60s Filmstar Claudia Cardinale Honored in Tunisian Birthplace

Italian-Tunisian actress Claudia Cardinale (2nd-L) poses in front of a mural of her during a street naming ceremony in her honor in Tunisia FETHI BELAID AFP
Italian-Tunisian actress Claudia Cardinale (2nd-L) poses in front of a mural of her during a street naming ceremony in her honor in Tunisia FETHI BELAID AFP
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60s Filmstar Claudia Cardinale Honored in Tunisian Birthplace

Italian-Tunisian actress Claudia Cardinale (2nd-L) poses in front of a mural of her during a street naming ceremony in her honor in Tunisia FETHI BELAID AFP
Italian-Tunisian actress Claudia Cardinale (2nd-L) poses in front of a mural of her during a street naming ceremony in her honor in Tunisia FETHI BELAID AFP

Actress Claudia Cardinale may have been a sixties legend of Italian and French cinema, but in Tunisia, in the portside district where she grew up, she says she feels "at home".

"I left very young, but I spent my whole childhood here, my adolescence," said Cardinale, now 84. "My origins are here."

To celebrate her connection to the North African country, authorities on Sunday named a street after her in the La Goulette suburb of the capital Tunis, where petals were scattered in a ceremony in her honor.

"You marked the world of cinema for almost half a century with your dazzling beauty, your charisma and through the roles you played," said Amel Limam, the mayor of La Goulette.

"I am very honored, because it is here that I was born and spent my childhood," Cardinale said. "I kiss you!"

The multicultural beachfront neighborhood was once home to a sizeable Sicilian population -- including Cardinale's parents.

Before Tunisia's independence from France in 1956, more than 130,000 Italians were residents, and many of their ancestors had settled there before French colonial rule.

"I still keep a lot of Tunisia inside me -- the scenery, the people, sense of welcome, the openness," Cardinale told AFP.

'We're all equal'
In 1957, aged 19, Cardinale won a beauty contest for "the prettiest Italian" in newly independent Tunisia.

Her prize was a trip to the Venice film festival, where she caught the eye of influential cinema figures.

That led to her first film role, in Mario Monicelli's Le Pigeon.

Soon afterwards, she moved with her family to Rome to pursue her career, which took off with a role in Luchino Visconti's film The Leopard, alongside French film star Alain Delon and Hollywood legend Burt Lancaster.

That was the start of a long career that has continued into her 80s. After starring in The Pink Panther opposite David Niven in 1963, she shot to attention in the United States and Britain.

In one of her latest roles, she plays a grandmother in a film by Tunisia's Ridha Behi, "L'ile du Pardon", currently in post-production.

Her parents never recovered from their departure from Tunisia, which they experienced as an exile.

"It was very hard. My father never wanted to come back, that's how much he dreaded the pain of what was for him a real heartbreak," she said.

"My mother recreated Tunisia in Italy. She planted all Tunisian plants and kept on cooking Tunisian meals."

But Cardinale said the Tunisian sense of hospitality can be a model for how to treat migrants.

The country "can and should be proud of its history," she said.

And in an era when many Tunisians are willing to risk their lives boarding unseaworthy boats to reach Europe, she stresses the importance of "remembering this shared past to build the future".

"The wind changes, and we're all equal in terms of the need to leave," she said.

"Tunisia for us was a welcoming land. I wish everyone in the world who needs to leave somewhere could receive the same welcome."


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Billy Idol on His First Album in over a Decade, the Rock Hall and More

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When Billy Idol first entered American consciousness in the early '80s, leather-clad and bleached hair in tow, he not only brought a punk rock sound to the mainstream. The Englishman brought a new attitude, a new, rebellious way of being.

In the time since, songs like “White Wedding,” “Rebel Yell” and “Eyes Without a Face” have become instant classics — for those who've worn a spiky jacket and those who've only imagined what it might be like.

Now, over four decades later, he's got the wisdom to reflect. It's led to a new documentary about his life, “Billy Idol Should Be Dead,” which will premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival — and a new album, the polished punk-pop of “Dream Into It.”

“It was a gradual process, really,” he said of the 11-year span between albums. “It wasn’t so much that we didn’t want to make an album, it was more like we were building up to doing this.”

Idol discussed with The Associated Press this week his new album and forthcoming documentary, his past struggles with addiction, his first-ever Rock & Roll Hall of Fame nomination and more.

Remarks have been edited for clarity and brevity.

AP: You've described “Dream Into It” as autobiographical. I thought your last album, 2014's “Kings & Queens of the Underground,” pulled from your life as well.

IDOL: Being this age, in particular, 69, when you look back, you can really see your whole life, how it plays out. And maybe it’s also having grandchildren. My children are having children.

You sort of reach this vantage point where you can really look back and see all the sort of different eras of my life. And you can sing about it. And I think I didn’t go deep enough with the songs I did on “Kings and Queens.” I thought lyrically I could go deeper. That’s one of those regrets I had about the last album. So I really went for it, and I went for more imagery, (on ‘Dream Into It,’ in the) way of talking about my life. I’m not spelling it out exactly.

AP: There are a lot of rock ‘n’ roll women on the album. Joan Jett, Avril Lavigne and The Kills' Alison Mosshart are all featured.

IDOL: (Mosshart's) voice is just incredible. And of course, Joan Jett, I’ve known since 1978 after a Germs/Dead Kennedys concert. We hung out in Los Angeles. I was on a Generation X promotion tour for the first album. And then Avril, I mean, I’ve just been watching her career forever and she’s fantastic. So, it was just great.

AP: The documentary has an evocative title, “Billy Idol Should Be Dead.” It sounds like it may dive into your past struggles with addiction.

IDOL: There was a point in my life when I was living like every day, like, “Live every day as if it’s your last.” One day, you’re going to be right.

In the '70s, in England, you know, young people, we had this feeling that we were being completely ignored. You were even being told that you had no future. And so, we just didn’t think beyond the day-to-day existence. It was probably only when I really started having children and stuff like that, I really starting to realize I (should) try start to give up drugs and things.

I’ve always flirted with death, in a way. Even riding motorcycles, you’re staring at the concrete. It’s right there, you can come off that thing and get horribly messed up. And I’ve done it. It’s horrible. You find out how human you are, how vulnerable. There’s lots of things about my life that, yeah, I did kind of call death at times. Not really mean to, but you just were living like that.

Imagine if it was today. If I was doing what I was back then today, I would be dead because I would have run into fentanyl.

AP: You're nominated for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame for the first time. Do you think your younger punk rock self would be excited?

IDOL: I do sort of think about Bo Diddley and Chuck Berry and Little Richard. “And what? Are you going to be in something with those guys?” You know, Buddy Holly. These are some of the seminal people who turned on the people that turned me on, you know? Somewhere down the road, it led to punk rock.

Also, my motorcycle has been in the Rock & Roll of Fame for like five years. So I might as well be in it, too.