Dorian Gray was the somewhat bizarre pseudonym of Italian actress Maria Luisa Mangini, who became a big star in the 1950s. She’s not as well known today, outside of Italy at least, mainly because she wound down her career just as the kinds of Italian B-Movies she appeared in were starting to gain International attention.
Born in Bolzano in 1936, she made her theatre debut, aged just 14 (if her date of birth is to believed), in the revue Votate per Venere in 1950, alongside Erminio Macari and Gino Bramieri. She then acted on stage opposite the likes of Alberto Sordi, Ugo Tognazzi and Raimondo Vianello, winning the prized Maschera d’argento.
She appeared in films at around the same time, appearing in no less than 5 films in 1951 alone. She only really started concentrating on her cinema career in the mid 50s, when she gave up her stage work and appeared in the likes of Totò, lascia o raddoppia? and Totò, Peppino e… la malafemmina (56), making her a big domestic star. Although primarily known for her comedy roles, she also appeared in more celebrated productions, having prominent supporting roles in the likes of Fellini’s Nights of Cabiria (57), Antonioni’s Il grido (57) and Comencini’s Mogli pericolose (58), for which she won a Silver Ribbon. In the early sixties, she had a stab at other genres, in the peplum Colossus and the Amazons (60) and action film The Legions Last Patrol (62).
Her last appearances were in the entertaining anthology, Thrilling and the obscure giallo Fango sulla metropoli (65), after which she retired without a trace. She committed suicide on Feb 16th 2011, shooting herself in the head in Torcegno, Trentino, where she lived.