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1-50 of 227
- Desmond T. Doss was born on 7 February 1919 in Lynchburg, Virginia, USA. He was married to Frances Duman and Dorothy Pauline Schutte. He died on 23 March 2006 in Piedmont, Alabama, USA.
- Actor
- Director
- Producer
Monty Banks was a short, stocky but somehow debonair Italian-born comic actor, later also writer and director. In the US from 1914, he first appeared on stage in musical comedy and cabaret. By 1917 he was working as a dancer in New York's Dominguez Cafe. After this he turned to films, acting and doing stunt work at Keystone, Universal and for Al Christie. Changing his name from Mario Bianchi to Monty Banks may have been prompted by Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle as a passing reference to his playing '"montebanks". By 1919 Banks had moved to Vitagraph to play a villain in The Grocery Clerk (1919), foil to star comic Larry Semon.
Banks first came to the fore in his own right as star of the "Welcome Comedies" made by Warner Brothers. He spent the early 1920s at Fox and Grand Asher, graduating to writing and directing two-reel comedies with himself as the star. Most noteworthy entries in regard to inventive sight gags and Mack Sennett--style madcap plots are Pay or Move (1924) and The Golf Bug (1924). The success of this series prompted Banks to create an independent production company, the Monty Banks Pictures Corporation, in conjunction with writer/director Howard Estabrook. He made several feature-length films for Pathe, including Play Safe (1927)) (generally considered his best work), which featured a climactic runaway train sequence. This style of fast-action slapstick made it inevitable that Banks suffered more than his fair share of injuries, especially since he continued to do many of his own stunts.
From the late 1920s Banks worked in England and made several appearances in sound films. However, his accent proved to be something of an obstacle. He therefore decided, after 1930, to concentrate on directing and producing. He helmed four features starring the popular entertainer Gracie Fields, who became his second wife in 1940. In 1935 he directed a well-received George Formby comedy, No Limit (1935), about the TT motorcycle races on the Isle of Man, which were shot on location there.
With the outbreak of World War II Banks--being an Italian citizen--would have faced internment in England as an enemy alien. He therefore deemed it necessary to flee to Canada, and from there to the neutral United States. He eventually obtained American citizenship, for which he had applied years earlier, but had forgotten to submit the necessary paperwork. Back in Hollywood he ended up at 20th Century-Fox, directing Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy in Great Guns (1941), arguably one of their lesser efforts.
Banks died of a heart attack during a trip through Italy in January 1950, aged just 52. Sadly, the majority of his one- and two-reelers are now considered lost films. As a result, his status as a leading comic of the silent screen may have somewhat diminished--except, perhaps, in his home town of Cesena, where a foundation was established in his honor (the "Aula Didattica Monty Banks"), offering students "practical courses on experimental aspects of video production".- Agnelli was the son of Edoardo Agnelli (1892-1935) and Virginia Bourbon Del Monte (1899-1945) and grandson of Giovanni Agnelli, the founder of the Italian automobile industry. When he was 14 years old, his father died in a plane crash. In 1945 his mother died in a car accident. He then grew up with his grandfather of the same name, who founded the "Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino" (FIAT) in 1899. At the beginning of the Second World War, the young Agnelli initially reported for military service to fight for the fascist dictator Benito Mussolini on the Russian and African fronts. After 1943, however, the tank officer moved to the anti-fascist resistance camp. In the same year he joined the FIAT company. After 1945, Agnelli studied law at the University of Turin, which he completed with a doctorate. In the post-war period he became the playboy of high society. While still studying, he joined FIAT headquarters as Vice President following the death of his grandfather in 1946.
However, the automobile company was initially expertly managed by manager Vittorio Valletta as president until Agnelli became more involved in the company's management. In 1963, Agnelli joined the company's management as general director, and in 1966 he replaced Valletta as president. Agnelli held this position until 1996. The new company boss led FIAT beyond the actual automotive sector with the product range from Fiat, Lancia, Alfa Romeo and Ferrari to a group with a wide range of technologies, ranging from machines of all kinds, to chemical and biotechnology, industrial equipment and aviation technology, to press publishing. In addition to large Italian daily newspapers, the FIAT company also included department stores, financing companies and iron and metal processing companies.
