Lia Torá

Biography

Lia Tora was born Horacia Correa D'Avila on May 12, 1907, in Rio de Janerio to Portuguese and Spanish parents, She studied dance at the Dance Academy of Barcelona in Spain and when she was 18 returned to Brazil with the Velasco Dance Company to perform. In 1924, she met Julio De Moraes, a Brazilian newspaperman and industrialist who was 26 years older than Tora. De Moraes was married and had a son, but he left his wife for Tora and they married. In 1925, twins Marie Julio and Julio Mario were born. Tora had hoped to transition from dancing to a film career. A year after her children were born, she entered a contest sponsored by Fox Films' foreign offices in their search new talent from Brazil, Spain and Italy. The prize was an expense-paid trip to Hollywood and an audition that would lead to a film contract. Tora won the contest arrived in the United States in September 1927. Director Wallace MacDonald cast her in the comedy "The Low Necker" (1927) and released it just three moths after Tora's arrival in the United States. But Fox didn't know what to do with Tora, especially since sound had arrived and the Brazilian actress spoke little English. She was virtually idle for a year before appearing in a small role as a girlfriend in "Making the Grade" (1929). With no significant parts offered, Tora co-wrote with De Moraes a screenplay for director Douglas Z. Doty. The result was "The Veiled Woman" (1929) with Paul Vincent and Bela Lugosi. The plot focused on Tora's character who rescues a young woman from a womanizer. She then tells the young woman of the men in her own life through flashbacks. Fox then dropped Tora from her contract. She decided to stay in Hollywood, forming Brasilian Southern Cross Productions in 1929 and setting up her headquarters at Tec-Art Studios on Melrose Avenue. The new production company's first project was "Mary, the Beautiful" (possibly retitled "Soul of a Peasant"). De Moraes directed the project with Tora as the leading lady. But the production company did little after its initial film. After appearing in the Universal film "Don Juan Diplomático" (1931), Tora returned to Fox to film the Spanish-language version of "Charlie Chan Carries On" ("Eran Trece"), which was released in December 1931. But Tora never mastered English and her efforts to produce Spanish-language films through Brasilian Southern Cross failed. Her Hollywood career effectively ended in 1932. She returned to Rio de Janerio where she indulged in her passion for auto racing. She often joined her husband as a co-driver and navigator. During the 279-kilometer Grand Prix Cidade de Rio de Janeiro Gávea Circuit race on Oct. 3, 1934, De Moraes and Tora crashed their Chrysler Adaptado on the sixth lap. Tora was seriously injured, but she recovered. By 1938, Tora was heavily involved in Brazilian politics. During this period Germans in Brazil formed the Integralista, an organization of intellectuals and artists who advocated for a fascist government. On May 11, 1938, the Integralists staged an attempted coup of President Getulio Vargas' government. The uprising failed and police arrested more than 1,000 civilians and hundreds of military officers. Tora and De Moraes were tried in a tribunal on charges of conspiracy to overthrow the government. Evidence included testimony that Belmiro Valverde, a ringleader of the attempted coup, was arrested at Tora's home with a large quantity of dynamite hidden his car. The court convicted De Moraes but it ruled Tora not guilty on March 1, 1939. Tora appeared in one more movie, the Brazilian production of "The Confessions of Frei Pumpkin" (1971). She died in May 27, 1972.