Embracing 'New' in Life
On
Monday evening, October 19, 2015 she received the Carolyn
Clark Powers Lifetime Achievement Award. She
still works when the mood strikes. The word 'retirement'
is not in her vocabulary. With the onslaught of technology and the
speed at which the world turns today, she said she enjoys embracing
the 'new' in life. “You have to get accustomed to the new things
that come about in order to cope and to understand the benefits
enhancing one's life...from fashion styles, to books, to technical
gadgets.”
She is Sophia Loren.
Living on a farm and furthering post-secondary education, I had no
opportunity (or money) to view cinema movies. While in Toronto, one
Saturday afternoon after work and walking the many blocks home along
Yonge Street, I noticed a movie theatre advertising the showing of
Oklahoma...and falling prey to temptation, splurged some lunch money
to view this spectacular musical drama!
It
was after my teaching career began in Hamilton, that I was introduced
to Sophia Loren through her 1958 film THE
KEY.
Wow! She was stunningly beautiful..and her acting superb in this
WWII drama:
English woman, Stella, is involved with Captain Ford (Trevor
Howard)
who commands a military tugboat.
These tugboats (called salvage missions) picked up disabled ships.
Not well-equipped with weaponry, the tugs were 'sitting ducks' for
every foe. Captain Chris Ford shares his flat with a young beautiful
Italian-Swiss woman who lives a recluse life there. While on
missions, he leaves “The Key” with her and the promise that she'd
find another Captain to share the flat, should anything happen to
him. He is gunned down in action; Captain Ross (William Holden)
replaces him.
TWO
WOMEN:
In
this 1960 film, during WWII, 'Cesira' (Sophia Loren) must leave Rome
with her daughter when the city comes under attack by the Allied
Forces. The pair flee to a small village where they meet and both
fall for the charming 'Michael' (Jean-Paul Belmondu). But the war
uproots the life of the mother and daughter once again when soldiers
attack the duo and subject them to sexual assault. Their bond is
strained as they struggle to overcome the tragedy that changes them
both forever. Sophia
Loren won the Best Actress Oscar for her portrayal of 'Cesira' in
this movie.
The
Producer of this movie was Carlo
Ponti
whom Sophia married in later years.
Sophia Loren so impressed me that I longed to pattern my life after
her.
To
me, she was the Epitome
of a Woman whom
all admired for her beauty and elegance.
She was a person of great intellect and one who practised a positive
outlook on life.
Since
her movie days, I've followed her life: her marriage, her children,
her humane activities to aid those in need. Her life dedication was
to her husband and two sons Carlo
Ponti Jr. and Edoarado Ponti. Their
father is Carlo
Ponti.
Sophia
Loren was born as Sofia
Scicolone
in Rome, Italy on September 20, 1934. Growing up in the slums of
Polluoli
during the Second World War without any support from her father (he
had refused to marry her mother), she experienced much sadness in her
childhood. At age 14, she entered a beauty contest where she placed
as one of the top finalists. It was there that Sophia caught the
attention of Carlo
Ponti
(22 years her senior) whom she eventually married in 1966 (once he
finally obtained a divorce from his first wife). Perhaps he was the
only 'father figure' she ever had.
Under
his guidance, Sophia was put 'under contract' and appeared as 'an
extra' in movie films beginning in 1950...before working up to
'supporting roles'. By her late teens, she was playing 'lead roles'
in many Italian film features. She remained a bonafide International
movie star through to the 60's and 70's, making films on both sides
of the Atlantic. From the 80's onward, she preferred to spend the
majority of her time raising her sons born in 1969 and 1973. She
starred in five television films beginning with Sophia
Loren: Her Own Story
in 1980...which I viewed a couple times on TV.
She
mourned the loss of her husband, Carlo
Ponti
who died at the age of 94. These days, she divides her time between
Switzerland and Los Angeles where she is close to her sons and four
grandchildren.
With a career that has already spanned six decades and been honoured
with 50 awards,
Sophia Loren remains 'one of the most beloved and recognizable
figures
in the International film world'.
Her trademarks were: her natural brunette hair...her cat-like blue
eyes...her voluptuous figure framed on a 5-foot 8 1/2 inch height
body...and deep sultry voice.
PERSONAL QUOTES
Sex appeal is 50% what you've got and 50% of what people think
you've got!
The two big advantages I had at birth from my beautiful mother
were to have been born wise and to have been born in poverty.
A woman's dress should be like a barbed wire fence: serving its
purpose without obstructing the view.
A mother has to think twice: once for herself and once for her
child.
The facts of life are that a child who has seen war, cannot be
compared with a child who doesn't know what war is except from
television.
I've never tried to block out the memories of the past, even
though some are painful.
I don't understand people who hide from their past.
Everything you live through, helps to make you the person you are.
There
IS A FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH:
It's
in your mind, your talents, the creativity you bring to your life
and
the lives of people you love.
When
you learn to tap this source, you will truly have defeated age!
Scripted by Merle Baird-Kerr...October 24, 2015
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