Agnelli also bought the professional football club "Juventus Turin". In addition, the CEO served as President of the Italian Employers' Association from 1974 to 1976. In May 1987, Agnelli founded the superholding "Giovanni Agnelli & Co." for the management of the group, which was the responsibility of the council of limited partners. In addition to Agnelli, who secured a majority shareholding, it also included his younger brother Umberto Agnelli (born 1934) and FIAT CEO Cesare Romiti. After managing several FIAT subsidiaries, Umberto Agnelli headed the group's international activities from 1968 onwards. From 1970 to 1976 he was CEO of FIAT. At the same time, he had also been involved with the Italian Christian Democrats since the mid-1970s, for which he entered the Senate in 1976. In 1980, Umberto Agnelli handed over the role of chairman of the board to Cesare Romiti to run the family holding company "Istituto Finanziario Industriale" (IFI).
In 1990, Giovanni Agnelli, in competition with Daimler-Benz AG, achieved the 60% takeover of the Spanish commercial vehicle manufacturer "Enasa". In the first half of the decade he was able to avert the group's crisis by taking on partners for the first time who, such as Deutsche Bank, did not belong to the Agnelli family. In 1995, the Agnelli family became the main shareholder in the "Club Méditerranée". In 1996, Agnelli resigned as chairman of the FIAT board of directors in favor of Cesare Romiti. After three decades, he formally handed over the FIAT corporate management. However, as FIAT honorary president and boss of the Agnelli clan, he was able to maintain his decision-making power in the group. Agnelli was also represented on the supervisory boards of several companies and in several international economic advisory committees and cultural institutions. He continued to be a life member of the Italian Senate. He has also been a member of the International Olympic Committee since 2000.
In 1998, Paolo Fresco, former vice president of General Electric (GE), became the successor to Chairman Romiti. In the same year, Agnelli's grandson, John Elkann, a son from his daughter Margherita's first marriage, was appointed to the board of directors and the executive board of FIAT AG. Agnelli was married to Princess Marella Caracciolo di Casstagneto since 1953, who gave him two children; the son committed suicide in 2000; the daughter became a writer and painter. Therefore, John Elkann was considered the designated crown prince of the family and corporate patriarch, who was supposed to ensure the continuity of the family ownership in the future. In 2001, Agnelli also appointed his grandson as his successor in FIAT management. In October 2002, however, the traditional group hit the headlines due to another serious crisis, which was triggered by a slump in sales in the automotive sector and the company's enormous debt.
Involved in negotiations between the Italian government of Silvio Berlusconi and the FIAT management tried to restructure the company from ten banks. There was a threat of the closure of several of the group's production facilities, particularly in Termini Imerese, Sicily. The group sold off several subsidiaries in order to reduce its debt.
Giovanni Agnelli died on January 24, 2003, at the age of 81, at his estate in Turin. - Character actor Salvatore Baccaro was born on May 6, 1932 in Roccamandolfi, Italy. Baccaro worked as a flower vendor outside of a film studio in Rome, Italy prior to embarking on an acting career in the early 1970's. With his rough face, hulking physique, and intimidating screen presence, Salvatore was frequently cast as menacing thugs, wretched prisoners, or grotesque subhuman monsters. Baccaro was especially memorable as Ook the Neanderthal man in Frankenstein's Castle of Freaks (1974) and the titular savage fiend in The Beast in Heat (1977). Salvatore died from Acromegaly at age 51 on March 13, 1984 in Novara, Italy.
- Antonino Faà di Bruno was born on 15 December 1911 in London, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Amarcord (1973), Avanti! (1972) and The Sunday Woman (1975). He was married to Anna Maria Andreini. He died on 5 May 1981 in Alessandria, Piedmont, Italy.
- Ernesto Colli was born on 16 May 1940 in Biella, Piedmont, Italy. He was an actor, known for Il circolo Pickwick (1968), Caliber 9 (1972) and Illustrious Corpses (1976). He died on 19 November 1982 in Biella, Piedmont, Italy.
