It’s generally agreed that the most popular Italian-American in Hollywood were from the seventies and the eighties. That’s because they were often first generation from immigrant parents and the link to their roots still very well regarded in their life.
Younger generations often have it in the name but sometime they have lost touch with most of the traditions, and, as we have discovered in this very section of the paper, it takes a journey to the Old Country to reconnect with their ancestors.
But the most famous, like DeNiro and Pacino, come from a time when there was a real pride in claiming one’s own heritage, whatever that may be. Some of those stars are not working as much today as they once were, having reached the peak of popularity in the nineties; but they are definitely not forgotten by those of us who grew up watching them on the big screen.
Among these fine actors is Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio who hit big with her first role in the immortal picture Scarface directed by Brian De Palma. She played Tony Montana’s sweet and overprotected sister, whose fate would be determined by her brother’s actions.
Mary Elizabeth was born in Lombard, Illinois to first generation Italian-American parents, Mary Dominica Pagone and Frank Mastrantonio. All of her grandparents were immigrant from Italy, Augusto and Adelia on her father’s side and Vito Pagone and Anna Cici Scotti on her mother side. Vito was born in Bari, capital of the beautiful Apulia region.
Mary Elizabeth and her five sisters grew up in Oak Park, a working class area in the Chicago suburbs, known for being the home town of Ernest Hemingway and hub of many of the picturesque homes designed by distinguished architect Frank Lloyd Wright. To Mary living in a proletariat environment meant developing a tough skin from an early age, which came handy in the portrayal of strong-willed women in her career.
Mastrantonio recently made a long awaited come back to the screen, on tv to be precise which is where a lot of stars have been turning to lately, in the tense mini series Hostages. She played the First Lady caught in a complicated scheme to assassinate the President of the United States. In the audience’s memory still fresh was her more fascinating role to date, that of Maid Marian in Kevin Costner’s Robin Hood Prince of Thieves. And let’s not forget that she’s an Oscar nominee actress for The Color of Money, Martin Scorsese’s follow up to The Hustler with Paul Newman reprising the role of Fast Eddie.
Mastrantonio has nothing but kind words to share about the late actor; surprisingly though she’s not very fond of some of the successful films she took part in. She’s incredibly honest about how the movies she made actually turned out. In the case of Robin Hood she admits of an inconsistent pace, a movie full of great moments but that could have been better tied up. She’s also very open about her conflictual relationship with perfectionist director James Cameron on the set of another classic, The Abyss.
It becomes apparent that her criticism is born out of a true passion for the art, with a first love really being live theatre. She often describes her experience in Hollywood as a mean to an end; her participation in a huge Hollywood production as a way to fund and allow her to do the many plays she loves. This would explain why at the end of the eighties she didn’t have any problem leaving Hollywood behind and moved with her husband Pat O’Connor, who directed her in The January man, to London where she could still act, but dedicate more time to what really mattered to her. She raised a family and she cultivated her passion for theatre.
In 2009 she reawaken her roots in the play A view from the bridge, one of lesser known works by playwright Arthur Miller. The story is set in 1950’s in an Italian-American neighborhood of Brooklyn.
Mastrantonio played the neglected wife of the tragic protagonist Eddie Carbone, played by Scottish actor Ken Stott, who is also half-Italian, his mother being from Sicily. The character has an obsession and an affection that goes beyond paternal duties for his seventeen year old niece, who’s been living with them since her mother passed away at childbirth. To complicate the situation two illegal immigrants from Italy come to stay at the Carbone household and their presence risks to reveal secrets and lies of the family. The revival was so successful that subsequently toured the UK.
After more than twenty years living in London, Mastrantonio and her family have moved back to America, hopefully it means that we will get to see more of this classy actress in the future. A new film called Amok, the directorial debut of actor R.E. Rodgers, is already in post production and it will feature her as the female lead.
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