Pia’s Perfect Life!
By Mark Shaffer
I
had the pleasure of enjoying a wonderful kitchen chat with the amazing Pia Zadora, and getting to know this amazing woman up close and personal has been the highlight of my year during 2017! We became friends as co-judges on the Miss America Pageant that year. Sequestered for three days with 5 other amazing peers, we had breakfast, lunch, dinner and drinks together, and never, did I think I would be sooooo delighted, as I was! Talented, fun, humorous, classic, charitable, hostess with the mostess, and just adorable, are only a few of the words I have for her. But it wasn’t always easy, as Pia tells… Proud, Polish and born in Hoboken, NJ, Pia started in showbiz at the early age of seven on Broadway as the youngest daughter in Fiddler on the Roof. (Which she celebrated the 50th reunion, with Josh Grovin on the violin, back in 2016). Pia was a shy kid and her mom thought it was best to put her in a parochial school. Her mother was very protective of Pia, and although Pia loved her mother, Pia felt way out of place at her school. She “thought the nuns were penguins,” lol. It was very hard for her and began to overwhelm her with anxiety. So through some caring advice, Pia wound up at the American Academy of Performing Arts, where she can be herself, and express herself as she likes. Then one day, Burgess Meredith was scouting for a new young actress. He invited her mom to have Pia audition for a new show he was directing. Against 100 other kids, Pia won the audition and got the part… for the leading role! She spent a few years after that on Broadway in different roles and plays, and remembers one day, at about 9 years old, sitting on the back steps with a then 17-year-old Bette Midler, sharing stories and dreams of this business. Two of her proud plays included, “We Take the Town” with Robert Preston, and “Henry Sweet Henry” among others on Broadway. Breaking out of her shy life was still a challenge, however it was one particular friend she met during a performance in Midgie Purvis, named Tallulah Bankhead, who taught Pia a big life lesson… “You do what you want to do!” Tallulah told Pia… and those words alone, got Pia to start learning how to be her own person! Pia’s personal breakthrough from shy to confident, and then things began to change for her career. Pia also starred in some commercials for Skippy, Kool Aid among a few others. Then, (continue reading on page 125)
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