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- Actor
- Producer
As a teenager, Coiro, a talented visual artist, spent summers building sets and operating lights at the New Jersey Shakespeare Festival. Inspired by numerous productions, including Julie Taymor's "Titus Andronicus" at Theater For A New Audience, Coiro decided to study theater at Carnegie Mellon University, where he eventually graduated with a BFA. He also spent time studying at The Moscow Art Theater in Russia. Coiro got his first professional gig as an understudy to three roles in the American premiere of Conor McPherson's off-Broadway play "This Lime Tree Bower" directed by Harris Yulin at Primary Stages. Within a month of graduating from CMU, Coiro landed the role of Eddie the Bellhop in the Lincoln Center revival of George S. Kauffman's "Dinner at Eight", directed by the late Gerald Gutierrez. Coiro then moved to Los Angeles and began working in construction, including a stint building a house with Nick Offerman. As recounted on Jerry Ferrara's podcast "Bad 4 Business", Coiro received the call that he'd landed his first on-screen acting gig, as Billy Walsh on "Entourage", while digging a hole for a deck in Echo Park. The role of Walsh was originally meant to be a guest star but soon evolved into an iconic character that has defined Coiro's career.- Costume Designer
- Actress
- Costume and Wardrobe Department
Donatella Versace was born on 2 May 1955 in Reggio di Calabria, Italy. She is a costume designer and actress, known for Madonna: Take a Bow (1994), Trailer for a Remake of Gore Vidal's Caligula (2005) and Madonna: Celebration - The Video Collection (2009). She was previously married to Paul Beck.- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
Darkly handsome Nick Mancuso, born Nicodemo Antonio Massimo Mancuso, was born in 1948 in Mammola, Italy but raised as a child in Canada (from age 8). During his over four decade career, films claimed him as the Antichrist (Franco Macalousso) in the Apocalypse trilogy produced by Cloud Ten Pictures (Revelation (1999), Tribulation (2000) and Judgment (2001)), and TV has him best known for his starring roles in the NBC action series Stingray (1986), which ran for two seasons, and as the title hitman who becomes a target himself in the one-season Matrix (1993).
Although he developed an interest in acting in high school, he chose to study psychology at the University of Toronto. The acting bug bit again, however, and he was soon drawn to various Canadian theatre groups in the 1970s. During this time, he became artistic director for the Vancouver Playhouse Theatre, at the same time building up his classical resume at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival.
TV and film soon came his way in the late 1970s, and he tackled roles both in Hollywood, first as TV's Dr. Scorpion (1978), and back in his homeland, where he won the prestigious Genie award for the movie Ticket to Heaven (1981) as a man caught up in a religious cult. He impressed moviegoers as well with his moody, sexy presence in the US film Heartbreakers (1984) co-starring Peter Coyote and has also provided solid support for other stars, notably for Steven Seagal in one of that star's best action thrillers Under Siege (1992).
A sturdy name as an anti-hero or heavy in modestly-budgeted independents, Nick has proven over the years to be a solid, durable player in the "tough guy" crime mold, almost always with a serious edge. More recent, post-millennium gritty films include Time of Fear (2002) Today You Die (2005), starring his "Under Siege" cohort Steven Seagal, Contract Killers (2008), Violent Blue (2011), Entity (2013) and The Big Fat Stone (2014).- Raf Vallone was an internationally acclaimed Italian movie star known for his rugged good looks. The athletic Vallone, a former soccer player who often was compared to Burt Lancaster, was born Raffaele Vallone in 1916 in Tropea in Calabria, Italy, the son of a prominent lawyer and his aristocratic wife. At the University of Turin, Vallone took degrees in law and philosophy and then entered his father's law firm.
Vallone played semi-professional soccer but never realized his dream of becoming a professional athlete. Subsequently, he became a sports reporter for L'Unita, a communist newspaper, and also a drama critic for La Stampa. During World War II, Vallone served with the anti-Fascist resistance.
His first job as a movie actor was a bit part in We the Living (1942) (aka, "We the Living"), but Vallone was not serious about acting as a career. Hired as a researcher on a film about labor unrest, director Giuseppe De Santis cast Vallone as a soldier competing with Vittorio Gassman for the love of Silvana Mangano in what became the neo-realist classic Bitter Rice (1949) ("Bitter Rice"). The film propelled Vallone, pronounced a natural actor by De Santis, into international stardom and ended his journalism career.
Vallone became a major star in Italy in the 1950s and then a player in the global film industry, making movies in Italian, French and English. Vallone achieved popularity with American audiences in the 1960s, starting with his supporting roles in Two Women (1960) ("Two Women") and El Cid (1961), both co-starring Sophia Loren. Other major actresses he co-starred with on film and stage included Gina Lollobrigida, Anna Magnani, Melina Mercouri, Simone Signoret, and Elena Varzi, to whom he was married for 52 years, until his death in 2002.
Vallone's first "American" role was as the incest-minded Italian-American longshoreman Eddie Carbone in Sidney Lumet's film of Arthur Miller's A View from the Bridge (1962) ("A View from the Bridge"). Other prominent roles in American films included Otto Preminger's The Cardinal (1963), Roger Corman's The Secret Invasion (1964), Harlow (1965) starring Carroll Baker, and Henry Hathaway's Nevada Smith (1966).
