Simone Silva
| Simone Silva | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
Martha Simone de Bouillard 15 August 1928 Cairo, Egypt |
| Died | 30 November 1957 (aged 29) London, England |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1950 – 1957 |
Simone Silva (15 August 1928 – 30 November 1957) was an Egyptian-born French film actress who appeared in a handful of British B-movies during the 1950s. Silva, who was once quoted as saying she would "do anything" to get in the newspapers, was known however less for her acting than for her voluptuous figure and shameless publicity-seeking activities. She briefly made global headlines following a notorious incident at the 1954 Cannes Film Festival where she posed topless with Robert Mitchum for photographers, causing a sensation when the photographs were flashed around the world.
Born in Cairo to French-Italian parents in 1928, Silva moved to England in 1946 after marrying an Englishman (divorced 1953), believing that England would provide opportunities for her to be noticed by American talent scouts and give her a better chance to achieve her ultimate goal of making a career in the U.S.
From the early 1950s until her last days Silva made a living by posing as a photographic pin-up model for the cheesecake magazines of the era. She broke into British films in 1951 with a small uncredited non-speaking part in Lady Godiva Rides Again as a beauty pageant contestant. This was followed by two more anonymous bit part roles before she landed a slightly more substantial part in the adventure film South of Algiers (1953). She was fifth-billed in crime drama Escape by Night, then appeared among a lengthy female cast list in the women's prison drama The Weak and the Wicked (1954). Her first and only top-billing came as a femme-fatale opposite Lloyd Bridges in the Hammer Films programmer Third Party Risk.
In March 1954 Silva travelled to Cannes for the seventh Film Festival in an attempt to get herself noticed. She succeeded, and the festival organisers awarded her the honorary title of "Miss Festival 1954". She was asked to pose for press photographs with Robert Mitchum on a beach of one the French Riviera's Lérins Islands, near Cannes. The photocall turned into the story of the festival when Silva removed her top and posed cupping her bare breasts in her hands, while Mitchum played along. Such was the scramble to get the best shots that several photographers were injured in the melée, with two reportedly suffering broken limbs. The press loved it, and the photographs were published around the world. The festival committee, however, were horrified that what they considered a vulgar and cheap publicity stunt had completely overshadowed the serious business of the fortnight, and Silva was asked to leave the festival.
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