The Forbidden Kiss and the Film Scandal of 1966!

Behind the Photo #5

In 1966, Italian film director Luigi Zampa hired me to appear in a sketch film named "Le Dolci Signore," or Anyone Can Play.

Shot in Rome, I played alongside Virna Lisi, who was a very famous film star, as her rock guitarist lover. I met Virna for the very first time on set, and she was delightful and very beautiful. 

Virna played Luisa, a character who was being blackmailed and needed a lot of money. In the film, I say, “I can sell my electric guitar,” and she replies, “It would take a church organ to pay my bills!”

During this simple scene she confessed all of her troubles to me, her young lover. It was a fun day of filming but our scene together created a major problem that started one vicious rumor that set the tabloids on fire.