Later Life
Naldi filed bankruptcy in 1932. She went back to the stage with Queer People and The Firebird in 1933. The press had been critical of her weight since 1924, but reviews were especially harsh this time—so harsh that Naldi filed suit against one paper in 1934 for $500,000. The suit was dismissed in 1938.
In 1942 Naldi was considered for For Whom the Bell Tolls but did not receive the part. She never made another film. That same year she began appearing in a revue in New York with Mae Murray reciting the 1897 poem "A Fool There Was" in full kitsch.
In 1952 she had a notable role in the play In Any Language, co-starring the legendary stage actress Uta Hagen. In 1956 she coached Carol Channing how to vamp, for Channing's new musical Vamp!. Channing would be nominated for Best Actress in a Musical for that role.
Naldi spent her final years in New York City. She died of a heart attack in her apartment just short of her 66th birthday, and was buried in the family plot at Calvary Cemetery in Woodside, Queens County, New York, United States.
For her contribution to the film industry, Nita Naldi was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6316 Hollywood Blvd.
Read more about this topic: Nita Naldi
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