Eduardo Ciannelli (30 August 1888 – 8 October 1969), was an Italian
baritone
A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the r ...
and
character actor
A character actor is a supporting actor who plays unusual, interesting, or eccentric characters.28 April 2013, The New York Acting SchoolTen Best Character Actors of All Time Retrieved 7 August 2014, "..a breed of actor who has the ability to b ...
with a long career in American films, mostly playing gangsters and criminals. He was sometimes credited as Edward Ciannelli.
Early life
Ciannelli was born in
Lacco Ameno
Lacco Ameno ( nap, U Làcchë) is a town and ''comune'' situated in the northwest of the island of Ischia, in the Metropolitan City of Naples off the west coast of Italy. The town has a population of around 4,800 inhabitants.
It is located at the ...
, on the island of
Ischia
Ischia ( , , ) is a volcanic island in the Tyrrhenian Sea. It lies at the northern end of the Gulf of Naples, about from Naples. It is the largest of the Phlegrean Islands. Roughly trapezoidal in shape, it measures approximately east to west ...
, where his father, a doctor, owned a
health spa
A health club (also known as a fitness club, fitness center, health spa, and commonly referred to as a gym) is a place that houses exercise equipment for the purpose of physical exercise.
In recent years, the number of fitness and health se ...
. He studied surgery at the
University of Naples
The University of Naples Federico II ( it, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II) is a public university in Naples, Italy. Founded in 1224, it is the oldest public non-sectarian university in the world, and is now organized into 26 depar ...
, and worked briefly as a doctor, but his love of
grand opera
Grand opera is a genre of 19th-century opera generally in four or five acts, characterized by large-scale casts and orchestras, and (in their original productions) lavish and spectacular design and stage effects, normally with plots based on o ...
and the dramatic stage won out and he became a successful baritone, singing at
La Scala
La Scala (, , ; abbreviation in Italian of the official name ) is a famous opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the ' (New Royal-Ducal Theatre alla Scala). The premiere performan ...
and touring Europe.
He went to the United States from the
Port of Naples
The Port of Naples, a port located on the Western coast of Italy, is the 11th largest seaport in Italy having an annual traffic capacity of around 25 million tons of cargo and 500,000 TEU's. It is also serves as a tourist hub, servicing an estima ...
as a first cabin saloon passenger on board the steamship ''San Guglielmo'', which arrived at the Port of New York on 19 March 1914. In New York, he appeared on
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
in
Oscar Hammerstein II
Oscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein II (; July 12, 1895 – August 23, 1960) was an American lyricist, librettist, theatrical producer, and (usually uncredited) director in the musical theater for almost 40 years. He won eight Ton ...
's first musical ''
Always You'' and later in ''
Rose-Marie
''Rose-Marie'' is an operetta-style musical with music by Rudolf Friml and Herbert Stothart, and book and lyrics by Otto Harbach and Oscar Hammerstein II. The story is set in the Canadian Rocky Mountains and concerns Rose-Marie La Flemme, a Fren ...
''. He appeared in
Theatre Guild
The Theatre Guild is a theatrical society founded in New York City in 1918 by Lawrence Langner, Philip Moeller, Helen Westley and Theresa Helburn. Langner's wife, Armina Marshall, then served as a co-director. It evolved out of the work of the W ...
productions in the late 1920s, co-starring with the Lunts (
Alfred Lunt
Alfred David Lunt (August 12, 1892 – August 3, 1977) was an American actor and director, best known for his long stage partnership with his wife, Lynn Fontanne, from the 1920s to 1960, co-starring in Broadway theatre, Broadway and West End thea ...
and
Lynn Fontanne
Lynn Fontanne (; 6 December 1887 – 30 July 1983) was an English actress. After early success in supporting roles in the West End, she met the American actor Alfred Lunt, whom she married in 1922 and with whom she co-starred in Broadway and We ...
), and
Katharine Cornell
Katharine Cornell (February 16, 1893June 9, 1974) was an American stage actress, writer, theater owner and producer. She was born in Berlin to American parents and raised in Buffalo, New York.
Dubbed "The First Lady of the Theatre" by critic A ...
. During that period, he appeared in ''
Uncle Vanya
''Uncle Vanya'' ( rus, Дя́дя Ва́ня, r=Dyádya Ványa, p=ˈdʲædʲə ˈvanʲə) is a play by the Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. It was first published in 1898, and was first produced in 1899 by the Moscow Art Theatre under the direct ...
