Alexander von Giannini (6 June 1958 – 2 October 2015) was an English stage, television and film actor and singer. His work included comedy, musicals and drama.

Life

Giannini was born in Northamptonshire in 1958; his father was born in Rome, his mother was English. He was educated in England, Italy and in Luxembourg, where his father worked for the European Commission.
''The Daily Telegraph'', 19 October 2015. Accessed 5 September 2017.Alex Giannini
''The Stage'', 21 October 2015. Accessed 5 September 2017. He was the lead singer, as Sandy Fontaine, of the band Coast to Coast, which appeared on ''

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British Record chart, music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show ...

''; the group disbanded in 1982. He was inspired to become an actor on reading Steven Berkoff's play '' East'', and later graduated from

East 15 Acting School East 15 Acting School (East 15) is a British drama school in Loughton, Essex.Its degrees are awarded by the University of Essex, with which it merged on 1 September 2000. As of 2020, Essex University, where East 15 is located, has been ranked No. ...

Acting career

Giannini appeared in the musical ''

Guys and Dolls ''Guys and Dolls'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows. It is based on "The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown" (1933) and "Blood Pressure", which are two short stories by Damon Runyon, and also bo ...

'', as Harry the Horse, at the National Theatre. In 1999 he was in the original Broadway production of ''

Not about Nightingales ''Not About Nightingales'' is a three-act play by Tennessee Williams in 1938. He wrote the play late in 1938, after reading in a newspaper about striking inmates of a Holmesburg, Pennsylvania, prison in August 1938, who had been placed in "an is ...

'', a long-lost play by Tennessee Williams; the play ran for five months. In 2003 he was

Dean Martin Dean Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti; June 7, 1917 – December 25, 1995) was an American singer, actor and comedian. One of the most popular and enduring American entertainers of the mid-20th century, Martin was nicknamed "The King of Cool". M ...

in ''Rat Pack Confidential'', at the

Whitehall Theatre Trafalgar Theatre is a new West End theatre in Whitehall, near Trafalgar Square, in the City of Westminster, London. It is set to open in spring 2021 following a major multi-million pound restoration project aiming to reinstate it back to its ...

. Further stage appearances in London included ''

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest may refer to: * ''One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'' (novel), a 1962 novel by Ken Kesey * ''One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'' (play), a 1963 stage adaptation of the novel starring Kirk Douglas * ''One Flew Over the ...

'' at the Garrick Theatre in 2004; ''

Journey's End ''Journey's End'' is a 1928 dramatic play by English playwright R. C. Sherriff, set in the trenches near Saint-Quentin, Aisne, towards the end of the First World War. The story plays out in the officers' dugout of a British Army infantry comp ...

'' at the Ambassadors Theatre in 2005; as Big Mac in Steven Berkoff's revival of ''On the Waterfront'' at the

Haymarket Theatre The Theatre Royal Haymarket (also known as Haymarket Theatre or the Little Theatre) is a West End theatre on Haymarket in the City of Westminster which dates back to 1720, making it the third-oldest London playhouse still in use. Samuel Foote ...

in 2009. In 2011 he was in ''

Batman Live ''Batman Live'' is a touring stage show, including theatrical, circus and stage-magic elements, that focuses on the DC Comics superhero Batman. It debuted on July 19, 2011 at the Manchester Evening News Arena, with two and a half years in the mak ...

'', as The Penguin and Commissioner Gordon: the show toured the UK, Europe, and North and South America. Film appearances included '' In Love and War'' (1996); '' Elizabeth: The Golden Age'' (2007), ''

Legend A legend is a Folklore genre, genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived, both by teller and listeners, to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human valu ...

'' (2015) as Antonio Caponigro, and ''

London Has Fallen ''London Has Fallen'' is a 2016 American action thriller film directed by Babak Najafi and written by Creighton Rothenberger, Katrin Benedikt, Chad St. John and Christian Gudegast. It is the second installment in the ''Has Fallen'' film series, ...

'' (2016). On TV he was seen in '' Inspector Morse'', '' Dalziel and Pascoe'', ''

The Musketeers ''The Musketeers'' is a British period action drama programme based on the characters from Alexandre Dumas's 1844 novel ''The Three Musketeers'' and co-produced by BBC America and BBC Worldwide. The series follows the musketeers Athos, Aramis ...

'', ''

The Bill ''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, first broadcast on ITV from 16 August 1983 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, '' Woodentop'', broadcast in August 1983. The programme focused on ...

'' and others. In Italy he appeared in a series of TV commercials for olive oil, which ran for five years. Alex Giannini died of natural causes, an hour before he was due on stage at the Theatre Royal, Plymouth, in Chichester Festival Theatre's production of ''

Mack and Mabel ''Mack and Mabel'' (often stylized as Mack & Mabel) is a musical with a book by Michael Stewart and music and lyrics by Jerry Herman. The plot involves the tumultuous romantic relationship between Hollywood director Mack Sennett and Mabel Norma ...

''; he was 57.

Family

An early marriage was dissolved, and in 1998 he married Jennifer Secombe, daughter of

Harry Secombe Sir Harold Donald Secombe (8 September 1921 – 11 April 2001) was a Welsh comedian, actor, singer and television presenter. Secombe was a member of the British radio comedy programme ''The Goon Show'' (1951–1960), playing many characters, m ...

; there were three stepchildren. Jennifer Secombe died in 2019.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Giannini, Alex 1958 births 2015 deaths Alumni of East 15 Acting School English people of Italian descent 20th-century English male actors 21st-century English male actors Actors from Northamptonshire English male stage actors English male film actors English male television actors English male singers