Gianni Solaro (born Gianni Lorenzon, 11 August 1926 – 12 August 2006) was an Italian film and television actor.

Life and career

Born 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 ...

, Solaro was a

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 ...

in the Italian film industry for about twenty years, between the late 1950s and the late 1970s. During his career he spanned any sort of role, alternating genre films and

art film An art film (or arthouse film) is typically an independent film, aimed at a niche market rather than a mass market audience. It is "intended to be a serious, artistic work, often experimental and not designed for mass appeal", "made primarily f ...

s, and notably working with

Mario Monicelli Mario Alberto Ettore Monicelli (; 16 May 1915 – 29 November 2010) was an Italian film director and screenwriter and one of the masters of the ''Commedia all'Italiana'' (Comedy Italian style). He was nominated six times for an Oscar, and was awa ...

Marco Bellocchio Marco Bellocchio (; born 9 November 1939) is an Italian film director, screenwriter, and actor. Life and career Born in Bobbio, near Piacenza, Marco Bellocchio had a strict Catholic upbringing – his father was a lawyer, his mother a schoolt ...

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 ...

Mario Camerini Mario Camerini (6 February 1895 – 4 February 1981) was an Italian film director and screenwriter. The cousin of Augusto Genina, he made the most well-known films in Italy during the 1930s, most of them comedies starring Vittorio De Sica. H ...

Francesco Maselli Francesco Maselli or Citto Maselli (born 9 December 1930, in Rome) is an Italian film director and screenwriter. He has directed 38 films since 1949. Biography Maselli graduated at the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia, National Film School ...

and

Florestano Vancini Florestano Vancini (24 August 1926 – 18 September 2008) was an Italian film director and screenwriter. He directed over 20 films since 1960. His 1966 film '' Le stagioni del nostro amore'', starring Enrico Maria Salerno, was entered into t ...

. He was sometimes credited John Sun. His brother was the actor

Livio Lorenzon Livio Lorenzon (6 May 1923 – 23 December 1971) was an Italian actor who was mainly active during the 1950s and 1960s. Biography He played minor roles in some memorable commedia all'Italiana movies directed by the likes of Dino Risi and ...

. Solaro died on 12 August 2006, one day after his 80th birthday.Peplum Paradise film historians

Partial filmography

* ''

Tough Guys ''Tough Guys'' is a 1986 American action comedy film directed by Jeff Kanew and starring Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas, Eli Wallach, Charles Durning, Dana Carvey and Darlanne Fluegel. It is the eighth film of Touchstone Pictures, and the final ...

'' (1960) * ''

Erik the Conqueror ''Erik the Conqueror'' ( it, Gli invasori, lit. "The invaders") is a 1961 Italian-French epic swashbuckling film directed by Mario Bava and starring George Ardisson and Cameron Mitchell as long-lost Viking brothers in the 9th century, one of w ...

'' (1961) * ''

Queen of the Seas ''Queen of the Seas'' ( it, Le avventure di Mary Read) is a 1961 adventure film directed by Umberto Lenzi and starring Lisa Gastoni and Jerome Courtland. Plot Cast * Lisa Gastoni as Mary Read * Jerome Courtland as Peter Goodwin * Walter ...

'' (1961) * ''

The Triumph of Robin Hood ''The Triumph of Robin Hood'' (Italian: ''Il trionfo di Robin Hood'') is a 1962 Italian adventure film directed by Umberto Lenzi and starring Don Burnett, Gia Scala and Samson Burke.Kinnard & Crnkovich p.178 The film's sets were designed by the ...

'' (1962) * ''

Redhead Red hair (also known as orange hair and ginger hair) is a hair color found in one to two percent of the human population, appearing with greater frequency (two to six percent) among people of Northern or Northwestern European ancestry and ...

'' (1962) * ''

Gladiator of Rome ''Gladiator of Rome'' ( it, Il gladiatore di Roma) is a 1962 Italian adventure film directed by Mario Costa. Co-written by Gian Paolo Callegari and Giuseppe Mariani, it stars Gordon Scott.Howard Hughes. ''Cinema Italiano - The Complete Guide ...

