Taina Elg dead at 95: Tony nominee and co-star of Gene Kelly passes away
She was 95.
The Golden Globe winner was best known in Hollywood for her versatility, starring in a variety of projects with some of tinsel town's biggest names.
Born in 1930 in Helsinki, the budding actress and dancer starred in her first film in 1940.
After World War II, she and a small group of Finnish students were allowed to go to Sweden to study dance, and her host family later supported her when she moved to London to study with Royal Ballet.
It was there she was discovered by American film producer Edwin H. Knopf and signed to a seven-year contract by MGM.
From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail's new Showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop.
While under contract, she appeared in 1955's The Prodigal starring screen siren Lana Turner, followed by Alice with Turner and future James Bond star Roger Moore in 1956.
She won the Golden Globe for best female foreign newcomer for her performance in Gaby with Leslie Caron.
In her next film, the musical Les Girls with Gene Kelly and Mitzi Gaynor, she was able to show off her dancing skills as a showgirl.
She and co-star Kay Kendall shared the Golden Globe for best actress in a musical or comedy for their work.
Elg also starred in Imitation General, a World War II comedy co-starring Glen Ford and Red Buttons.
After leaving MGM, she signed with the Rank Organization for a remake of the spy thriller The 39 Steps.
She starred as a schoolteacher who gets involved with a British diplomat to decipher and break up a sinister plot against England in the 1959 big screen release.
At the ripe old age of 30, Elg turned her attention to TV and the stage.
She appeared in guest spots on shows such as Wagon Train and Hong Kong, along wit the daytime dramas such as The Doctors.
Elg starred as the title character in a touring production of the musical Irma La Douce in 1962.
She made the first of her seven Broadway appearances, in 1970 as a nun in Josh Logan's Look to the Lillies, based on Sydney Poitier's Oscar winning turn in 1963's Lillies of the Field.
The multi-talented Elg received her first Tony nomination for the 1974-75 revival of Frank Loesser's Where's Charley? co-starring Raul Julia.
Another Broadway success included the musical Nine, where she originated the role of Guido's Mother in the Best Musical winner.
Elg also toured in the musicals Two by Two, Gigi, and Titanic.
The actress starred in the soap opera Guiding Light as Dr. Ingrid Fisher and originated the role of Olympia Buchanan, the first wife of tycoon Asa Buchanan, on One Life to Live in which her character dramatically and fatally fell over a balcony at a costume party.
Elg was married twice and shared her son, jazz guitarist Raoul Björkenheim, with her first husband Carl-Gustav Björkenheim, whom she married in 1953 and divorced seven years later.
She wed her second husband, Rocco Caporale, in 1985 and was with him until his death in 2008.
In 2004, Elg was awarded one of Finland's highest honors, the Order of the Lion of Finland and was bestowed the rank of a Knight First Class.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
2 minutes ago
- The Sun
Horoscope today, July 28, 2025: Daily star sign guide from Mystic Meg
OUR much-loved astrologer Meg sadly died in 2023 but her column will be kept alive by her friend and protégée Maggie Innes. Read on to see what's written in the stars for you today. ♈ ARIES March 21 to April 20 Changing your attitude towards work can come from inside rather than outside – and Mars urges you to make a start. Even when the future seems fixed, you can find a way to make your own part in it bigger and bolder. Believing in your skills may have taken a knock, but now you can get back to 100 per cent. 2 ♉ TAURUS April 21 to May 21 Instead of leaving a daring love idea to fade away, you can bring it into the light. If you're with a partner, surprising each other, even in the smallest way, can unlock something special. Single? You are ready to stop preparing and start putting yourself out there. A trusted family member has strong advice. Get all the latest Taurus horoscope new s including your weekly and monthly predictions ♊ GEMINI May 22 to June 21 It can feel a struggle to keep saying or writing certain words if you feel you are not being heard. But you have strength in your chart to keep trying. Mercury's current retrograde may challenge you but is also a key learning tool to try another path to a study goal. In fitness, don't be tempted to quit, apply yourself. Get all the latest Gemini horoscope news including your weekly and monthly predictions ♋ CANCER June 22 to July 22 You have Jupiter joy all around – the trick is to access it. You can meet someone who can help this process by helping you see your own comedy or entertaining ability in clear, forward-facing ways. Even an audience of one person is enough to show you where you should be heading. The luck factor circles 'P'. Get all the latest Cancer horoscope news including your weekly and monthly predictions ♌ LEO July 23 to August 23 The sun in your chart is welcoming and supports you to be the same. So even if an event is not turning out the way you expected, you can make the most of it. Letting your smile lead the way in a room of strangers can attract a love interest. Asking what you can give to a group, rather than get from it, is a smart move. ♍ VIRGO August 