Leonora Ruffo

Elegant Italian leading lady of the 50's and 60's, born Bruna Bovi, the youngest of five siblings in Rome. As a youth she was noted for her prowess as a gymnast, a fact which contributed to her discovery for the screen by the director 'Pietro Francisci' (qv) in 1952. Possessed of luminous eyes and a spirited personality, Leonora was rarely cast as anything other than eye-candy in spaghetti westerns or sword-and-sandal epics. A couple of exceptions stand out: first, her titular role as Balkis, _The Queen of Sheba (1952)_ (qv) (co-starring 'Gino Cervi' (qv), as King Solomon); secondly, -- arguably her best performance -- as Sandra Rubini, wife of an irresponsible ne'er-do-well and inveterate womanizer (played by 'Franco Fabrizi' (qv)) in 'Federico Fellini' (qv)'s masterpiece _I Vitelloni (1953)_ (qv). She also romped through a couple of mildly diverting horror flics. As 'Gordon Scott' (qv)'s girlfriend she battled faceless robots and vampires in _Goliath and the Vampires (1961)_ (qv). In the off-beat 'Mario Bava' (qv) offering _Hercules in the Haunted World (1961)_ (qv), she was held on the island of the Hesperides under the control of a demon ('Christopher Lee' (qv) at his menacing best). Leonora's sporadic career as a movie actress was done and dusted by 1961 and she retired from acting at the end of the decade.::I.S.Mowis