Dear Patrons, years ago when many Midwest US newspapers were closing their doors, I was able to purchase photo lots from their dissolution via eBay auctions. I also have many Japanese magazine clippings that weren't published in the West and, of course, our own Blu-ray and UHD screen captures. These can make for some rare, and lesser-seen publicity photos. I will try to hi-res scan some of them (from Myrna Loy to Kim Novak, Franco Nero to Clint Eastwood, and many Film Noir actors) and will try to post new photo archives as time allows for your use to print, use as computer wallpaper, etc. We have archives for Paul Newman, Suzanne Pleshette, Jacqueline Bisset and Susan George so far. We will add to these photo-sets as we obtain more scans. Do you have a favorite actor you'd like to have in a Photo Archive? Let me know!

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Maria Luisa Ceciarelli was born on born November 3rd, 1931 in Rome, Italy. Her career as actress Monica Vitti is inexorably linked in the minds of cinephiles to director Michelangelo Antonioni's films L'Avventura, La Notte, L'Eclisse, and Red Desert. She had dubbed the voices of Dorian Gray's character 'Virginia' in Antonioni's 1957 Il Grido and Rosaana Rory's voice in Big Deal on Madonna Street in 1958. Vitti and Antonioni's relationship grew more intimate after 1960's L'Avventura as it had such a profound influence in their respective careers. Her image later appeared on an Italian postage stamp commemorating the film. The two never married and stopped seeing each other in the late 60's.

Her characters have frequently been described as aloof and subtle - exporting qualities of a mysterious, desirable protagonist. Fans find her so hypnotically stunning as to simply watch her onscreen... rather than following the film's plot. In the 70's she shifted focus to make a few comedies including the spy-adventure spoof Modesty Blaise. In 1974 Vitti starred in Luis Buñuel's The Phantom of Liberty as Mrs. Foucauld - often considered her last great role.

In her career Monica Vitti worked with Jeanne Moreau, Marcello Mastroianni, Terence Stamp, Richard Harris, Michael Caine, and Dirk Bogarde. Vitti won a BAFTA for Best Foreign Actress, five David di Donatello Awards for Best Actress, seven Italian Golden Globes for Best Actress, and the Venice Film Festival Career Golden Lion Award. Remarkably, three films with Monica Vitti are in our Top 100 Desert Island's listing. 

In 1995 Vitti married Roberto Russo, with whom she had lived since 1975. In 2011, it was learned that Alzheimer's disease had "removed her from the public gaze for the last 15 years." In 2018, her husband confirmed she is still living in Rome and with a caretaker.