# Pia Zadora thread, 80s would be starlet **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 5, 2026, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pia-zadora-thread-80s-would-be-starlet/1029812 "2026-05-05T18:14:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2026, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pia-zadora-thread-80s-would-be-starlet/1029812/61 "2026-05-13T06:28:05Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > ETA: and now I saw that the white gang’s bikes were BMWs. Already the most uncool granddaddy bikes in the 80s. With tassels on the grips. Nothing says tough biker like white tassels on your grips. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2026, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pia-zadora-thread-80s-would-be-starlet/1029812/62 "2026-05-13T15:49:09Z")
The video was directed by Bob Girardi who also directed the _Beat It_ vid for MIchael Jackson. Which is weird because it looks like someone watched the _Beat It_ video and then did a terrible job imitating it. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2026, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pia-zadora-thread-80s-would-be-starlet/1029812/63 "2026-05-13T21:57:24Z")
Despite living through Pia Zador’s meteoric rise to stardom, I couldn’t recall why I knew the name until this thread. It’s been more than 30 years since I’ve seen a Naked Gun movie, so I forgot she was in one of them, and I don’t think I can think of anything else I’ve ever seen her in. She sounds like a more successful version of Angelyne. ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2026, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pia-zadora-thread-80s-would-be-starlet/1029812/64 "2026-05-13T23:18:24Z")
If that’s actually her singing in “Naked Gun”, she’s got an impressive set of pipes for that pint-sized body. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2026, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pia-zadora-thread-80s-would-be-starlet/1029812/65 "2026-05-14T04:36:32Z")
It’s beyond me how Pia Zadora has been singled out as a particularly bad actress during a decade (1980s) notorious for bad actresses. All should be forgiven after delivering _the_ funniest line in _Hairspray_. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2026, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pia-zadora-thread-80s-would-be-starlet/1029812/66 "2026-05-14T04:42:54Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > It’s beyond me how Pia Zamora has been singled out as a particularly bad actress during a decade (1980s) notorious for bad actresses. If you’ve read the thread, a whole lot of it isn’t necessarily about just her lack of talent, but the fact that her husband spent a whole lot of money to get visibility, acting roles, and a Golden Globe Award for his trophy-bride wife who wasn’t a particularly good actor. Also: _ **Zadora** _, not “Zamora.” ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2026, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pia-zadora-thread-80s-would-be-starlet/1029812/67 "2026-05-14T10:41:50Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > If you’ve read the thread, a whole lot of it isn’t necessarily about just her lack of talent, but the fact that her husband spent a whole lot of money to get visibility, acting roles, and a Golden Globe Award for his trophy-bride wife I’m shocked! That sort of thing _never_ happens in Hollywood! ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2026, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pia-zadora-thread-80s-would-be-starlet/1029812/68 "2026-05-14T11:52:49Z")
I’d say it this way. Every cause needs a poster child. The child chosen is rarely the most deserving; usually just the most convenient. For those of us from that era, Zadora is the poster child for the whole “young low talent starlet plus rich old connected sugar daddy” genre. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2026, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pia-zadora-thread-80s-would-be-starlet/1029812/69 "2026-05-14T12:11:04Z")
I know her by name, but I honestly couldn’t tell you anything about her. I couldn’t tell you (as it seems) that she was known for being a bad actress. She was one of those names that was out in the pop cultural ether when I was growing up in the 80s, but I can’t even bring her face to mind. My mind always had her filed away as somebody from Old Hollywood or something. Her name just sounded old-timey to me. I feel like I was conflating her with Zsa Zsa Gabor, perhaps. Looking at her filmography, I do see I’ve apparently seen her in the Naked Gun 33 1/3 movie. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2026, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pia-zadora-thread-80s-would-be-starlet/1029812/70 "2026-05-14T12:40:43Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I know her by name, but I honestly couldn’t tell you anything about her. I could tell you that I went _years_ thinking her name was P. Isadora without ever wondering/caring what the P stood for 😃 I couldn’t have recognized her in a film or a lineup, I’d just hear the name sometimes on TV and think it was P. Isadora. I never read any celebrity news so never saw it in writing. I think it was in the 2000s that I actually saw it in writing and say “Oh, shit, wait…” ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2026, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pia-zadora-thread-80s-would-be-starlet/1029812/71 "2026-05-14T13:54:15Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > I’d say it this way. Every cause needs a poster child. The child chosen is rarely the most deserving; usually just the most convenient. > > For those of us from that era, Zadora is the poster child for the whole “young low talent starlet plus rich old connected sugar daddy” genre. Well, she was the most “deserving” in the sense that she got far more exposure & money spent on her career than most untalented starlets. Two starring roles with decent casts, press junkets at Cannes, etc. Most sugar daddies just spend enough to keep young starlet from moving on, Riklis spent like he was trying to make her a full-time A-lister. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2026, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pia-zadora-thread-80s-would-be-starlet/1029812/72 "2026-05-14T14:18:33Z")