'', ''
The Inspector General'', and ''
The Front Page
''The Front Page'' is a Broadway comedy about newspaper reporters on the police beat. Written by former Chicago reporters Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur, it was first produced in 1928 and has been adapted for the cinema several times.
Plot
The ...
''. In 1935, he played Trock Estrella in
Maxwell Anderson
James Maxwell Anderson (December 15, 1888 – February 28, 1959) was an American playwright, author, poet, journalist, and lyricist.
Background
Anderson was born on December 15, 1888, in Atlantic, Pennsylvania, the second of eight children to ...
's ''Winterset'' on Broadway and repeated his performance in the film version (1936). He played Cauchon in
Shaw's ''
Saint Joan'' in 1936, after which he left Broadway permanently, except for one notable occasion when he returned to play in
Dore Schary
Isadore "Dore" Schary (August 31, 1905 – July 7, 1980) was an American playwright, director, and producer for the stage and a prolific screenwriter and producer of motion pictures. He directed just one feature film, '' Act One'', the film bio ...
's play ''The Devil's Advocate'' in 1961 and win the
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual cer ...
for
Best Featured Actor.
Career on screen
![Eduardo Ciannelli in Society Lawyer trailer](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bc/Eduardo_Ciannelli_in_Society_Lawyer_trailer.jpg)
His Hollywood career consists of close to 150 film and television appearances. Notable among these are ''
Marked Woman
''Marked Woman'' is a 1937 American dramatic crime film directed by Lloyd Bacon and starring Bette Davis and Humphrey Bogart, with featured performances by Lola Lane, Isabel Jewell, Rosalind Marquis, Mayo Methot, Jane Bryan, Eduardo Ciannelli and ...
'' (1937) with
Bette Davis
Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis (; April 5, 1908 – October 6, 1989) was an American actress with a career spanning more than 50 years and 100 acting credits. She was noted for playing unsympathetic, sardonic characters, and was famous for her pe ...
, ''
Strange Cargo'' (1940) with
Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford (born Lucille Fay LeSueur; March 23, ncertain year from 1904 to 1908was an American actress. She started her career as a dancer in traveling theatrical companies before debuting on Broadway. Crawford was signed to a motion pict ...
and
Clark Gable
William Clark Gable (February 1, 1901November 16, 1960) was an American film actor, often referred to as "The King of Hollywood". He had roles in more than 60 motion pictures in multiple genres during a career that lasted 37 years, three decades ...
, and perhaps his most famous role, as the fanatical Thuggee guru in ''
Gunga Din'' (1939) with
Cary Grant
Cary Grant (born Archibald Alec Leach; January 18, 1904November 29, 1986) was an English-American actor. He was known for his Mid-Atlantic accent, debonair demeanor, light-hearted approach to acting, and sense of comic timing. He was one o ...
. In the 1940 serial ''
Mysterious Doctor Satan
''Mysterious Doctor Satan'' (also known as ''Doctor Satan's Robot'') is a 1940 American film serial directed by William Witney and John English. Produced by Republic Pictures, the serial stars Edward Ciannelli, Robert Wilcox, William Newell, C ...
'', he played the eponymous villain, an evil scientist with an army of robots.
![Eduardo Ciannelli in Dillinger (1945) trailer](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/20/Eduardo_Ciannelli_in_Dillinger_%281945%29_trailer.jpg)
In the 1950s and throughout the 1960s, he divided his time among Italian films such as ''
The City Stands Trial
''The City Stands Trial'' ( it, Processo alla città) is a 1952 Italian drama film directed by Luigi Zampa and starring Amedeo Nazzari, is based on a revisiting of the Cuocolo murders and the struggle for control of Naples by the Camorra in th ...
'', directed by
Luigi Zampa
Luigi Zampa (2 January 1905 – 16 August 1991) was an Italian film director.
Biography
Son of a worker, Zampa studied filmmaking from 1932 to 1937 at the Italian film school Centro sperimentale di cinematografia in Rome.
He directed several ...
,
''The City Stands Trial'' at ''My Movies.it''
/ref> ''Attila
Attila (, ; ), frequently called Attila the Hun, was the ruler of the Huns
The Huns were a nomadic people who lived in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe between the 4th and 6th century AD. According to European traditio ...
