I remember when she was desperately trying to be relevant. I felt sorry for her, as she was clearly way out of her lane.
But she was cute. That can sometimes be enough.
She was, indeed, kind of cute, though Hollywood is full of attractive – and more talented – actors who never get a break. Had she not been married to Meshulam Riklis, a rather sketchy businessman who clearly spent money to gain visibility for her, she probably would have had, at best, a few small acting roles.
John Waters once asked her why she showed up to accept her Razzies award for worst actress. She replied “I’d hate to be nominated and not get it!” Wotta gal!
Yes; in Night Court a fellow who thought he was God said “Some people I give wisdom. Some people I give talent. Pia Zadora I gave nothing.”
For sure. No debate whatever.
Her only real talent was happening to trip Riklis’s trigger and him being in a position to buy his way into her pants and her way into his pictures. She seemed OK with the whole charade, not taking herself too seriously.
It happened that she’s a couple years older than I, and whatever quirky cuteness she had (has?) happened to trip my trigger as well. And her “heyday” loosely speaking coincided with my immediate post-college high interest in women phase.
So IMO and IME she was fun to watch, even as she was making a hash of whatever she was doing.
You spell it S-A-N-T-A-C-L-A-U-S, hooray for Santy Claus!
I’ve never decided whether Pia Zadora herself wanted to be famous, or Riklis had a Citizen Kane complex, decided she would be a star, and she good-naturedly did it to please him. Her reaction to the Razzie awards (multiple) is certainly healthy, although she seems to be serious about her musical career.
It is cool, although she was born Pia Alfreda Schipani. Zadora was adapted from her mother’s surname, Zadorowski.
I was surprised to learn that she’s from Hoboken, New Jersey. I’ve never seen any of her films, so I assumed she was from Greece or Italy or wherever and spoke with a cute accent. Also, her looks always reminded me of Yeardley Smith.
Oh gosh do I have a Pia Zadora story.
When Butterfly came out, there were various screenings before its release. The National Board of Review held a screening in New York City. I was studying Film at School of Visual Arts. There were a few passes sent to film schools around the city for each movie screened. I picked up a pass and went to see the film. It was an abomination of mediocrity. HOWEVER, it featured a cameo role by Orson Welles. 
Ms. Zadora was on stage as well as, I believe, the Director of the film. When Q&A started, I waved my hand and asked the logical question:
" Can you tell us what it was like to do a scene with Orson Welles? "
She giggled into her mic. Then she said, " Oh !! He was just a big teddy bear !! "
And…then…said nothing else. Swear to God, the room was utterly quiet. She had nothing to share, no awareness of what a remarkable little bit of cinematic history she’d participated in. No anecdote. Nothing.
I sat down. People around me were just shaking their heads in disbelief.
She was a child actor, in the noted Santa Claus…, and a few other roles, so she, or her parents, wanted her to be…something before she met her husband.
I used to collect movie posters, back when I had extra money to spend on foolish hobbies, and occasionally someone who had worked at a movie theater and had amassed a horde of posters that they wanted to be rid of, I would buy their collection for a buck apiece. In one such bunch was a one-sheet (27" x 41") from Pia Zadora’s starring vehicle from 1983, “The Lonely Lady.” Based on a steamy Harold Robbins novel, it was an industry joke and a box office flop. Recently someone sold one on a poster auction site for $2. Should I sell mine I might realize a 100% profit!
I somehow doubt it.
All I remember about Pia Zadora is her second movie was Ray Liotta’s first role, as the guy who (spoilered because it’s foul and horrible) sexually assaulted her with a garden hose.
I have heard of Pia Zadora, but I haven’t seen most of her movies. 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.
Her comment could’ve just as easily been attributed to her vapidity as to an awareness that Welles’ best-known movie features a storyline in which a tycoon bankrolls and promotes the career of his untalented mistress/wife, with disastrous results. Saying anything other than what she said could’ve opened her up to many uncomfortable questions.
I’ve wondered if Pia ever studied with a respected acting coach.
It seemed like she tried a short-cut by using her husband’s wealth to get parts.
That’s backwards.
It seems like that rich guy bought himself a pet young woman and then put her in pictures he created and bankrolled for the purpose of putting her into. Or at least that’s what both of them said all along.
You’ve got it backwards.
She used her husband’s parts to get wealth.
That has always been my take on her acting career, as well, and all of the evidence points that way. She was – at least in her husband’s mind – a trophy bride, and he tried to buy her an acting career.
Yeah, Pia Zadora was surely less talented and less established before her relationship than Marion Davies was at a similar point. But both Meshulam Riklis and William Randolph Hearst give an impression of definitely pushing the careers of their respective sweethearts out of their own fascination. Hard to say how much of a predatory gold digger Zadora was if she even was at all. She definitely comes across as good-natured, sorta guileless and she was married five years before she was inserted into Butterfly as the star. By her husband who was so infatuated with her image that he had a gigantic nude painting of her plastered near the entrance of their huge mansion for every guest to see as they entered the home.