Antonino Faà di Bruno (15 December 1910 – 2 May 1981) was an Italian actor and former military officer.

Biography

A member of the aristocratic Faà di Bruno family, Antonino Faà di Bruno was born in London, the son of

Marchese A marquess (; french: marquis ), es, marqués, pt, marquês. is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman w ...

Alessandro Faà di Bruno (who was the Italian consul in London at that time) and of his wife Fanny Costì. He was named after his namesake ancestor, Antonino Faà di Bruno (1762–1829), who was

Bishop of Asti The Diocese of Asti ( la, Dioecesis Astensis) is a Roman Catholic ecclesiastical territory in Piedmont, northern Italy, centered in the city of Asti. It has been a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Turin since 1515.

in the 19th century. He took up a military career, becoming a lieutenant in the grenadiers and fighting in

Italian East Africa Italian East Africa ( it, Africa Orientale Italiana, AOI) was an Italian colony in the Horn of Africa. It was formed in 1936 through the merger of Italian Somalia, Italian Eritrea, and the newly occupied Ethiopian Empire, conquered in the S ...

. After his retirement in 1964, with the rank of

Brigadier General Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

, Faà di Bruno started a career as an actor, working with

Carlo Lizzani Carlo Lizzani (3 April 1922 – 5 October 2013) was an Italian film director, screenwriter and critic. Biography Born in Rome, before World War II Lizzani worked as a scenarist on such films as Roberto Rossellini's '' Germany Year Zero' ...

(''

La vita agra ''La vita agra'', known in English-speaking countries as ''It's a Hard Life'', is a novel by Luciano Bianciardi published in 1962 by Rizzoli. It became a best-seller in Italy and it is considered one of the most important novels in contemporary ...

''),

Pier Paolo Pasolini Pier Paolo Pasolini (; 5 March 1922 – 2 November 1975) was an Italian poet, filmmaker, writer and intellectual who also distinguished himself as a journalist, novelist, translator, playwright, visual artist and actor. He is considered one of ...

(''

Pigsty A sty or pigsty is a small-scale outdoor enclosure for raising domestic pigs as livestock. It is sometimes referred to as a hog pen, hog parlor, pigpen, pig parlor, or pig-cote, although pig pen may refer to pens confining pigs that are kep ...

''),

Vittorio De Sica Vittorio De Sica ( , ; 7 July 1901 – 13 November 1974) was an Italian film director and actor, a leading figure in the neorealist movement. Four of the films he directed won Academy Awards: ''Sciuscià'' and ''Bicycle Thieves'' (honorary) ...

('' Lo chiameremo Andrea''),

Billy Wilder Billy Wilder (; ; born Samuel Wilder; June 22, 1906 – March 27, 2002) was an Austrian-American filmmaker. His career in Hollywood spanned five decades, and he is regarded as one of the most brilliant and versatile filmmakers of Classic Hol ...

(''

Avanti! ''Avanti!'' is a 1972 American/Italian international co-production comedy film produced and directed by Billy Wilder, and starring Jack Lemmon and Juliet Mills. The screenplay by Wilder and I. A. L. Diamond is based on Samuel A. Taylor's play, ...

''), Federico Fellini ('' Amarcord''),

Luciano Salce Luciano Salce (25 September 1922 – 17 December 1989) was an Italian film director, comedian, tv host, producer, actor and lyricist. His 1962 film ''Le pillole di Ercole'' was shown as part of a retrospective on Italian comedy at the 67th Ven ...

(''

Alla mia cara mamma nel giorno del suo compleanno ''Alla mia cara mamma nel giorno del suo compleanno'' (''To my dear mother on the day of her birthday'') is a 1974 Italian comedy drama film directed by Luciano Salce.Andrea Pergolari. ''Ha visto il montaggio analogico?''. Lavieri edizioni, 2011. ...

''), Mario Monicelli (''

We Want the Colonels ''We Want the Colonels'' ( it, Vogliamo i colonnelli) is a 1973 Italian comedy film directed by Mario Monicelli. It was entered in the 1973 Cannes Film Festival. It is a satire of the attempted far-right Borghese Coup. Cast * Ugo Tognazzi as ...

''). Tall at , with a baritone voice and an aristocratic bearing, Antonino Faà di Bruno was often cast in roles of high rank, nobleman, officers and members of the ruling class. He performed as a character actor in several ''

commedia all'italiana Commedia all'italiana (, pl. Commedie all'italiana, "Comedy in the Italian way") or Italian-style comedy is an Italian film genre born in Italy in the 1950s and developed in the 1960s and 1970s. It is widely considered to have started with Mar ...

'' films, and became known for playing the role of retired Lt.Col. Vittorio Emanuele Ribaud, who attempted a coup d'état in ''

'', and of the

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are rank ...

Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

Piercarlo Semenzara in ''

Il secondo tragico Fantozzi ''Il secondo tragico Fantozzi'' (''The Second Tragic Fantozzi'') is an Italian comedy film released in 1976. It is the second film in the saga of the unlucky clerk Ugo Fantozzi, played by its creator, Paolo Villaggio. Plot Fantozzi is working o ...

''.

Personal life and death

In 1947, he married the widow of his cousin Emilio Faà di Bruno who had died in 1943, Anna Maria Andreini. He later adopted their daughters, Camilla and Costanza. Away from his public life, he enjoyed dwelling in the countryside of

Istia d'Ombrone Istia d'Ombrone () is a small town in southern Tuscany, Italy, a ''frazione'' of the ''comune'' of Grosseto. History In the area surrounding the centre of Istia there have been found some ruins of ancient habitations dating back to the Etruscan e ...

. He died at 70 following complications from a

traumatic brain injury A traumatic brain injury (TBI), also known as an intracranial injury, is an injury to the brain caused by an external force. TBI can be classified based on severity (ranging from mild traumatic brain injury TBI/concussionto severe traumatic br ...

that he suffered after being hit by a bus.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Faa di Bruno, Antonino 1910 births 1981 deaths Italian male actors Italian military personnel 20th-century Italian male actors 20th-century Italian military personnel Italian expatriates in the United Kingdom Road incident deaths in Italy Deaths from head injury