Vallone played many priests during his long career, culminating with the cardinal-confessor of mobster Michael Corleone, a priest who becomes pope and is murdered in Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather Part III (1990). Appearing for the other side, Vallone was memorable as the Mafia boss Altabani in the original The Italian Job (1969). - Born in Italy in 1925, Antony Carbone was raised in Syracuse, New York, and credits the area's cold and snow (which he hated) for his determination to move out and become an actor. He has worked on stage, in TV and in a baker's dozen movies, but his best-remembered acting credits are the exploitation flicks he made for Roger Corman (A Bucket of Blood (1959), Last Woman on Earth (1960), Creature from the Haunted Sea (1961), The Pit and the Pendulum (1961)). He is now a stage director.
- Cinematographer
- Camera and Electrical Department
Mauro Fiore was born on 15 November 1964 in Marzi, Calabria, Italy. He is a cinematographer, known for Avatar (2009), Training Day (2001) and The Island (2005). He has been married to Christine Vollmer since 2000. They have three children.- Actor
- Writer
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Leopoldo Trieste was born on 3 May 1917 in Reggio Calabria, Calabria, Italy. He was an actor and writer, known for Il peccato degli anni verdi (1960), Don't Look Now (1973) and Seduced and Abandoned (1964). He died on 25 January 2003 in Rome, Lazio, Italy.- Actor
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Ninetto Davoli was born on 11 October 1948 in San Pietro a Maida, Calabria, Italy. He is an actor and assistant director, known for Uno su due (2006), The Decameron (1971) and La Tosca (1973). He has been married to Patrizia Carlomosti since 1973. They have two children.- Gianna Maria Canale was born on 12 September 1927 in Reggio di Calabria, Calabria, Italy. She was an actress, known for Clash of Steel (1962), Theodora, Slave Empress (1954) and Dead Woman's Kiss (1949). She was married to Riccardo Freda. She died on 13 February 2009 in Florence, Tuscany, Italy.
- Vittoria Belvedere was born on 17 January 1972 in Vibo Valentia, Calabria, Italy. She is an actress, known for Augustus: The First Emperor (2003), Zoloto (1992) and Sturmzeit (1999). She has been married to Vasco Valerio since 12 June 1999. They have three children.
- Actor
- Stunts
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Riccardo Pizzuti was born on 28 May 1934 in Cetraro, Calabria, Italy. He is an actor and assistant director, known for Uno sceriffo extraterrestre... poco extra e molto terrestre (1979), Crime Busters (1977) and Lady Frankenstein (1971).- Costume Designer
- Costume and Wardrobe Department
- Production Designer
Gianni Versace was born on 2 December 1946 in Reggio di Calabria, Italy. He was a costume designer and production designer, known for Judge Dredd (1995), Showgirls (1995) and Cover Up (1984). He died on 15 July 1997 in Miami Beach, Florida, USA.- Antonio Cantafora was born on 2 February 1944 in Crotone, Calabria, Italy. He was an actor, known for Carambola (1974), Diamond Pedlars (1976) and And God Said to Cain... (1970). He died on 20 April 2024 in Rome, Italy.
- Peppino Mazzotta was born on 20 May 1971 in Domanico, Calabria, Italy. He is an actor, known for Black Souls (2014), La velocità della luce (2007) and We Believed (2010).
- Director
- Writer
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
After school, Amelio studied philosophy. He graduated with a doctorate. Amelio developed a keen interest in film at a young age. In 1970 he began working as a cameraman for the Italian state television RAI. A little later, Amelio worked as an assistant director for RAI. In 1970 he directed his first television film: "La fine del gioco". He then also took part in the production of several TV commercials, for example for the state-owned airline Alitalia. In the 1970s, Amelio first attracted attention in international cinema with films such as "La città del sole" (1973), "La morte al lavoro" (1978) and "Il piccolo Archimede" (1979).
Amelio celebrated his breakthrough as an internationally recognized film director in 1990 with "Porte aperte". With "Il ladro di bambini" in 1992, Gianni Amelio impressively staged the conflicts of conscience of a carabinieri officer in today's Italian society. In 1994 he came to the public with the film "Lamerica", which dealt with the current refugee problem between Albania and Italy and exposed the unscrupulous dealings with the plight of refugees by the smuggling organizations. The director has been honored with several international awards for his film work.
He received an Oscar nomination in 1991 for "Porte aperte". In 1992, Amelio was awarded the Nastro d'Argento, the Felix Award and the Cannes Grand Prix for "Il ladro di bambini". Another silver ribbon (Nastro d'Argento) at the Venice Film Festival followed in 1994 for "Lamerica". In the same year he received the Grolla d'Oro for his life's work. In 1996 the Spanish Goya Film Prize also followed for "Lamerica". The director also published a book under the same title in 1994 about the film "Lamerica". At the same time, Amelio also worked as a theater director: in 1995 he staged the play "I pagliacci" in Genoa's Carlo Felice Theater. The director's other successful films were "Così ridevano" in 1998 and "Le chiavi di casa" in 2004.
