Angelo Musco (18 December 1872 – 6 October 1937) was an Italian actor in theater and film. He was known for his comic abilities as well as for his carefully drawn psychological portraits. Born in

Catania, Sicily Catania (, , Sicilian and ) is the second largest municipality in Sicily, after Palermo. Despite its reputation as the second city of the island, Catania is the largest Sicilian conurbation, among the largest in Italy, as evidenced also by ...

to a Maltese father and a Sicilian mother, Musco worked at a number of menial, odd jobs in his youth, spending time as a

barber A barber is a person whose occupation is mainly to cut, dress, groom, style and shave men's and boys' hair or beards. A barber's place of work is known as a "barbershop" or a "barber's". Barbershops are also places of social interaction and publi ...

, a

shoemaker Shoemaking is the process of making footwear. Originally, shoes were made one at a time by hand, often by groups of shoemakers, or cobblers (also known as '' cordwainers''). In the 18th century, dozens or even hundreds of masters, journeymen ...

, and a

mason Mason may refer to: Occupations * Mason, brick mason, or bricklayer, a craftsman who lays bricks to construct brickwork, or who lays any combination of stones, bricks, cinder blocks, or similar pieces * Stone mason, a craftsman in the stone-cut ...

. He broke into theatrical work by finding employment with the '' Opera dei Pupi'', the local

marionette A marionette (; french: marionnette, ) is a puppet controlled from above using wires or strings depending on regional variations. A marionette's puppeteer is called a marionettist. Marionettes are operated with the puppeteer hidden or reveale ...

theater. In 1899 he joined the theatrical company of

Giovanni Grasso Giovanni Grasso (11 November 1888 – 30 April 1963) was an Italian stage and film actor. He appeared in more than 80 films between 1910 and 1955. He was born and died in Catania, Sicily, Italy. Born into a family of marionettists, he was ...

, whose actors performed only in the

Sicilian language Sicilian ( scn, sicilianu, link=no, ; it, siciliano) is a Romance language that is spoken on the island of Sicily and its satellite islands. A variant, ''Calabro-Sicilian'', is spoken in southern Calabria, where it is called Southern Calabro ...

. In 1902 Musco began a collaboration with

Nino Martoglio Nino Martoglio (Belpasso, Paternò, 3 December 1870 — Catania, 15 September 1921) was an Italy, Italian writer, publisher, journalist and producer of theatrical works. He wrote mostly in Sicilian language, Sicilian and likewise, his theatrical w ...

, who had seen him in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

in ''Malia'' of

Luigi Capuana Luigi Capuana (May 28, 1839 – November 29, 1915) was an Italian author and journalist and one of the most important members of the ''verist'' movement (see also ''verismo'' (literature)). He was a contemporary of Giovanni Verga, both having ...

and ''I Mafiusi'' of Giuseppe Rizzotto and

Gaetano Mosca Gaetano Mosca (; 1 April 1858 – 8 November 1941) was an Italian political scientist, journalist and public servant. He is credited with developing the elite theory and the doctrine of the political class and is one of the three members constitu ...

. Martoglio became director of Musco's company in 1907, and wrote for him the plays ''San Giovanni decollatu'' and ''L'aria del continente''. Musco also collaborated with Pier Maria Rosso di San Secondo, author of the play ''Madre'', and he worked with Marinella Bragaglia and

Rosina Anselmi Rosina Anselmi ( 26 July 1880 – 23 May 1965) was an Italian stage, television and film actress. She was a prominent actress in the Sicilian language theater, especially in the province of Catania. Life and career Born in Caltagirone, Cata ...

. He also founded his own theater company, supported by the critic

Renato Simoni Renato Simoni (Verona, 5 September 1875 – Milan, 5 July 1952) was an Italian journalist, playwright, writer and theatrical critic noted for his collaboration work with Giuseppe Adami for Giacomo Puccini's ''Turandot''. Simoni's career was entire ...

and by

Luigi Pirandello Luigi Pirandello (; 28 June 1867 – 10 December 1936) was an Italian dramatist, novelist, poet, and short story writer whose greatest contributions were his plays. He was awarded the 1934 Nobel Prize in Literature for "his almost magical power ...

. The latter wrote a number of comedies for him to play, including ''Il berretto a sonagli'' (which he played in Rome), ''

Liolà ''Liolà'' () is an Italian stage play written by Luigi Pirandello in 1916, which takes place in 19th century Sicily. The original text was composed in the Sicilian dialect of Agrigento. The title character is a middle-aged single father by cho ...

'', and ''Pensaci, Giacomino!''. This last was filmed with Musco in the lead role; his cinematic career had begun in 1932 and was a great success. Musco died suddenly in Milan in 1936, immediately after a performance. He was the subject of a documentary directed by Giorgio Walter Chili in 1953, ''C'era una volta Angelo Musco''.

Filmography

* ''

Five to Nil ''Five to Nil'' (Italian: ''Cinque a zero'') is a 1932 Italian sports comedy film directed by Mario Bonnard and starring Angelo Musco, Milly, and Osvaldo Valenti.Moliterno p.5 It was inspired by a 5–0 victory by A.S. Roma against their rivals ...

'' (1932) * ''

The Matchmaker ''The Matchmaker'' is a 1954 play by Thornton Wilder, a rewritten version of his 1938 play ''The Merchant of Yonkers''. History The play has a long and colorful history. John Oxenford's 1835 one-act farce ''A Day Well Spent'' had been extende ...

'' (1934) * ''L'eredita dello zio buonanima'' (1934) * '' God's Will Be Done'' (1936) * ''

The Amnesiac ''The Amnesiac'' (Italian: ''Lo smemorato'') is a 1936 Italian comedy film directed by Gennaro Righelli and starring Angelo Musco, Checco Durante and Franco Coop.Goble p.66 The film's plot is based on a stage play, inspired by the Bruneri-Canella ...

'' (1936) * ''

King of Diamonds The king of diamonds is a playing card in the standard 52-card deck. King of Diamonds may also refer to: * ''King of Diamonds'' (film), a 1936 Italian comedy film directed by Enrico Guazzoni * ''King of Diamonds'' (TV series), a 1961–62 Ameri ...

'' (1936) * ''L'aria del continente'' (1936) * ''Pensaci, Giacomino!'' (1937) * ''Gatta ci cova (1937)'' * ''

The Ferocious Saladin ''The Ferocious Saladin'' (Italian: ''Il feroce Saladino'') is a 1937 Italian " white-telephones" comedy film directed by Mario Bonnard and starring Angelo Musco, Alida Valli and Lino Carenzio. The film was made at Cinecittà in Rome. On 28 April ...

'' (1937)

Bibliography

* S. Zappulla Muscarà, E. Zappulla, ''Musco: immagini di un attore'' Catania, Giuseppe Maimone editore, 1987, . * E. Zappulla ''Angelo Musco e il teatro del suo tempo'' Catania, Giuseppe Maimone editore, 1991, .

References

External links

*
Biography at Itattori.net
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Musco, Angelo 1872 births 1937 deaths Italian male actors Actors from Catania