'' (1962) * ''

The Thief of Damascus ''The Thief of Damascus'' (Italian: ''Il ladro di Damasco'') is a 1964 Italian adventure film directed by Mario Amendola and starring Tony Russel, Luciana Gilli and Gianni Solaro. It was released in the US as ''Sword of Damascus'' at a running ti ...

'' (1964) * ''

The Two Gladiators '' The Two Gladiators'' ( it, I due gladiatori, also known as ''Fight or Die'') is a 1964 Italian peplum film directed by Mario Caiano and starring Richard Harrison.Michele Giordano. ''Giganti buoni''. Gremese Editore, 1998. . Plot The Roman Emp ...

'' (1964) * ''

Messalina vs. the Son of Hercules ''Messalina vs. the Son of Hercules'' ( it, L'ultimo gladiatore, lit=The Last Gladiator) is a 1964 ''peplum'' film directed by Umberto Lenzi and starring Richard Harrison and Lisa Gastoni.Michele Giordano. ''Giganti buoni''. Gremese Editore, 19 ...

'' (1964) * '' M.M.M. 83'' (1965) * '' I criminali della metropoli'' (1965) * '' Hercules the Avenger'' (1965) * ''

The Revenge of Spartacus ''The Revenge of Spartacus'' or ''La vendetta di Spartacus'' (US title: ''Revenge of the Gladiators'') is a 1965 Italian film directed by Michele Lupo. It was shot back to back with ''Seven Slaves Against the World''.http://www.cinema-nocturna.c ...

'' (1965) * ''

Captain from Toledo ''Captain from Toledo'' ( it, L'uomo di Toledo, es, El hombre de Toledo, german: Der Mann von Toledo) is a 1965 Italian-Spanish-German adventure film written and directed by Eugenio Martín and starring Stephen Forsyth and Ann Smyrner. Set in m ...

'' (1965) * '' Arizona Colt'' (1966) * '' One Thousand Dollars on the Black'' (1966) * ''

The Oldest Profession ''The Oldest Profession'' (french: Le Plus Vieux Métier du monde) is a 1967 internationally co-produced comedy film. It features contributions from six different film directors, each one doing a segment on prostitution through the ages. Plot ...

'' (1967) * ''

All on the Red ''All on the Red'' ( it, Tutto sul rosso) is a 1968 Italian crime-thriller film written and directed by Aldo Florio and starring Brett Halsey. Plot Cast * Brett Halsey as Mike Chapman * Barbara Zimmermann as Belinda Duval * Piero Lulli ...

'' (1968) * ''

Bootleggers Bootleg or bootlegging most often refers to: * Bootleg recording, an audio or video recording released unofficially * Rum-running, the illegal business of transporting and trading in alcoholic beverages, hence: ** Moonshine, or illicitly made ...

'' (1969) * ''

Scipio the African ''Scipio the African'' ( it, Scipione detto anche l'Africano "Scipio, also called the African") is a 1971 Italian comedy film directed by Luigi Magni. Plot Years after the Second Punic War, Scipio Africanus finds himself generally unliked, de ...

'' (1971) * '' Slap the Monster on Page One'' (1972) * ''

The Assassination of Matteotti ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

'' (1973) * ''

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 ...

'' (1973) * '' Rome: The Other Side of Violence'' (1976) - Laurenti * '' My Sister in Law'' (1976) - Magni - lawyer of Amorini * ''La clinica dell'amore'' (1976) - Angelo Bortolotti * ''

Last Feelings ''Last Feelings'' ( it, L'ultimo sapore dell'aria) is a 1978 melodrama film written and directed by Ruggero Deodato. Plot Diego Micheli is a troubled teenage runaway who tries to turn his life around by joining a swimming team and competing in n ...

'' (1978) - Hospital Doctor

References

External links

* 1926 births 2006 deaths Italian male film actors Italian male television actors Male actors from Rome Male Spaghetti Western actors {{Italy-screen-actor-stub