 However Pasolini was murdered before this came to pass.Since Merli's mentor had died and his choice of roles (or perhaps the ones he was offered) had been rather unconventional, he failed to find further work in the industry, despite his versatility as an actor with a range from pure innocence to debauchery.The fact that he had become so strongly identified as the "face" and "body" of the controversial "Salò" was a contributing factor.