In 2008 he took over the management of the Torino Film Festival from Nanni Moretti.- Cinematographer
- Camera and Electrical Department
- Art Department
Italian-born Nicholas Musuraca's first job in the film business was as a chauffeur to early pioneering producer/director J. Stuart Blackton. Having a knack for photography, he worked behind the cameras in a variety of jobs before finally becoming a cinematographer (or, as they were called in those days, "lighting cameraman"). Musuraca spent most of his career at RKO Pictures, where he became known as a master of lighting--he was once admiringly described by a fellow cameraman as "a painter with light"--and was largely responsible for the gritty, moody camerawork that became that studio's signature. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his work on I Remember Mama (1948). After leaving RKO in the late '50s he worked for a short period at Warner Bros., but then joined Desilu Studios and spent the remainder of his career in television.- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Marcello Fonte was born on 7 November 1978 in Melito di Porto Salvo, Calabria, Italy. He is an actor and director, known for Dogman (2018), Asino vola (2015) and Il posto della felicità (2019).- Producer
- Director
- Actor
In 1976, Julius graduated from St. John's University with a Bachelor of Science degree in pharmacy. He then earned an advanced Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the University of Connecticut. While attending college in 1974, he founded Universal Marine Medical Supply, Co. (UMMSC), which is now the largest international medical supply company servicing cruise ships, oil rigs, super yachts, merchant vessels, tankers, and freighters. Julius is CEO of UMMSC, which maintains offices in New York, Miami, Houston, San Francisco, Los Angeles, New Orleans, Southampton England, Singapore and Athens.
In 1977, Julius and his college professor Dr. Satish Patel formed Tishcon Corporation, one of the nation's largest private labeling vitamin and health supplement manufacturing plants, headquartered in Westbury, New York. In 1978, along with Xavier Roberts, he capitalized on the the worldwide Cabbage Patch craze by opening the Cabbage Patch Babyland General Hospital Store, formerly located on 41st Street and 5th Avenue in Manhattan. At Babyland General Hospital Julius met Steve Ross, then CEO of Time Warner, who became instrumental in Julius' acquisition of an overall production deal at Warner Brothers Studios in Burbank, California.
In 1980, while continuing his career in pharmaceutical distribution, Julius accepted a position as a personal assistant to director Sergio Leone. Under Leone, Julius worked on the New York portion of Once Upon a Time in America (1984) and participated in the development of two films: In God's Name and Saint Peter's Banker. At this time, Julius began to attend courses and seminars in film production at Cinecittà Studios in Rome, Italy. From 1981 to 1983, while still developing projects with Leone, Julius went on to produce a television pilot for a Fox TV show entitled "Behind the 8 Ball," starring Jerry Orbach, John Amos, and Jimmy Baio.
Julius's next venture was as Head of International Promotions for the action film Above the Law (1988). This led to a 17-year producing partnership with Warner Brothers Studios, where Julius was responsible for producing a series of action blockbusters including: Hard to Kill (1990), Marked for Death (1990), Out for Justice (1991), Under Siege (1992), On Deadly Ground (1994), Under Siege 2: Dark Territory (1995), The Glimmer Man (1996), Fire Down Below (1997) and The Patriot (1998).
After his 17-year tenure at Warner Brothers Studios as a producer, Julius returned to New York and co-founded Manhattan Pictures. Julius then produced and distributed Enigma (2001), starring Kate Winslet, The Secret Lives of Dentists (2002) and In Praise of Love (2001), a Jean-Luc Godard film. In concurrence with Manhattan Pictures, Julius founded Julius R. Nasso Productions, which produced award-winning films including: Prince of Central Park (2000), starring Kathleen Turner, Danny Aiello, Cathy Moriarty, Jerry Orbach and Harvey Keitel; and One Eyed King (2001), starring William Baldwin, Dash Mihok, Armand Assante, Jason Gedrick, Connie Britton, and Chazz Palminteri.
Julius' most acclaimed achievement is his production of Narc (2002), starring Jason Patric, Ray Liotta, and Busta Rhymes, which was nominated for the Sundance Film Festival's Grand Jury Award and won the Special Prize Policier Award at the Cognac Film Festival in France. Following Narc, Julius produced In Enemy Hands (2004), starring William H. Macy, Til Schweiger, Lauren Holly, and Scott Caan; and Hearts of War (2007), starring Roy Schneider and Daryl Hannah, and Nina Dobrev.
Since 2006, Julius has been working as Harry Belafonte's producer on a number of projects including Sing Your Song (2011) and Another Night In The Free World. Sing Your Song is a biographical documentary that surveys the life and times of singer/actor/activist Harry Belafonte. Another Night In The Free World will be Julius' first movie documentary promoting nonviolence.
Julius has produced multiple films premiering in 2013, including Accidental Love (2015), starring Academy Award nominee Jake Gyllenhaal and Jessica Biel; Squatters (2014), starring Academy Award winner Richard Dreyfuss and Thomas Dekker; Breakout (2013), starring Brendan Fraser and Dominic Purcell; Pride of Lions (2014) starring Louis Gossett Jr. and Bo Svenson; and Getaway (2013), inspired by the Steve McQueen hit of the same name, starring Ethan Hawke, Selena Gomez and Jon Voight.
Julius has recently teamed up with Whoopi Goldberg to produce The Christmas Pearl, based on the bestselling novel written by Dorothea Benton Frank and scheduled to be released Christmas 2014.