- Amleto Novelli was born on 18 October 1881 in Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. He was an actor, known for Quo Vadis? (1913), Julius Caesar (1914) and Malombra (1917). He died on 16 April 1924 in Turin, Piedmont, Italy.
- Emilio Salgari was born on 21 August 1862 in Verona, Austrian Empire [now Verona, Veneto, Italy]. He was a writer, known for Mystery of the Black Jungle (1954), Carthage in Flames (1960) and El corsario negro (1944). He was married to Ida Peruzzi. He died on 25 April 1911 in Turin, Piedmont, Italy.
- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Giovanni Pastrone was born on 13 September 1883 in Montechiaro d'Asti, Piedmont, Italy. He was a director and writer, known for Cabiria (1914), Julius Caesar (1909) and Il fuoco (la favilla - la vampa - la cenere) (1916). He died on 27 June 1959 in Turin, Piedmont, Italy.- Beppe Fenoglio was born in Alba, Piemonte, in northern Italy, in 1922. He had a brother and a sister, and his parents worked in a butcher's shop in Alba. He attended University in Torino, where he studied English literature and language, one of his greatest passions during his whole life. After 8 Semptember 1943 he joined the Resistance against the nazi-fascist army in Italy, and from this experience derived his masterpiece, IL PARTIGIANO JOHNNY (Johnny the Partisan), written in Italian and in English, a magnificent book on his terrible experience. Some other works are "Primavera di bellezza", and "La paga del sabato", "la malora".
- Composer
- Music Department
- Actor
He graduated in violin and composition at the Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory in Milan (Italy), Lavagnino deserves a special place in film music for his contribution to documentaries. He gave reportages a new dimension; he did not elaborate folkloristic themes, neither he passively adapts the instruments of a certain musical civilization: he identifies the elements that characterize a country under the "sound profile" and gives a plausible equivalent. For this aim, Lavagnino uses all the possibilities given by modern technology, his goal is to "build" a sound. The main collaborator of a musician is no more the orchestra director, but the sound engineer. This attitude did not prevent Lavagnino from producing great orchestra music. In the classical field, he wrote a Concert for violin and orchestra and a Mass for chorus and orchestra. He began composing for cinema in 1951, for film director Orson Welles' Othello. Since then, he wrote music for hundreds of films, among which: Nero's Weekend (Nero's Mistress (1956)) with Gloria Swanson and Brigitte Bardot, The Naked Maja (1958) with Ava Gardner, Imperial Venus (Imperial Venus (1962)) with Gina Lollobrigida, Falstaff (Chimes at Midnight (1965)) directed by and starring Orson Welles, and many others.- Vitaliano Brancati was born on 24 July 1907 in Pachino, Sicily, Italy. He was a writer, known for Anni facili (1953), Journey to Italy (1954) and Don Cesare di Bazan (1942). He was married to Anna Proclemer. He died on 25 September 1954 in Turin, Piedmont, Italy.
- Giovanni Arpino was born on 27 January 1927 in Pola, Istria, Italy [now Pula, Istria, Croatia]. He was a writer, known for Scent of a Woman (1992), The Young Nun (1964) and Boccaccio '70 (1962). He was married to Caterina Brero. He died on 10 December 1987 in Turin, Piedmont, Italy.
- Actor
- Additional Crew
Ignazio Leone was born on 19 April 1923 in Palermo, Sicily, Italy. He was an actor, known for Totò e Cleopatra (1963), Zorro and the Three Musketeers (1963) and Caesar Against the Pirates (1962). He died on 30 December 1976 in Turin, Piedmont, Italy.- Actress
- Additional Crew
Claudia Giannotti was born on 19 February 1937 in Campobasso, Molise, Italy. She was an actress, known for Nel mondo di Alice (1974), Ritratto di signora (1975) and Stunt Squad (1977). She died on 26 July 2020 in Turin, Piedmont, Italy.- Felice Andreasi (8 January 1928, in Turin - 25 December 2005, in Cortazzone) was an Italian film, television, and stage actor. He appeared in over 50 films in Italy between 1972 and 2005. He was considered one of the leading stage actors in comic and satirical theatre in Milan. Andreasi won a Nastro d'Argento Best supporting Actor award for his role in Bread and Tulips (1999). He died of Parkinson's disease in 2005.
