Sun Herald
Reviewed by Robyn Doreian
IN THE 1990s, Maria Venuti was notable for three things: entertainment, aVetta pasta advertisement and her DD bust. Such was the focus on her faux leopard skin-cupped breasts that Graham Kennedy quipped: “What God missed giving Mia Farrow, he more than quadrupled for Australia’s voluptuous singing star. A Who Load o Frontreflects on Venuti’s showbiz life, which spanned frontingjazz acts at Kings
Cross supper clubs and singing to American troops in Okinawa, to TV appearances on Kennedy’s In Melbourne Tonight and The Don Lane Show. Acting then delivered roles in the SBS comedy,Pizza, and subsequent movie, Fat P izza. Venial was born to immigrant parents. Her mother, Isabella, was sent from Cairo to Sydney to live with her aunt until she got over an unsuitable boyfriend. At her aunt’s boarding house in Redfern, Isabella met Antonino Venuti, who had fled Mussolini’s Italy.
After a brief courtship, they married in 1940. As it was wartime, Antonino’s “alien enemy” status made him a spy suspect, with police raiding their Ultimo home. The Venuti household was strict. As a rebellious teenager, Maria soon discovered boys and, at 14, put herself in a situation where she was almost raped and killed. Three years later, she discovered “not only men in uniform but Sydney’s nightlife” and met Ron Roman, who had played with Johnny O’Keefe. This chance encounter led to gigs and she soon ditched her secretarial career for singing.
A self-proclaimed “sexpot”, in 1973 Venuti married plumber and model Tony Hughes, and the next year gave birth to a daughter, Bianca. Four years later, the marriage was over. A further relationship lasted almost eight years, after which began affairs, several with married men. At first, her parents didn’t approve of her career, but once she saw her on TV, her mother boasted: “Thatsa my Maria!” The 70-year-old’s memoir is written how Venuti presents: flamboyant and uncensored. Her passion for music and life match the size of her celebrated chest.