Julius has earned numerous critical honors, including the 2012 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Documentary for his work with Harry Belafonte on Sing Your Song (2011). He is a 20-year Directors Guild of America member and a highly respected philanthropist, having been honored by countless civic leaders and institutions for his tireless charitable works. Julius recently co-founded Belafonte Arts and Media, located in Manhattan, has multiple movie projects in development and remains CEO of UMMSC International.- Director
- Writer
Carlo Carlei was born on 16 April 1960 in Lamezia Terme, Calabria, Italy. He is a director and writer, known for Flight of the Innocent (1992), The Last Legion (2007) and Padre Pio (2000).- Actor
- Additional Crew
Jack Perry was born on 7 March 1895 in Nicastro, Catanzaro, Calabria, Italy. He was an actor, known for Steady Company (1932), Celebrity (1928) and A Woman's Man (1934). He died on 7 October 1971 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Cristiano Caccamo is an Italian actor. Graduated at the Experimental Center of Cinematography, in 2010 he made his debut in theaters. The first movie that gives him a leading role is "Cenere", released in 2014. The TV debut comes in 2015 with "Questo è il mio paese". In 2017, he joins the cast of "Che Dio ci aiuti", a successful Rai TV series and then of "Don Matteo". In 2018, he is also the protagonist of the movie "Puoi baciare lo sposo", along with Salvatore Esposito and the colleague and friend Diana del Bufalo.- Alessandro Pess was born on 30 June 1981 in Nocera Terinese, Calabria, Italy. He is an actor, known for The Equalizer 3 (2023), House of Gucci (2021) and Good and Evil (2009).
- Swamy Rotolo was born on 14 August 2004 in Gioia Tauro, Calabria, Italy. She is an actress, known for A Chiara (2021), Io e il Secco and A Ciambra (2017).
- Francesco Colella was born on 1 June 1974 in Catanzaro, Calabria, Italy. He is an actor and writer, known for The Good Mothers (2023), ZeroZeroZero (2019) and Don Matteo (2000).
- Actor
- Writer
- Director
Peter Savage was born on 9 September 1920 in Calabria, Italy. He was an actor and writer, known for Raging Bull (1980), Cauliflower Cupids (1970) and The Runaways (1965). He was married to Eleanor Smyrski. He died on 29 December 1981 in St. Maarten, Netherlands Antilles.- Francesco Mastroianni was born on 10 October 1991 in Rende, Province of Cosenza, Calabria, Italy. He is an actor, known for Mafia Mamma (2023), Calibro 9 (2020) and Dead Uncle (2016).
- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
Mehdi Meskar was born on 22 March 1995 in Reggio Calabria, Calabria, Italy. He is an actor and producer, known for Woke (2017), The Accidental Rebel (2019) and In the House (2012).- Actress
- Music Department
- Stunts
Nika Perrone was born in Calabria, in the south of Italy.
She was shortlisted for the Emmy Awards in 2020 for her work in 'ZeroZeroZero'. She speaks English, Spanish, French, Arbereshe.
At the cinema, she has been directed by Angelina Jolie, Julian Jarrold, Valeria Golino, Stefano Sollima, Letizia Lamartire, Pablo Trapero, Maria Sole Tognazzi, Francesca Archibugi, Janus Metz, and Elisa Amoruso. She has also participated in theatrical festivals such as the Venice Biennale, Spoleto Festival, and Dionisie of Segesta (Greek theater).
She graduated from the National Academy of Dramatic Art 'Silvio D'Amico' (Italy), the Ecole des Maitres with Angelica Liddell (participating in a European tour as an actress in her show), and the School of Dramatic Art 'Miguel Salcedo Hierro' (Spain).- Steve Conte was born on January 16, 1920, in Gagliato, Italy. He came to the US with his family in 1926. They sailed to New York, where he spent his teenage years. During WWII he served in the Army Air Corps, where he was based in Europe. Soon after the war he married and had two children, Shirley and Bruce. Sometime in the late 1950s he divorced and focused on his career. His ex-wife and children moved to Las Vegas sometime later. At the time the family had been living in Los Angeles, where Steve continued to reside. One of his favorite hangouts was Schwab's on Sunset and La Cienega, known for its show business-based clientèle. In 1960 he had a son, Steve, who was put up for adoption, and who searched for and found him in 1992. Among family and close friends, he was known for his sense of humor and love of practical jokes.
