The iconic meeting took place in 1957. Sophia Loren's career had just skyrocketed in Europe and this was a Beverly Hills party organized by Paramount Studies, to welcome her to Tinsletown. Loren had been the most photographed actress at the 1955 Cannes Film Festival - but felt that her spotlight was stolen in Hollywood by blonde bombshell, Jayne Mansfield, who greeted her at her table.
In later years, Loren said about the meeting: "I’m so frightened that everything in her dress is going to blow—BOOM!—and spill all over the table"
They believed the disease was airborne and was spread by miasma, which is a noxious form of "bad air."
To battle this perceived threat, the long beak was packed with such sweet smells as dried flowers, herbs and spices. Also the bird-beak mask provided the doctors with creepy award-winning costumes for any fancy dress party they might be attending.
The doctors' attempt at safety backfired in the sense that the bird masks became a symbol of the Black Death.