24 to September 22 Your chart is a one-off blend of moon insight and Mars energy and this promotes your personal brand. A team, or a boss, can realise you are the missing part of a puzzle. If you're single, making a casual first move comes easier when you let your heart lead. Virgo couples are ready to compromise, at last. Get all the latest Virgo horoscope news including your weekly and monthly predictions ♎ LIBRA September 23 to October 23 Keeping a secret for a friend or family member is fine as long as it's your own choice – if this feels forced, do revisit this decision. As for your own heart, you know you have locked feelings away for too long, so set them free. In love? Reveal your true desires. Single? Admit 'G' attraction, even just to yourself. ♏ SCORPIO October 24 to November 22 When you are the kind of friend, or colleague, who leads by example rather than expectation, others start to warm to you. So put your money where your mouth is and make a move. As for love, goals mean most when they are shared, but you can also follow solo pursuits if you have strong feelings. Get all the latest Scorpio horoscope news including your weekly and monthly predictions ♐ SAGITTARIUS November 23 to December 21 Too many ambitions can keep your energy levels low – when you choose just one to follow with your whole self, this can change. The right one is right there when you let your mind relax. In love? Strong Venus connection power can cut through any silence. Single? That Leo is keen to get closer. Get all the latest Sagittarius horoscope news including your weekly and monthly predictions ♑ CAPRICORN December 22 to January 20 When your mind is open and so is your communication style, what has seemed like an obstacle can melt away. So do try to soften your approach and see what happens next. Your family chart may feel like it's looking back too often, but there's so much to learn from the past that could feed into a better future. Get all the latest Capricorn horoscope news including your weekly and monthly predictions 2 ♒ AQUARIUS January 21 to February 18 It's not easy to suggest or style a complete turnaround – but your current chart shows you are ready for this. Just make sure you have the right research done and the right answers to hand. Saturn's reversal can keep certain words stuck, but the Mars effect can counteract this. Only say words that you truly believe. Get all the latest Aquarius horoscope news including your weekly and monthly predictions ♓ PISCES February 19 to March 20 Family time may feel squeezed but can still be significant – so don't give up on reconnecting with or reassuring someone special. It's better to do a little well than to do nothing. A cash deal that's been delayed could suddenly switch into fast-forward so make sure you have all the figures.
Times
2 minutes ago
- Times
What links a sexy devil, UFOs and a tsar's drunken night out?
In a secluded hollow in Brussels Park a monument marks the spot where the Russian tsar Peter the Great was drunkenly sick after attending a particularly boozy banquet in April 1717. The strange memorial is featured in a new travel guide, Bizarre Belgium, gathering together 50 of Belgium's strangest places — and making a good case for the country to be considered among Europe's most idiosyncratic. 'Belgium is an eccentric country because of its history and weird situation, with the different languages and peoples. So, I think we try to make it fun and this is why we have a surrealist tradition,' Kamiel De Bruyne, one of the guide's authors, said. Belgium is a country regarded by many historians as an artificial creation by Europe's great powers after the defeat of Napoleon, which often seems to be on the brink of falling apart. It is an uneasy marriage between the Dutch-speaking Flemish and francophone Walloons, governed by a famously dysfunctional state, with various dark chapters in its less than 200-year history. • The best of Belgium: where to stay and what to do Karen François, De Bruyne's girlfriend and co-author, said Belgians think their nation 'very normal', adding: 'We wouldn't say 'weird little Belgium' ourselves.' The couple, both aged 33, are uncovering the remains of a fountain basin in Brussels Park, formerly known as the Royal Park, dating back to the 18th century and covered by hedge trimming dumped by park keepers. It bears an inscription in cod Latin: 'Petrus Alexiowitz Czar Moscoviae magnus dux margini hujus fontis insidens illius aquam nobilitavit libato vino hora post meridian tertiadie XVI April's anno 1717'. Translated, Kamiel said, the inscription relates that the tsar, 'seated at the edge of the fountain, enriched its waters with the wine he has consumed, at 3pm on April 16, 1717'. Drunk after a lavish banquet, Peter the Great was sick and, legend has it, fell asleep there until the next morning. Several feet away is a bust of the Russian autocrat and emperor raised in the 19th century by an aristocratic countryman to mark the visit. 'It is a tribute to a royal puke,' said De Bruyne. 'Instead of politely forgetting the whole thing, someone in Brussels decided to immortalise it.' Located in a less-than-inviting corner of the park, right opposite and below the present royal palace, reflecting the lower street level of the 18th century, the statue was once infamous as a trysting spot between government officials and prostitutes, according to François. De Bruyne said that of other landmarks in the travel guide he had a particular soft spot for western Europe's only monument or memorial to UFOs by a roadside in Flanders. 