- Actor
- Writer
- Director
Tony Nardi is a two-time winner of the Genie Award for Best Actor for his roles in La Sarrasine and My Father's Angel. In 2010, the year of the 30th Annual Genie Awards, Tony Nardi made the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television's 30th Anniversary Top Ten list in the lead actor category. His numerous award-winning film appearances include Caffè Italia (lead), Concrete Angels (1988 Genie nomination), La Sarrazine (1992 Genie Award), La Déroute (1998 Guy L'Écuyer Award, Genie nomination), and My Father's Angel (2000 Sonoma Wine & Country Film Festival Co-winner; Genie Award). Tony's television credits include Rossini's Ghost; Galileo: On the Shoulders of Giants; Bonanno: A Godfather's Story; Almost America, Il Duce Canadese (miniseries) for which he received a Gemini Award Nomination; and Indian Summer: The Oka Crisis (miniseries). Tony Nardi has performed extensively in theatre. He's appeared at Montreal Theatre Lab, Theatre 2000, the Stratford Festival and the Great Canadian Theatre Company, and earned acclaim for his roles in Nineteen Eighty-Four (Montreal Gazette Critic's Award 1979); La Storia Calvino (Dora Mavor Moore Award nomination 1985); A Flea in Her Ear (Dora Mavor Moore Award nomination, 2001); and The Lesson (Dora Mavor Moore Award 2002). Tony Nardi is co-author (with Vincent Ierfino) of La Storia dell'Emigrante, produced in 1979 in Montreal and Toronto. In 1982 La Storia dell'Emigrante received the inaugural James Buller Award for best original Canadian play at the Ontario Multicultural Theatre Festival. In 1990 Nardi's second play, A Modo Suo: A Fable (written in Calabrian) received a Dora Award Nomination for Best Play. An English translation was published in its entirety in the Fall 2000 issue of Canadian Theatre Review. His theatrical (documentary) monologues, Two Letters...And Counting!, are based on actual correspondence sent to "middle-men" of the Canadian cultural scene - a television producer, two theatre critics, and an arts council officer. Two Letters received a 2007 Dora Award Nomination for Outstanding New Play. The three Letters have been filmed in front of a live audience in one take. His newly published book, Two Letters...And Counting!, is based on the earlier staged versions. In 1992 he received the 125th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada Medal, awarded to Canadians for significant contribution to their fellow citizens, to their community, or to Canada.- Valeria Sabel was born on 7 April 1928 in Filandari, Calabria, Italy. She was an actress, known for The Godfather Part III (1990), Villa Arzilla (1990) and They Call Me Renegade (1987). She died on 18 August 2009 in Rome, Italy.
- Gino Renni was born on 7 June 1943 in Corigliano Calabro, Cosenza, Calabria, Italy. He was an actor, known for Amándote (1988), Amándote II (1990) and Dr. Amor (2003). He died on 1 August 2021 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
- Producer
- Director
- Actor
Santo Pennestrì was born in Reggio Calabria on 22 January 2002, he is an Italian writer. He began his career in 2019 with the publication of his first book entitled "'Ndrina". In 2023 he published his second book entitled "Romanzo d'onore". In 2025 he published his third book entitled "The Assassination of Richard Jescler".- Ernesto Molinari was born on 3 June 1901 in Calabria, Italy. He was an actor, known for The Champ (1979), I Love Lucy (1951) and What Happened to Jo Jo? (1950). He died on 6 April 1991 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Alessio Praticò was born on 8 May 1986 in Reggio Calabria, Italy. He is an actor, known for Il cacciatore (2018), Boris (2007) and The Traitor (2019).
- Director
- Writer
Giuseppe Gagliardi was born in 1977 in Cosenza, Calabria, Italy. Giuseppe is a director and writer, known for Tatanka (2011), Doichlanda (2003) and The True Legend of Tony Vilar (2006).- Cinematographer
- Camera and Electrical Department
Davide Manca was born on 2 August 1982 in Vibo Valentia, Calabria, Italy. He is a cinematographer, known for 2047: Sights of Death (2014), Il cacciatore (2018) and Deprivation.- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Fabio was born in Reggio Calabria (Italy) in 1980. In 2002 graduated at the University of East London with a BA Honour Bachelor of Arts in Visual Theory, Film History. In 2007 he graduated at the Italian Film School "Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia" in Rome. His work has been selected to different international festivals, including Toronto International Film Festival, Berlinale and Venice Film Festival. He was a selected participant of the Atelier de la Cinefondation du 64° Festival de Cannes, of the Berlinale Talent Project Market and of the Talent Lab of the Toronto International Film Festival. He also won the Universal Filmmaster Program in Los Angeles, the Young Italian Filmmaker Prize in New York, and the Torino Film Lab Production Award.- Leonardo Morgione was born on 29 July 1991 in Reggio Calabria. He is an actor, known for Goffredo e l'Italia chiamò (2023), Arte (2023) and Koinà (2023).
- Actress
- Additional Crew
Daniela Marra was born on 24 April 1984 in Reggio Calabria, Italy. She is an actress, known for Esterno notte (2022), Il cacciatore (2018) and Iddu.- Angela Ferlaino was born in Lamezia Terme, Calabria, Italy. She is known for Fallo! (2003), Fly Light (2009) and Valzer (2007).
- Cinematographer
- Director
- Camera and Electrical Department
Tony Gaudio was born Gaetano Antonio Gaudio on November 20, 1883, in Cosenza, Italy, to a professional photographer. After attended art school in Rome, he became an assistant to his father and elder brother, who were portrait photographers. Eventually he segued into cinema, starting with "Napoleon Crossing the Alps" in 1903, and he eventually shot hundreds of short subjects for Italian film companies before moving to the US in 1906. Both he and his younger brother Eugene Gaudio, who served the same apprenticeship with both the family studio and with Italian filmmakers, would emigrate to America and become prominent cinematographers (Eugene was one of the founders of the American Society of Cinematographers in 1919; Tony would become a member of the organization and then serve as president).