- Giorgio Faletti was born on 25 November 1950 in Asti, Piedmont, Italy. He was an actor and writer, known for Notte prima degli esami (2006), The Killer in My Eyes and Appunti di un venditore di donne (2021). He was married to Roberta Bellesini. He died on 4 July 2014 in Turin, Piedmont, Italy.
- Actor
- Additional Crew
Gianrico Tedeschi was born on 20 April 1920 in Milan, Lombardy, Italy. He was an actor, known for Frankenstein: Italian Style (1975), Scaramouche (1965) and Ettore lo fusto (1972). He died on 27 July 2020 in Pettenasco, Piedmont, Italy.- Paolo Pininfarina was born on 28 August 1958 in Turin, Piedmont, Italy. He died on 9 April 2024 in Turin, Piedmont, Italy.
- Producer
- Director
Ernesto Maria Pasquali was born in 1883 in Montù Beccaria, Lombardy, Italy. He was a producer and director, known for Oltre la vita, oltre la morte (1916), For King and Country (1913) and La contessa Arsenia (1916). He died on 9 May 1919 in Turin, Piedmont, Italy.- Director
- Writer
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Carlo Borghesio was born on 24 June 1905 in Turin, Piedmont, Italy. He was a director and writer, known for Due cuori (1943), Il campione (1943) and Due milioni per un sorriso (1939). He died on 12 November 1983 in Turin, Piedmont, Italy.- Carla Cuffia was born in 1941 in Ivrea, Turin, Piedmont, Italy. She was an actress, known for Alma Rosa (1972), Enamorada (1973) and María Soledad (1973). She died in 1982 in Ivrea, Turin, Piedmont, Italy.
- Costume and Wardrobe Department
- Actor
- Costume Designer
Nino Cerruti was born on 25 September 1930 in Biella, Piedmont, Italy. He was an actor and costume designer, known for The Jewel of the Nile (1985), V.I. Warshawski (1991) and A Few Days with Me (1988). He was married to A C. He died on 15 January 2022 in Vercelli, Piedmont, Italy.- Eugenio Allegri was born on 21 February 1956 in Collegno, Piedmont, Italy. He was an actor, known for Round Trip (2004), Vorticale and Dracula 3D (2012). He died on 7 May 2022 in Turin, Piedmont, Italy.
- Actor
- Writer
Ernesto Ferrero was born on 6 May 1938 in Turin, Piedmont, Italy. He was an actor and writer, known for N (Io e Napoleone) (2006) and Guido Ceronetti - Il filosofo ignoto (2014). He was married to Carla Sacchi. He died on 31 October 2023 in Turin, Piedmont, Italy.- Daniela Caroli was born on 8 February 1947 in Bra, Piedmont, Italy. She was an actress, known for Il prato macchiato di rosso (1973), Testa in giù, gambe in aria (1972) and Movie Rush - La febbre del cinema (1976). She died on 12 June 2011 in Turin, Piedmont, Italy.
- Enza Giovine was an actress, known for Without Pity (1948), I Buddenbrook (1971) and La pietra di luna (1972). She died on 4 November 1998 in Turin, Piedmont, Italy.
- Producer
- Director
- Production Manager
Arturo Ambrosio was born on 3 December 1870 in Turin, Piedmont, Italy. He was a producer and director, known for Hamlet (1914), The Newspaper (1914) and Cavalleria infernale (1906). He died on 25 March 1960 in Pancalieri, Piedmont, Italy.- Director
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Writer
Massimo Scaglione was born on 19 September 1931 in Garessio, Piedmont, Italy. He was a director and assistant director, known for Lasciamoci così (1986), Seguirà una brillantissima farsa... (1973) and La donna scomparsa (1970). He died on 8 October 2015 in Turin, Piedmont, Italy.- Additional Crew
- Actor
Alberto Testa was born on 23 December 1922 in Turin, Italy. He was an actor, known for Romeo and Juliet (1968), Laudes Evangelii (1961) and The Kiss of Death (1974). He died on 4 October 2019 in Turin, Piedmont, Italy.- Franco Ravera was born in 1960 in Alessandria, Piedmont, Italy. He was an actor, known for We Can Do That (2008), We Believed (2010) and Dracula 3D (2012). He died on 31 May 2022 in Alessandria, Piedmont, Italy.