My first encounter with PZ was her appearance in Penthouse Magazine, which did mention the golden globes-sugar daddy thing. That’s all I really knew of her until MST3K riffed on her in Santa Claus Conquers the Martians. I know I saw Naked Gun 3 but have no memory of it, so I don’t count that. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2026, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pia-zadora-thread-80s-would-be-starlet/1029812/73 "2026-05-14T14:53:41Z")
At the time, Pia was no better or worse than any up and coming/wannabe starlet. Morgan Fairchild wasn’t much better. Sheena Easton? And the aforementioned Angelyne - what was she, nothing but a billboard? She didn’t even HAVE a career. But if you lived in LA (or watched Moonlighting 🙂 ) you’d think she was something. So at the time, we could think, OK, _The Lonely Lady_ may be not all that great, but you gotta start somewhere. But she never got any farther that starting. Not only didn’t she become the next Julia Roberts, she didn’t even become the next Cyndi Lauper. > [@BlankSlate](#): > > The video was directed by Bob Girardi who also directed the _Beat It_ vid for MIchael Jackson. Which is weird because it looks like someone watched the _Beat It_ video and then did a terrible job imitating it. I detected a little Beat It and Thriller, but maybe that’s just the look of dancing fights. Was that supposed to be some post-apocalyptic Thunderdome world (but with working washing machines) or just a bunch of doofusses who like to ride around deserted deserts? ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2026, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pia-zadora-thread-80s-would-be-starlet/1029812/74 "2026-05-15T04:08:50Z")
> [@MagicEyes](#): > > I do remember a video of her wading around in a shallow pool in a very shocking swimsuit in front of a big crowd of photographers. It was very weird. Cannes Film Festival, 1982. Shocking, all right: the swimsuit consisted of a cord that went up her buttcrack and around her waist – before anyone had really heard of thongs – and attached to a panel in front that was like the front half of a one-piece/maillot, but smaller. (I’m going into so much detail because something won’t allow me to link to the photos I found. I mean, her **entire ass** is on display, except for the Great Divide.) And to be honest, she had an okay figure, but not the best in the _world_. What she had was the guts to be the center of attention, wearing that, so that’s what it got her: attention. Not credibility. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2026, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pia-zadora-thread-80s-would-be-starlet/1029812/75 "2026-05-15T10:49:41Z")
The Cannes film festival swimsuit show was in 1981. I live at a beach. I’ve seen women wearing a bunch less this week and every week. For 1981 = 45 years ago, that suit was pretty outré. Front view: > **[Pia Zadora attends a photocall promoting her film Butterfly during...](https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/pia-zadora-attends-a-photocall-promoting-her-film-news-photo/513404581)** > > Pia Zadora attends a photocall promoting her film Butterfly during the Cannes Film Festival circa May 1982 in Cannes, France. Rear view not previewed. NSF for exceptionally prudish Workplaces. Female rump on display: **[L’actrice américaine Pia Zadora lors du Festival de Cannes en mai… News Photo - Getty Images](https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/actrice-am%C3%A9ricaine-pia-zadora-lors-du-festival-de-cannes-en-news-photo/850845328)**. But definitely worth a click if you like such things. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2026, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pia-zadora-thread-80s-would-be-starlet/1029812/76 "2026-05-15T11:35:29Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > But definitely worth a click if you like such things. The best thing about that photo is the girl staring resentfully at Pia Zadora wishing she would just get out of the pool already so she could have a swim. “Some of us are just trying to enjoy our holiday - it’s not all about you Pia!” ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2026, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pia-zadora-thread-80s-would-be-starlet/1029812/77 "2026-05-15T17:34:52Z")
Exactly what I noticed. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2026, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pia-zadora-thread-80s-would-be-starlet/1029812/78 "2026-05-15T23:02:56Z")
Maybe she was the next actress in line to be photographed by the horde of newsguys. And was feeling pretty upstaged right about then in what otherwise would’ve been a stunningly eensy weensy floral pretty pattern bikini. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2026, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pia-zadora-thread-80s-would-be-starlet/1029812/79 "2026-05-16T18:53:13Z")
Nah, she was either a tween or young teenager to my eye. Her hair was disheveled and wet, and she was draped in a towel, so they probably kicked everyone out of the pool (pond? I don’t want to sound like Trump, ha!) so Pia could do her strut. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2026, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pia-zadora-thread-80s-would-be-starlet/1029812/80 "2026-05-16T19:23:58Z")
I recall Letterman having a difficult time trying to pronounce her name when intorducing her. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pia-zadora-thread-80s-would-be-starlet/1029812.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pia-zadora-thread-80s-would-be-starlet/1029812.md?page=5)