Argentina Brunetti was only 3 when she became the third generation to carry on the family tradition with a walk-on role in the opera
Cavalleria Rusticana in which her actress/singer mother Mimi Aguglia had a role. Mimi's mother was Sicilian actress Giuseppina Aguglia. Agrentina appeared on stage in supporting roles in Europe and South America until she signed a contract with MGM Studios to dub dialogue in Italian for actresses like Norma Shearer. During this period, she also worked for Voice of America interviewing Hollywood stars for broadcast in Italy.
In 1946, she made her movie debut as Mrs. Martini in Frank Capra's
It's a Wonderful Life. She went on to appear in over 90 films and 60 television shows while writing books and music and performing daily on radio. She played everything from Dean Martin's mother in
The Caddy to women of various ethnicities.
She married Miro Brunetti, a foreign correspondent in Hollywood, and they were founding members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association which presents the "Golden Globe Awards". Their son, Mario, maintains his mother's website. Argentina was also a long-time member of The Screen Actors Guild (SAG), American Federation of Television & Radio Artists (AFTRA) and The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences ("Oscars").
She died in 2005 at age 98, exactly 59 years to the day after the release of
It's a Wonderful Life in which she made her screen debut. She had been the last surviving adult member of the cast.
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Argentina Brunetti was only 3 when she became the third generation to carry on the family tradition with a walk-on role in the opera
Cavalleria Rusticana in which her actress/singer mother Mimi Aguglia had a role. Mimi's mother was Sicilian actress Giuseppina Aguglia. Agrentina appeared on stage in supporting roles in Europe and South America until she signed a contract with MGM Studios to dub dialogue in Italian for actresses like Norma Shearer. During this period, she also worked for Voice of America interviewing Hollywood stars for broadcast in Italy.
In 1946, she made her movie debut as Mrs. Martini in Frank Capra's
It's a Wonderful Life. She went on to appear in over 90 films and 60 television shows while writing books and music and performing daily on radio. She played everything from Dean Martin's mother in
The Caddy to women of various ethnicities.
She married Miro Brunetti, a foreign correspondent in Hollywood, and they were founding members of the
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Argentina
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