'It is absolutely my favourite,' he said. It recalls a traffic jam, a traditional sight on Belgium's national day of July 21, as everyone headed to the coast in 1955. Marin Vandercruyssen, an 18-year-old soldier, was riding pillion on his father's motorbike when they saw a crowd of more than 20 people pointing up in the air. He followed their gaze and saw five gigantic silver circular flying saucers. They were at least 100 metres in diameter, according to Vandercruyssen and other witnesses. After ten minutes the UFOs supposedly disappeared but changed Vandercruyssen's life for ever. 'He was convinced the alien would come back,' De Bruyne said. 'His dream was to be taken to their planet and that is why he wanted to put the marker there, so they could find him. It even includes a picture of him from 1955 so they can recognise him.' Vandercruyssen died in 2020 — 'no aliens ever turned up', De Bruyne added. 'It is very sad, beautiful and Belgian.' The top pick for François is the 'sexy Satan' of Liège. The 19th-century statue of Lucifer in the city's cathedral depicts the fallen angel as a brooding and muscular young man. The first version of the work, L'ange du mal (Angel of evil) by Joseph Geefs in 1842, was considered to be too seductive and was removed. It is now in a Brussels museum. The second, 1848's Le génie du mal, (The genius of evil) by Joseph's brother William, was still controversial, even though it had more clothes, and was allowed to stay. 'Very typical Belgium: we make something. Oh, no, it's too much. Too hot. Sexy Satan. We will remove it. Now we'll make an even better one. Super sexy Satan,' she said, recounting how the 'sunlight streams through the stained glass windows right on to his six-pack and muscular thighs'. No guide to Belgium can be complete without Leopold II, the great, great, great-uncle of the present king, Philippe. Now seen as a monster, he ran the Congo as his personal colonial fiefdom between 1885 and 1908 when at least ten million Congolese people, more than half the population, either died or were killed. The book includes a British-built pedal tricycle, now in a military museum, which Leopold used to visit one of his mistresses, Blanche Delacroix. The guide also features a now boarded-up royal station. Built in a neo-classical style, the station was purpose-built to receive high-ranking guests and, rumour has it, to ensure Leopold received the first edition of The Times by express train every day. 'I think you should come and visit Belgium and do all the typical tourist places and visit Bruges, which is great and amazing and beautiful,' De Bruyne said. 'But if you come to Belgium a second time, bring this book to go to these weird and peculiar places that otherwise you would miss.'
Daily Mail
2 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Sopranos star reveals mental health issues almost 'destroyed' his life
A Sopranos star has revealed his struggle with mental health issues nearly 'destroyed' his life and family. Joe Pantoliano, 73, who is one of many Hollywood A-listers considering moving to another country, shared he struggled with clinical depression for nearly a decade before getting a diagnosis. To relieve his symptoms, the actor, who starred as Ralph Cifaretto in the Emmy -winning crime drama told Page Six he would self-medicate via what he called his 'seven deadly symptoms.' ' Alcohol, what was available, women, you know, risky behavior, act first and then ask questions second,' the actor told the outlet on Thursday. The Goonies actor admitted he was a 'mess for a long time,' and attributed some of his problems to growing up with a mother who also suffered from mental health challenges. 'My wife [actress Nancy Sheppard] and my kids were ready to throw me out,' he said. 'The only people who were happy to see me weren't people. They were my dogs.' the actor recalled. The Last of Us star, who is currently starring in the off-Broadway show Ginger Twinsies, also credited his pups with saving his life. 'It was the only spark that was left in me. I was like Tinkerbell and the light was dying,' he explained. Pantoliano finally received a diagnosis in 2007. Two year later her found an organization called, No Kidding, Me Too! to help take away the stigma around mental health struggles. 'We've done such a great job,' he said. 'Our mission for No Kidding, Me Too! was to make the discussion of mental disease cool and trendy,' he said, adding, 'And we've succeeded. You can't get them to shut up now!' After his show closes on October 26, Pantoliano and his wife may pull up sticks and move to Europe amid all the political chaos in the United States. 'It's hard for me to think about people's bulls*** like making a TV show. The world is on fire; it's hard for me to concentrate,' Pantoliano said. In a recent video on social media he told his fans, 'Nancy and I were in Portugal for a couple of weeks.' 'We actually looked into getting visas so that we could live there part of the time, or most of the time.' 'It's a great place to retire,' he added, saying, 'It suits me. I love to walk; I take amazing walks there.' Other celebrities such as Rosie O'Donnell, Ellen DeGeneres and her wife Portia de Rossi, designer Tom Ford, along with Ryan Gosling and partner Eva Mendes have already moved abroad.