In New York in 1906 Tony was employed by Al Simpson to produce "song slides" that could be shown in theaters so patrons could sing along with the music. After quitting Simpson in 1908, he worked in Vitagraph's film development laboratories in New York, then moved over to Carl Laemmle's IMP (Independent Moving Picture Co.) to supervise the construction of IMP's New York laboratories. From 1910-12 he became the chief of cinematographers at IMP, where he shot Mary Pickford's films for director Thomas H. Ince (he would later shoot The Gaucho (1927) for her husband, Douglas Fairbanks.)
Laemmle had wooed Pickford away from Biograph by offering her $175 a week, thus helping create the star system (Pickford soon left Laemmle for Adolph Zukor's Famous Players, where she was paid $10,000 per week; she left Zukor for First National, where she was paid $350,000 per film). Known as "Uncle Carl", Laemmle was famous for his nepotism, which extended even to a second cousin from Alsace, France, the future director William Wyler.
Tony's own brother Eugene would work for IMP as the superintendent of its development lab before switching to cinematography himself. As for Tony, he left IMP to work for Biograph and other companies before finding a home at Metro Pictures by 1916, where his brother Eugene now worked as a director. At Metro Tony shot 10 films for director Fred J. Balshofer and eventually wound up at First National in the early 1920s through his work as a cameraman for sisters Constance Talmadge and Norma Talmadge. From 1922-25 he shot nine Norma Talmadge pictures.
Eugene had died in 1920, and from 1923-24 Tony served as president of the American Society of Cinematographers, the professional body his brother had helped create to promote standardization in the industry and to serve as a clearinghouse for information for cameramen. Tony was at the forefront of technical innovation in his craft; in 1922 he invented a viewfinder for the new Mitchell camera. In the 1920s the Hollywood motion picture industry was dominated by Bell+Howell cameras, but Mitchell established a foothold and broke through by the end of the decade. While the Bell+Howell produced a superior image due to its innovative pressure plate behind the lens, it was too noisy for sound work, which opened up the market to Mitchell. The ASC helped promote innovations such as the viewfinder. This was rooted in the fact that in the first generation of cinema, cameramen owned their own cameras and modified them themselves. To be a cameraman one also had to be a tinkerer (Tony also would later invent the camera focusing microscope).
Tony also was an expert--as were many early cameramen--in the development of film, as most cinematographers took a hands-on approach to development in order to ensure not just the quality of their images, but to achieve effects in the lab. It was while he was employed by First National as the superintendent of the studio's film labs in 1925 that he directed two feature films released by the Poverty Row studio Columbia Pictures Corp.
In the 1920s he helped photograph Douglas Fairbanks' The Mark of Zorro (1920), pioneering the use of montage, and was lighting cameraman on Fairbanks' 1927 "The Gaucho", which featured one of the earliest two-strip Technicolor sequences (Gaudio also shot two-strip Technicolor scenes for On with the Show! (1929) and General Crack (1929)). He made his reputation during the 1920s as the chief cameraman for such top directors as Allan Dwan, Frank Borzage and Marshall Neilan, as well as for tyro director Howard Hughes' dialogue scenes with Harry Perry on the aerial scenes of Hell's Angels (1930).
When First National was acquired by Warner Bros. in 1928, Gaudio moved over to the new studio, signing a long-term contract with Warners in 1930. In time, he and his fellow Italian immigrant Sol Polito would become the co-chief-cinematographers at the studio and help fashion the distinct Warner Bros. "look" that was influenced by German Expressionism.
The opinionated Tony Gaudio was prone to clash with his directors, and Oscar-winning director Lewis Milestone'--who won his first Oscar on a film lensed by Gaudio, Two Arabian Knights (1927)--nearly fired him from The Front Page (1931) (Gaudio served as the second cameraman on Milesteone's anti-war masterpiece All Quiet on the Western Front (1930), for which the director won his second Oscar, and would shoot his last film for Milestone: The Red Pony (1949), which is renowned for its mastery of color). The studio tolerated his temperament as he was a master of black and white cinematography, winning six Academy Award nominations and one Oscar from 1930 through 1946, when he was nominated for Best Color Cinematography for the first time.
Gaudio, fellow co-cinematographer-in-chief Polito, Barney McGill and Sidney Hickox were instrumental in creating the Warner Bros. "look" of the 1930s. Warners, the most progressive studio in Hollywood, was prone to filming subjects torn from the day's headlines; the Brothers Warner, as represented by studio boss Jack L. Warner, did not demand a glamorous aesthetic as did MGM, for instance (Gaudio shot Mervyn LeRoy's gangster classic Little Caesar (1931) while Polito shot I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932) for Leroy two years later). Gaudio, Polito and the other cinematographers they supervised thus were able to light their sets to evoke mood and atmosphere. The extremely versatile Gaudio shot all kinds of movies in every genre, from the prestigious A-pictures to B-movies.
Along with Polito, Gaudio shot Warners' most prestigious films, winning an Oscar for his black and white cinematography on Anthony Adverse (1936). He shot Warners' first three-strip Technicolor film, God's Country and the Woman (1937), directed by William Keighley, and, subsequently, the studio assigned Gaudio and Keighley to what was their most ambitious picture ever: The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), which was also to be shot in the difficult Technicolor. The film would eventually cost $4 million, making it the most expensive film in history to the time, but Gaudio and Keighley were removed from the project by producer Hal B. Wallis for working too slowly. The film was finished by Polito and director Michael Curtiz, though all four ultimately shared screen credit on the picture and Gaudio's footage remained in the film.
