Directed by Riccardo Donna, Mrs. Playmen, based on a true story, is an interesting series about a businesswoman who probably started her journey to prove to society that a woman didn’t need a man holding her hand for her to succeed, but along the way she found her calling. Adelina Tattilo was pretty good at what she did, and she realized that for years she had just wasted her skill and talent, probably because she never had the confidence in her own abilities. It was only after her husband left the city and she had to take charge of the magazine that she realized she had some really good ideas that could take their publication to new heights. So let’s find out what the real-life story of Adelina Tattilo was, which events shown in the series happened in real life, and where the makers took creative liberties.
Who Was The Real Emma Bellini?
As stated earlier, the names of a few characters have been changed in the series, and the makers have taken certain creative liberties pertaining to the narrative. I believe the character of Emma Bellini depicted the real-life Italian TV personality Carmen Russo, who did many projects with the state-owned public broadcaster, RAI (Radiotelevisione Italiana). Carmen struggled to get roles in films, and apparently even after winning beauty pageants, she stood in audition lines and often had to be satisfied by appearances that didn’t leave any impact on screen. But then in 1979 Carmen’s pictures were published by the adult magazine Playmen, and her career just skyrocketed. She started getting lead roles in films and television shows, and if reports are to be believed, at one point in time she was the highest-paid model in the country.
The series showed us that Adelina Tattilo wanted somebody like Bellini to pose for the magazine, as she wanted to change the perspective people had about their magazine. Adelina knew that Bellini was someone who had a very clean image that adhered to the stereotypical notions of the conservative society. Adelina wanted to show the people that a woman, even if she was religious, ethical, and had a good reputation, had certain sexual desires. She wanted to state that expressing oneself wasn’t a sin, and it was quite hypocritical to call it in bad taste when men weren’t judged before objectifying a woman. Now, I don’t know if Adelina’s motive behind offering Carmen Russo to feature in her magazine was exactly the same or not, but I believe there would have been some truth to it.
Who was Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis?
Jacqueline Kennedy got married to the Greek businessman Aristotle Onassis in 1968, and her marriage was talked about almost everywhere in the world, majorly because she was the ex-wife of the American president. Jacqueline found herself in yet another controversy after compromising pictures of her were published in Playmen magazine without her consent. In the series as well as in real life, there were rumors that it was Aristotle who had given the details to the photographer and allowed him to come onto his property and click pictures of Jacqueline. Apparently, Aristotle wanted to find a way to tarnish Jaqueline’s image and pin the blame for their failed marriage on her.
The photographer was the one who contacted Adelina Tattilo and then got a good sum for the photos. The photographer also approached Playboy magazine, but obviously since the magazine operated on US soil, they refrained from breaking the story and being the ones to publish the pictures. It was said that the White House wanted to press charges against the Playmen magazine, but Adelina played her cards well and made sure that that didn’t happen. In the series, it is shown that Adelina went and had a chat with Aristotle and Jacqueline when they were having lunch together at a restaurant. There was something about Adelina that Jacqueline really liked, and she saw a lot of herself in Playmen’s editor. Maybe Adelina was who Jacqueline wanted to be, and she felt a very weird sense of liberation after talking to her. That said, it was not a very noble move on the Playmen’s part to publish those photos, but they needed to publish something that explosive to stay in business, and so that’s what they did.
Was Saro Balsamo an abusive man?
There is so little information out there about Saro Balsamo that it is almost impossible to understand the kind of man he would have been in real life. What we know for sure is that he was married to Adelina, together they launched Playmen in 1967 and they had three children together. Adelina and Saro worked together until the former took over the magazine and became the sole owner. If the facts shown in the series are to be believed, then Saro had many affairs outside his marriage. He was addicted to gambling and was just on the verge of becoming a convicted felon. The nature of the work they did and the kind of content they published in the Playmen magazine put them at risk of being put behind bars at any moment. Saro did marry a second time to a woman named Roberta, and he ended up starting a new publication by the name of Le Ore (something he starred in the series as well). In Mrs. Playmen it’s shown that Saro was a megalomaniac who wanted to be in control of the narrative and always have his way. He left the city when he stood the risk of facing conviction for multiple criminal charges and then conveniently came back when it suited him. Playmen might have been his brainchild, but it was Adelina who brought it into the mainstream. Adelina refused to accept that it was primarily a magazine that published adult content. She wanted the magazine to be a tool for cultural liberation and not just earn profits through it. She wanted Playmen to be her pride and not something because of which she had to feel embarrassed. The series shows us that the takeover of the magazine wasn’t very cordial. In fact, Adelina had to threaten her husband and tell him that she would report that he got married a second time before getting a divorce from her (which is a legal offense) if he didn’t let her be.
Did Playboy magazine file a case against Adelina Tattilo?
It is true that Hugh Hefner’s Playboy magazine did file a lawsuit against Adelina for using their name to make sales. Due to the lawsuit, Adelina was asked to stop the distribution of her magazine in the United States of America, but the Italian courts did not treat the judgment as a precedent. In Italy, Adelina was allowed to publish her magazine, as the Playboy name wasn’t considered to be so strong as to influence the choices of the readers. That said, at a later stage, it was found that unauthorized online distribution of pictures from Playmen magazine was taking place in the US, due to which certain legal action was taken against Adelina and her team. But I have to state here that, although Saro may have been influenced by Playboy magazine when he decided to start something in Italy, at a later stage, it became much more than what its American counterpart stood for. Yes, I agree it was largely bought for its adult content, but at least there was an effort put forth by the editorial team to make it a tool to usher in a cultural renaissance.
