Editing Delia Scala (section)

== Career ==
Scala was born as '''Odette Bedogni''' in [[Bracciano]], Lazio, Italy. When she was a young girl, her family moved to [[Milan]] where she studied ballet at [[Scuola di Ballo del Teatro alla Scala|"La Scala" Ballet School]] for seven years.<ref>[https://www.variety.com/article/VR1117898827.html?categoryid=25&cs=1 Delia Scala]. ''Variety'' (20 January 2004). Retrieved 5 July 2015.</ref> She performed in numerous ballets until [[World War II]], after which she began appearing in motion pictures using the stage name, Delia Scala. These include ''[[Difficult Years]]'' (''Anni difficili,'' 1948)'', [[Side Street Story]]'' (''Napoli milionaria,'' 1950)'', [[Rome 11:00]]'' (''Roma ore 11'', 1952), ''[[Touchez pas au grisbi]]'' (1954)'', [[Gentlemen Are Born (1960 film)|Gentlemen Are Born]]'' (''Signori si nasce,'' 1960).

In 1954 Delia made her theatre debut with ''Giove in doppiopetto'' (Double-breasted Jupiter). The show is considered the first "Commedia musicale", an italian musical genre created by playwrights [[Pietro Garinei]] and [[Sandro Giovannini]] with the collaboration of the musician and songwriter [[Gorni Kramer]]. Scala later starred in ''[[Buonanotte Bettina]]'' (Goodnight Bettina'','' 1956) with [[Walter Chiari]], ''L'adorabile Giulio'' (The Adorable Giulio, 1957) with [[Carlo Dapporto]], ''Un trapezio per Lisistrata'' (A Trapeze for Lisistrata, 1958) with [[Nino Manfredi]] and [[Paolo Panelli]], ''Delia Scala Show'' (1960), ''Rinaldo in campo'' (Rinaldo into the Field, 1961) with [[Domenico Modugno]], ''My Fair Lady'' (1964) with [[Gianrico Tedeschi]] and [[Mario Carotenuto]], and ''Il giorno della tartaruga'' (The Day of the Turtle, 1965) with [[Renato Rascel]].

In 1956 Scala appeared in the TV show ''Lui e Lei'' (Him and Her, 1956) with [[Nino Taranto]]. In 1959–60 she co-hosted ''[[Canzonissima]]'' with [[Nino Manfredi]] and [[Paolo Panelli]].

After twelve consecutive years of performances in Italy and Europe, Scala began to experience fatigue. In 1965, at the height of her success (she had received offers from [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]]), she suddenly decided to drop out from live performances. In 1966 she married and temporarily retired to spend time with her family.

In 1968 Scala made a comeback with ''Delia Scala Story'', a show written by Garinei and Giovannini. This was followed in 1970 by the very successful ''Signore e signora'' (Mr. and Madame) with [[Lando Buzzanca]]. After a nine-year break, she starred in the show ''Che combinazione'' (What a Coincidence) alongside [[Don Lurio]].

From 1980 to 1983, Scala conceived and hosted the show ''Una rosa per la Vita'' (A Rose for Life) to raise funds to support cancer prevention and research at the Bussoladomani arena in [[Camaiore|Lido di Camaiore]], together with [[Raimondo Vianello]] and [[Sandra Mondaini]], .

In 1982 Scala returned to television with the [[RAI]] fiction ''Casa Cecilia'' (Cecilia's Home), where she performed for three seasons. Her final TV role was in the sitcom ''Io e la mamma'', (Mum and I) aired between 1996 and 1998 on [[Canale 5]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ricerca.gelocal.it/ilpiccolo/archivio/ilpiccolo/2004/01/16/NZ_23_SCAL.html|title=Delia, la soubrette della porta accanto – Il Piccolo|website=Archivio – Il Piccolo|language=it|access-date=27 September 2019}}</ref>