Gaudio was a regular cameraman for Bette Davis, who became the studio's greatest star during the 1930s. Gaudio originally gave Davis the glamor treatment, but by the time he shot Bordertown (1935), starring Paul Muni as a Mexican-American lawyer in a corrupt town, Gaudio didn't flinch when--shooting the film with a stark realism--he deglamorized Davis, as he would later in two period films, Juarez (1939) and The Old Maid (1939).
Critics believe that Gaudio reached the zenith of his craft on another Davis vehicle, director 'William Wyler (I)''s adaptation of W. Somerset Maugham's novel, The Letter (1940). For the picture Gaudio's camera evoked a moodiness pregnant with violence. The opening shot of the film, a slow track through the Malaysian rubber plantation that is the setting for the story about to transpire, is extremely memorable.
When Gaudio shot High Sierra (1940) for Raoul Walsh, he worked in an ultra-realistic, documentary-like fashion that was a precursor of film noir. He parted company with Warners in 1943 after shooting Background to Danger (1943) to go freelance. His next picture, Universal's Corvette K-225 (1943), brought him an Oscar nomination. He won his last Oscar nomination, for color cinematography, in 1946, for A Song to Remember (1945).
Tony Gaudio died on August 10, 1951. He was 67 years old.- Albert Anastasia was born February 26, 1903, in Calabria, Italy, famous for its hams and the 'ndrangheta, which was every bit as vicious as the Sicilian Mafia. He was brought to America as a child along with his eight brothers. When he was starting in organized crime, he helped Salvatore Lucania, who later became known as Lucky Luciano, murder Giuseppe Masseria (aka "Joe The Boss" or "The Chinese"). When the "Boss of Bosses", Salvatore Maranzano, was murdered by Luciano, La Cosa Nostra was divided into different families known as The Commission. The bosses of the family Anastasia belonged to were brothers Vincent Mangano and Philip Mangano.
It wasn't long before Anastasia started to lust for power. As the underboss, he and Vincent Mangano often fought physically. Anastasia, being younger, would usually win. Anastasia's old friend and boss of the Luciano family, Frank Costello, soon found himself in a pickle when his partner, Vito Genovese, returned from Italy after nine years' exile. Costello needed Anastasia's help but couldn't do a thing unless he had an entire family behind him. Costello and Anastasia soon came up with the idea of killing the Manganos. On April 19, 1951, one of the most mysterious murders in Mafia history occurred. The body of Phil Mangano was found in a marshland with three bullets in the back of his head and two in each cheek. When the police tried to contact his brother, they couldn't reach him. When Vincent didn't show up at his brother's funeral, the police and Mafia bosses assumed that Vincent had been murdered as well. Frank Costello stuck up for Anastasia when the families had a sit-down to discuss the murder, saying that the Manganos were planning to kill him. Anastasia was now the boss of the former Mangano family.
After he became the boss, he and his younger brother, Anthony Anastasia (aka "Tough Tony") - who changed his last name to Anastasio, most likely in order to avoid public connections with his brother--ran the Brooklyn waterfronts for over a decade. When Lucky Luciano was arrested, Albert and his brother Tony sabotaged a huge French ocean liner moored at a pier and spread the word that it had been done by Nazi saboteurs. They then made a deal with the US government that they would "protect" the waterfront from further "sabotage" in exchange for Luciano's release. A compromise was reached in which Luciano was sent to a minimum-security prison. Under Luciano's order, Anastasia became the head of the Mafia's enforcement arm, known as Murder Inc. This group of killers was responsible for an estimated 700 to 1000 murders, the large number of killings attributed to Anastasia's hot temper and love of violence. When he saw an interview with a New York shop owner named Arnold Schuster, who had recognized notorious bank robber Willie Sutton on the street and notified the police, who then arrested Sutton, Anastasia immediately ordered that Schuster be killed; he had no connection with Sutton, but his reasoning for ordering Schuster's murder what that "I don't like rats".
Schuster's death enraged the public as well as the other Mafia bosses. A few years later Luciano was deported to Italy, and the Italian government then exiled him to Sicily where, during WW II, he and the local Mafia ingratiated themselves with US forces after the invasion of Sicily by identifying and helping capture "fascists" and "fascist sympathizers" (most of whom, strangely enough, turned out to be Luciano's competitors in his various criminal enterprises).
When Luciano left, Genovese wanted more and more power, but Frank Costello, Albert Anastasia and Anastasia's underboss Frank Scalise ran things. Genovese was growing irritated with Albert because of the many murders committed by Albert's crew, which Genovese considered unjustified and which went against the Mafia's laws. Albert was also selling memberships for his family for a few thousand dollars apiece. Genovese hired future boss Vincent Gigante (aka "The Chin") to kill Costello. In 1957 Costello was shot in the head by Gigante, but Costello's phenomenal luck held and he was only grazed by the bullet. However, the assassination attempt persuaded him to semi-retire from his life of crime. By tradition, an underboss was murdered before the boss, in order to prevent retaliation. Anastasia's strongest ally, Joe Adonis, was suddenly deported to Italy. His underboss, Frank Scalise, was murdered not long afterwards when he went out to buy some fruit.
