1979 film version of Hair. Instead it was made into an unsuccessful Broadway play, produced by Andy Warhol, directed by Paul Morrissey and starring Waïte. 

Waïte and Phillips lived with friends Keith Richards and Anita Pallenberg in the late seventies, heavily abusing drugs and alcohol. The situation was so bad that their son Tamerlane was sent to live with Phillips’ ex-wife Michelle. After many struggles, Waïte and Phillips entered rehab together in the early 1980s, following the unexpected birth of their daughter Bijou. However their marriage continued to deteriorate and they were divorced sometime between 1985 and 1987. Waïte later remarried to Norman Butaine. She kept a low profile life out of the spotlights, but remained close to her daughter Bijou, who became a model and an actress. 

On 18 May 2019, Waïte passed away in her sleep. She was 71. Her death was announced days later by Bijou on social media, who wrote:

“Our beautiful Mother Geneviève Waïte Phillips, passed away in her sleep. She was a beautiful soul, and born from another planet. Her ideas, her songs, her voice, and her heart beat to a beautiful African rhythm no one else had and I am so thankful she was able to share it. She was a light, a fairy, and a gift of a creature. The lyrics she wrote on her album were timeless and smart. Her mind was poetry and wit, her sense of humor was quick and dry. She was like a child in a way, who was too smart for her own good. My father and mother had a magical, wonderful, heartbreaking life together but they created a masterpiece of music (Romance Is on the Rise) and I’m so honored to be their child. My mother’s role in Joanna was ground breaking for racial divides... My mother was a gift and I will miss her everyday. In everything I cook, and in everything I sing, and in everything I do without her wise guidance... My brothers and sisters are all grieving. It’s nice thinking she is with our Dad, dancing around heaven...”

Waïte’s obituary on the Los Angeles Times reads, “[...] unique singing voice, described as “Betty Boop crossed with Billie Holiday”, and a comedic persona that had the air of Marilyn Monroe’s dizziness, belied her wit and bookish intellect.”

[serienoire]

gabriella licudi

[mudwerks]

25 REASONS TO WATCH OLDE MOVIES Part 06

Claudia Jennings 

Dawn Wells 

Fay Wray

Gabriella Licudi

[ozu-teapot]

Casino Royale | Various | 1967

Deborah Kerr, Gabriella Licudi, Alexandra Bastedo, et al.

[mudwerks]

Gabriella Licudi, 1966

...for "The Last Safari"