- Production Designer
- Art Director
- Costume Designer
Carlo Leva was born on 27 February 1930 in Bergamasco, Piedmont, Italy. He was a production designer and art director, known for The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966), For a Few Dollars More (1965) and The Cat o' Nine Tails (1971). He died on 4 April 2020 in Alessandria, Piedmont, Italy.- Claudio Parachinetto was born on 17 May 1947 in Turin, Piedmont, Italy. He was an actor, known for Screw Loose (1999), Ogni lasciato è perso (2001) and Cinque storie inquietanti (1987). He was married to Marcella Amoruso. He died on 10 March 2020 in Turin, Piedmont, Italy.
- Writer
- Director
- Actor
Mario Missiroli was born on 13 March 1934 in Bergamo, Lombardy, Italy. He was a writer and director, known for Family Diary (1962), La bella di Lodi (1963) and Delitto e castigo (1983). He died on 19 May 2014 in Turin, Piedmont, Italy.- Lola Visconti-Brignone was born on 24 November 1891 in Rome, Lazio, Italy. She was an actress, known for Nei labirinti di un'anima (1917), Il tredicesimo commensale (1921) and Il cuore dell'altra (1917). She was married to Guido Brignone. She died on 10 June 1924 in Turin, Piedmont, Italy.
- Aldina Martano was an actress, known for Convent of Sinners (1986), Scandalous Emanuelle (1986) and The Sinful Nuns of Saint Valentine (1974). She died on 1 February 2004 in Candiolo, Piedmont, Italy.
- Costume and Wardrobe Department
- Costume Designer
Ermenegildo Zegna was born on 2 January 1892 in Trivero, Piedmont, Italy. He was a costume designer, known for Fallen (1998), Run Fatboy Run (2007) and Doctor Dolittle (1998). He died on 18 November 1966 in Trivero, Piedmont, Italy.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Luca Bergia was born on 11 September 1968 in Cuneo, Piedmont, Italy. He was an actor, known for Tutta colpa di Giuda (2009), 1994 (2019) and Complimenti per la festa (2015). He died on 23 March 2023 in Cuneo, Piedmont, Italy.- Francesco Pastonchi was born on 31 December 1874 in Riva Ligure, Porto Maurizio, Liguria, Italy [now Riva Ligure, Imperia, Liguria, Italy]. Francesco was a writer, known for Gli emigranti (1915). Francesco died on 29 December 1953 in Turin, Piedmont, Italy.
- Marina Jarre was born on 21 August 1925 in Riga, Latvia. She was an actress, known for Alle soglie della sera (2005). She died on 3 July 2016 in Turin, Piedmont, Italy.
- Giovanni Moretti was born on 1 May 1936 in Turin, Piedmont, Italy. He was an actor, known for Gamma (1975), La bufera (1975) and Uova fatali (1977). He died on 10 April 2019 in Turin, Piedmont, Italy.
- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Daniele Segre, director (Alessandria 1952), is the author of "the cinema of reality", feature films and theatrical performances. He made his debut as a photographer in Turin in the 1970's; his first films focus on problems of disadvantaged youth groups (Perché droga, 1976; Il potere dev'essere bianconero, 1978; Ragazzi di stadio, 1980) and on the dignity of difficult screw (screw gallery, 1984 Portrait of a small drug dealer, 1984). He produced and directed the feature films Testadura (1983), Manila Paloma Blanca (1992), Vecchie (2002), Mitraglia e il verme (2004) and the documentary film Morire di lavoro (2008), about the construction work-related accidents in Italy. In 2005 he produced a HD video on the collection of Modern and Contemporary Art of the CRT Foundation in Turin. His works are almost always transmitted by public networks, and screened atin various national and international festivals such as the Venice Film Festival, the Berlin Film Festival, the Annecy Film Festival among others. He received several awards, including the prize Giuliani De Negri at the Venice Film Festival, the Golden Tulip Festival international Istanbul, the CICAE award at the Italian Film Festival of Annecy, the Filmmakers award, NICE award in New York.
