A performer with a long list of theater and television credits, Anita Gillette played Mona, the sultry, easily impressed mistress of Loretta's father. Loretta refers to her as "a real piece of cheap goods." Mona is one of the few characters in "Moonstruck" who is not particularly nuanced. She has few words of dialogue and is in some ways a stock character — the girlfriend who is not particularly bright. In John Patrick Shanley's actual screenplay (via Daily Script), she is described as "a pretty but overripe Italian woman in her late forties."
Gillette, who is now 86, had an extensive Broadway career starting in the late 1950s. She was a frequent guest on many game and talk shows, including "To Tell the Truth," "The $25,000 Pyramid," and "Match Game." She was a guest on "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" seven times, and she has performed a one-woman cabaret act in New York City.
Per Broadway World, the Manhattan Association of Cabaret honored her with a Lifetime Achievement Award. Looking back on her career, Gillette told the outlet, "Speaking of film, the best result from an audition was when I got 'Moonstruck' and the role of Miss Mona." She had dressed like star Joan Collins from "Dynasty," showing cleavage and sporting a fascinator. Gillette praised director Norman Jewison and added, "I was so happy to do that small but important role in a classic like that."
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7r7XCpKCsr5mbwW%2BvzqZmamhjbIBxhY6wn5qsXZm8pr%2BMrZ%2BeZZOWwLV5zp9kpqefo8C1vtScomakn6S4brjIpJxmrJ%2BZrrp7