'' (1954) with Anthony Quinn
Manuel Antonio Rodolfo Quinn Oaxaca (April 21, 1915 – June 3, 2001), known professionally as Anthony Quinn, was a Mexican-American actor. He was known for his portrayal of earthy, passionate characters "marked by a brutal and elemental v ...
and Sophia Loren
Sofia Costanza Brigida Villani Scicolone (; born 20 September 1934), known professionally as Sophia Loren ( , ), is an Italian actress. She was named by the American Film Institute as one of the greatest female stars of Classical Hollywood ci ...
, ''Helen of Troy
Helen of Troy, Helen, Helena, (Ancient Greek: Ἑλένη ''Helénē'', ) also known as beautiful Helen, Helen of Argos, or Helen of Sparta, was a figure in Greek mythology said to have been the most beautiful woman in the world. She was believe ...
'' (1956), appearances in American TV shows such as '' Climax Mystery Theater'', ''The Time Tunnel
''The Time Tunnel'' is an American color science fiction TV series written around a theme of time travel adventure starring James Darren and Robert Colbert. The show was creator-producer Irwin Allen's third science-fiction television series and ...
'', ''Perry Mason
Perry Mason is a fictional character, an American criminal defense lawyer who is the main character in works of detective fiction written by Erle Stanley Gardner. Perry Mason features in 82 novels and 4 short stories, all of which involve a c ...
'', ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents
''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' is an American television anthology series created, hosted and produced by Alfred Hitchcock, aired on CBS and NBC between 1955 and 1965. It features dramas, thrillers and mysteries. Between 1962 and 1965 it was ren ...
'', ''Johnny Staccato
''Johnny Staccato'' is an American private detective television series starring John Cassavetes which ran for 27 episodes on NBC from September 10, 1959 through March 24, 1960.
Synopsis
Titular character Johnny Staccato, played by John Cassavetes ...
'', ''The Detectives Starring Robert Taylor
''The Detectives'' (also known as ''The Detectives Starring Robert Taylor'', ''Captain of Detectives'', and ''Robert Taylor's Detectives'') is an American crime drama series which ran on ABC during its first two seasons (sponsored by Procter & Gam ...
'', ''Dr. Kildare
Dr. James Kildare is a fictional American medical doctor, originally created in the 1930s by the author Frederick Schiller Faust under the pen name Max Brand. Shortly after the character's first appearance in a magazine story, Paramount Pictur ...
'' and a few films including ''Houseboat
A houseboat is a boat that has been designed or modified to be used primarily as a home. Most houseboats are not motorized as they are usually moored or kept stationary at a fixed point, and often tethered to land to provide utilities. How ...
'' (1958), '' The Visit'' (1964), '' The Chase'' (1966) with Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando Jr. (April 3, 1924 – July 1, 2004) was an American actor. Considered one of the most influential actors of the 20th century, he received numerous accolades throughout his career, which spanned six decades, including two Academ ...
, and ''The Secret of Santa Vittoria
''The Secret of Santa Vittoria'' is a 1969 American war film distributed by United Artists. It was produced and directed by Stanley Kramer and co-produced by George Glass from a screenplay by Ben Maddow and William Rose. It was based on the be ...
'' (1969), with Anthony Quinn and Anna Magnani
Anna Maria Magnani (; 7 March 1908 – 26 September 1973) was an Italian actress.Obituary ''Variety'', 3 October 1973, pg. 47 She was known for her explosive acting and earthy, realistic portrayals of characters.
Born in Rome, she worked her ...
.
Personal life and death
Ciannelli was married to Alma Wolfe from 1918 until her death (1968). They had two sons, Eduardo and Lewis E. Ciannelli, who is also an actor.
On 8 October 1969, Ciannelli died 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 ...
, and was interred in the Cimitero Flaminio.
Selected filmography
Selected Television
References
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cianelli, Eduardo
1888 births
1969 deaths
20th-century Italian male actors
20th-century Italian male singers
Burials at the Cimitero Flaminio
Deaths from cancer in Lazio
Italian expatriates in the United States
Italian male film actors
Italian male musical theatre actors
Italian male silent film actors
Italian male stage actors
Italian male television actors
Italian operatic baritones
People from the Province of Naples
University of Naples Federico II alumni