In 1981 he founded the production company I Cammelli and in 1989 the eponymous Scuola Video di Documentazione Sociale (School of Social Documentaries and Videos) 1989/1997. Since 1996 he is Professor of Directing at the National School of Cinematography-Centro Sperimentale di Cinema in Rome and since 2004 at the University of Pisa.
In 2010 he produced three documentary films: the portrait of the Genoese photographer Lisetta Carmi (Lisetta Carmi, un'anima in cammino, 2010), that of film critic Morando Morandini (Je m'appelle Morando. Alfabeto Morandini, 2010) and that of publisher Luciano Lischi (Luciano Lischi, editore, 2010).
In 2011 realizes Sic Fiat Italia, in 2012 E' viva la Torre di Pisa and Luciana Castellina, comunista. In 2013, Michelangelo Pistoletto and 76847 Giuliana Tedeschi.
In 2014 by the Laboratory for Experimental Cinematography Center that produces rails on the condition of prisoners and of prisoners and prison officers of Sollicciano prison (FI) produced by CSC production and RAI Cinema and broadcasted by Speciale TG1
In November 2012 at the Quirinale he was awarded the Medal of the President of the Republic Giorgio Napolitano; Always in November 2012 he received the lifetime achievement award "Maria Adreiana Prolo".
In July of 2014 he was appointed headmaster of the Abruzzo headquarters of the Experimental Centre of Cinematography - being Audiovisual Reportage.
In June 2015 he was awarded the Diploma Honoris Cause by the Experimental Centre of Cinematography for "Reportage topical history".
In 2015 realizes Morituri, a film which completes the trilogy of Vecchie and Mitraglia e il Verme.
Morituri was invited to the Turin Film Festival in November 2015 and in April 2016 he made his debut at the Teatro Nobelperlapace of San Demetrio ne 'Vestini (AQ).
In 2016 he realized "Nome di Battaglia Donna", protagonists partisan women who participated in the resistance against the Fascists and the Nazis between 1943 and 1945.- Actor
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Santo Versace was born on 1 February 1939 in Turin, Piedmont, Italy. He was an actor and assistant director, known for Cadavere per signora (1964), Hercules in the Valley of Woe (1961) and 5 marines per 100 ragazze (1961). He died on 3 April 2018 in Turin, Piedmont, Italy.- Soundtrack
Carlo Rossi was born on 17 August 1958 in Munich, Bavaria, West Germany. He died on 11 March 2015 in Moncalieri, Piedmont, Italy.- Giovanni Liboni was born on 4 January 1932 in Turin, Piedmont, Italy. He was an actor, known for Senza scrupoli (1986), Youm e i lunghi mustacchi (1959) and Giovanna alla riscossa (1966). He died on 17 January 2018 in Turin, Piedmont, Italy.
- Monica Bonetto was born on 14 October 1963 in Turin, Piedmont, Italy. She was an actress, known for Geronimo Stilton (2009) and Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001). She was married to Stefano Dell'Accio. She died on 20 April 2017 in Turin, Piedmont, Italy.
- Actor
- Writer
- Music Department
Gipo Farassino was born on 11 March 1934 in Turin, Piedmont, Italy. He was an actor and writer, known for La bufera (1975), Seguirà una brillantissima farsa... (1973) and City Under Siege (1974). He was married to Lia Scutari and Maria Liliana Crepaldi. He died on 11 December 2013 in Turin, Piedmont, Italy.- Actor
- Music Department
Gianni Basso was born on 24 May 1931 in Asti, Piedmont, Italy. He was an actor, known for Eye in the Labyrinth (1972), Indian Summer (1972) and Afrika (1973). He died on 17 August 2009 in Asti, Piedmont, Italy.- Italo Tancredi died on 12 April 1988 in Turin, Piedmont, Italy.
- Writer
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Additional Crew
Agostino Richelmy was born on 25 March 1900 in Turin, Piedmont, Italy. He was a writer and assistant director, known for Malombra (1942), Si chiude all'alba (1945) and La signora è servita (1945). He was married to Jole Giacherio. He died on 27 February 1991 in Collegno, Piedmont, Italy.