One of Anastasia's capos, Carlo Gambino, who later became the most powerful Mafia boss in US history, was secretly meeting with Vito Genovese to discuss the planned killing of Anastasia. Genovese promised that Gambino would be named the boss of the family if he killed Anastasia. Carlo could not refuse. Anastasia was about the same age, so by the time Carlo became boss, he wouldn't have much longer to live. Gambino consulted Joe Profaci, another Mafia boss, and the two hired the Gallo brothers, including the infamous Joe Gallo (aka "Crazy Joe"), to kill Anastasia. Anastasia's favorite barber shop was on the bottom floor of the famous Park Sheraton Hotel. He loved getting his beard trimmed and the feel of the towel on his face. When the barber put the towel on Albert's face, two of the three Gallo brothers rushed in and fired five shots into Anastasia, blasting him out of the barber's chair. The New York criminal and law enforcement communities were relieved that "The Lord High Executioner" had been taken out. Some people, however, were not so happy about it, and one of the most troubled was future boss John Gotti. Albert had been his role model and, at the time, his one hope of getting in the family. Albert's brother Tough Tony continued to control the waterfronts after Albert's death. - Director
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Gianni Crea was born on 4 January 1938 in Siderno, Reggio Calabria, Calabria, Italy. He is a director and writer, known for Mistero (1992), Non sparate sui bambini (1978) and The Law of Violence (1969).- Actor
- Stunts
Fortunato Arena was born on 23 May 1922 in Calabria, Italy. He was an actor, known for Crime Busters (1977), Brothers Till We Die (1978) and A Minute to Pray, a Second to Die (1967). He died on 7 March 1994.- Director
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Frank commenced his show business career in commercial theatre, performing more than twenty lead roles in such classics as: The Odd Couple, Chapter Two, It Had to be You, Lovers and Other Strangers and Barefoot in the Park.
As a veteran Director and Producer, Frank has forty-five stage plays, eleven feature films, and numerous commercials and video productions to his credit.
Frank's first feature film, No Angel, which he wrote, directed and produced, aired on Arts & Entertainment, Superchannel, City T.V., Movie Pix, London Television (UK) and sold to over a dozen foreign territories. It was also screened at the Montreal International Film Festival in 1992.
He has since produced and/or directed:
. "Bitter Circle" (a police drama) which had its world premiere at the Toronto Italian Film Festival . "Love Letters Trilogy" (romance) which was picked up by Alliance-Atlantis for release. . "Shut Up You Separatist" (over-the top political satire) . "Night Crawlers" (drama) . "Bruco", an art film which has done well on the festival circuit . "Tough Love" (drama) released in 2006 . "Risk Factor" (action adventure) due to be released in 2013 . "Final Dance" (drama) due to be released in 2013 . "Club Utopia" (comedy) due to be released in 2013
He also directed a documentary "Unknown Celebrities" which was an official entry in the Belgrade International Film Festival and has aired on Bravo!
Frank was also Associate Producer on the Michael Bockner film Johnny Shortwave, and Line Producer on the Paul Lynch film More To Love.
He has written seven produced screenplays: No Angel, Bitter Circle, Love Letters, Tough Love, Night Crawlers, Final Dance and Club Utopia.
He has recently written "Midnight Rambler", a crime drama, based on true events; "The Carlucci Brothers", a pilot of a TV comedy-drama series and an action-thriller "The Formula".
Frank is also a founding member of the Toronto Italian Film Festival and head programmer from 1999 to 2006. He was also head of the awards jury for the Toronto Polish Film Festival (2009 & 2012) and was on the selection committee for the Canadian Gemini Awards (2009); and jury member for the Vaughn International Film Festival. (2013)
His latest film "Club Utopia" has been chosen as an official entry in the 8th Annual Hoboken International Film Festival.
Frank has also been teaching on-camera acting techniques for over fifteen years.- Cristina Buccino is a model, showgirl and influencer. After moving to Rome from Calabria, Cristina starts working as a model, until she debuts on TV with the game Tutto per tutto conducted by Pupo. Subsequently, she comes second to Veline. Her popularity comes with her L 'Eredità, where from 2010 to 2012 she is one of the sexy teachers of the quiz conducted by Carlo Conti. In 2015 you are one of the castaways from the Isola dei Famosi. Today Cristina Buccino works almost exclusively as a model and influencer on Instagram, where she has a following of over 2 million followers.
- Nazzareno Natale was born on 4 April 1938 in Acquaro, Calabria, Italy. He was an actor, known for 1900 (1976), Gangs of New York (2002) and Why? (1971). He died on 21 June 2006.
- Moise Curia was born on 1 January 1991 in Rossano, Calabria, Italy. He is an actor, known for Wondrous Boccaccio (2015), The Red Band Society (2014) and Abbraccialo per me (2016).
- Music Artist
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Loredana Bertè was born on 20 September 1950 in Bagnara Calabra, Calabria, Italy. She is a music artist and actress, known for Call Me by Your Name (2017), Quelli belli... siamo noi (1971) and Loredana Bertè: Il mare d'inverno (1983).