“On the night of April 30, 1972, 38-year-old Scala was found dead in her Hollywood Hills home. Los Angeles County Coroner Thomas Noguchi reported her cause of death was from an “acute ethanol and barbiturate intoxication” and was later ruled accidental.”
“The circumstances surrounding Scala’s death have been questioned, with some believing it was a result of either murder or suicide rather than accidental. Her sister, movie actress Tina Scala, believed that she did not intend to take her life nor that her death was accidental. Scala had a prescription for valium and three tablets were missing from the bottle, but valium is a benzodiazepine, not a barbiturate. Also, Scala was discovered nude sprawled across her bed and bruises were found on her body and blood was on her pillow.”
…
On May 23, 1956, Louella Parsons reports that “while Errol Flynn was making Istanbul in Hollywood, he saw Gia Scala at Universal-International. ‘That’s the girl I want for my picture, The Big Brodie,’ he said. So what Errol wants, Errol gets.”
In 1962, Gia and her husband, Don Burnett, starred together in The Triumph of Robin Hood. He as Robin Hood, she as Anna, much the equivalent of Maid Marian. Later that year they bought a home on Mulholland Drive.
— Tim
Ralph Schiller
May 1, 2020 at 11:24 pm
Thank-you Tim for this tribute to a very talented and gorgeous-looking film star who died too young at the age of 38. While under contract to Universal :Pictures, she was romanced by Steve McQueen who proposed marriage. She said no. After making The Big Boodle with Errol Flynn in 1957, she was under contract to both MGM and Columbia studios simultaneously. She co-starred with Richard Widmark andDoris Day in Tunnel Of Love (1958), with Glenn Ford in the Navy comedy Don’t Go Near The Water (1958), with Robert Mitchum in The Angry Hills (1959) and with Gregory Peck, Anthony Quinn, David Niven, and Stanley Baker in The Guns Of Navarone (1961). The beauty battled depression with alcohol and had several altercations with the law. Her looks began to fade and once swallowed insecticide in a grim suicide attempt. When she finally died in 1972, the Los Angeles County Coroner Dr. Noguchi said she died from an alcoholic and possible drug overdose. She also had premature hardening of the arteries. This was not a homicide. Ralph Schiller
shangheinz
May 6, 2020 at 7:50 pm
Not so fast Rushstreet Ralph. The circumstances eerily resemble those of the untimely death of MM. A few years back her embalmer came foreword stating she was found black and blue all over. The suppressed photos tell another story than suicide. And the drugs she allegedly took were neatly aligned much like those in the Carole Landis case. The number 3 (bottles, medications) looms large in all these possible murders.
Gentleman Tim
May 6, 2020 at 9:03 pm
I have no idea if there’s any compelling evidence of murder, homocideheinz, but one thing’s for sure, it’s easier to cover up a murder when the victim was viewed to be capable of suicide and/or dangerous episodes of drug and alcohol abuse. What a shame, Gia was such a beautiful, talented, and apparently very kind-hearted woman. Living in Hollywood Hills during those wild, drug-infused times she lived there was very difficult and risky business. Last year’s blockbuster, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, depicted those oft-time crazy times in Taratino’s over-the-top, occasionally somewhat-accurate fashion.
Gia was right in the heart of Hollywood hell, a good person and talented actress, but whom big wigs the industry no longer wanted. Her husband, Don Burnett, made the right and very successful move to get out of the acting business altogether. (I believe Errol would have been wise to do the same after his cinematic hey dey. Flynn was so talented, popular, and entrepreneurial, he could have been a megastar in many different and wonderfully worthwhile types of endeavors. He didn’t need Tinseltown after the world witnessed his extraordinary talents. Hollyweird is a crazy, perilous place.
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giphy.com…
shangheinz
May 8, 2020 at 9:43 am
Tarantino needs to be quarantined. His OUATIH is a nice montage of Unholywood in the 60s, but way over the top. As far as Marilyn is concerned, shortly before her suicide, her studio contract was renewed, but her life insurance was in turn invoiced in the deal. If she took all the drugs neatly aligned on her bedside table, she still took some serious bumps out of the bed before the police found her. Flynn friend Ben Hecht ghostwrote her posthumous biography, A fact which only recently was made public. A (para)phrase“I am the kind girl who will be found dead from an overdose on Monday. On Wednesday though I will have none of that nonsense and be happy again.“ The weekend before her untimely death was spent at Frank Sinatra‘s estate allegedly with Lawford and Giacana. The Voice went over a script with her supposedly titled „What a way to go“. Like a lamb to the slaughter if you ask me…
Gentleman Tim
May 8, 2020 at 1:29 pm
IMHO, Hollywood killed her, homocideheinz. Babylon giveth and Babylon taketh away for all lured into its Faustian bargain for fame. In the mortal words of future suicide victim Helen Twelvetrees:
“There’s no use taking yourself seriously in Hollywood, because the dream has to end sometime. You get to the top fast and you slip just as fast. So why have any illusions? I know, brother, because it happened to me … Sure it hurts when you see the handwriting on the wall. It hurts like the devil.” — Helen Twelvetrees
And Marilyn got it twelve times worse.
More on Gia: