A Whole Load Of Front

A Whole Load Of Front

In March 2011, Maria will be celebrating her 70th birthday and a staggering 50 years in the entertainment industry. Maria Venuti was discovered at 17 on a sidewalk in Kings Cross by Ron Roman. Ron had co-founded and played with the original Johnny O'Keefe and the Dee Jays so he was already part of Australian music history.

Maria discovered just a few years ago that she had a half sister and that her Sicilian father had a secret family. In 1998 Maria met her 'surprise' sister.

Maria toured the luxury hotels in Asia during the 60s and entertained the Americans on R&R from the bases at Okinawa, Taiwan, the Philippines, Japan, and Guam and has been a regular feature on many of Australia's favourite TV shows including the legendary The Graham Kennedy In Melbourne Tonight shows, Brian Henderson's Bandstand, The Done Lane Show, hosting Variety Italian Style, The Mike Walsh Show and regular appearances on Bert Newton's Good Morning Australia for over 14 years. Maria continues to appear on our screens, recently on the 2010 Logie Awards.

Maria Venuti is one of Australia's most loved and enduring showbiz personalities. For half a century she has entertained, amused, and thrilled audiences around the country and around the world. Maria is also one of our most prominent entertainers - it's hard to miss her when she's dressed to thrill for a show, a celebrity function, or a charity event.

Always larger than life, Maria has, during her seven decades, occasionally outraged, sometimes shocked, and frequently delighted those who have been fortunate enough to cross her path and be inspired by her boundless energy. With Maria, what you see is what you get.

But…Maria is not just a curvaceous bella donna with a welcoming smile and a heightened sense of the saucy. She is a mother, a daughter, a lover, a singer, an actress and a tireless worker for charitable causes.

Her enthralling story begins in the Mediterranean, and moves through the Bohemia of Kings Cross in Sydney in the Fifties, the Asian entertainment circuit in the Sixties, into TV, clubs, theatre and films, she continues to surprise us to the present day - and with no intention of growing old gracefully.

Along the way, Maria has encountered many intriguing people including highprofile faces nationally and internationally - and a discerning line-up of lovers who have been shaken and stirred by her.

This is Maria's story, told with her natural vibrancy, honesty and unmistakable style. While it may be the story of an Australian showbiz icon, it is also a fascinating glimpse into a vibrant time in Australia's past.

A Whole Load Of Front
New Holland Press
Author: Maria Venuti
Price: $32.95