Odoardo Eugenio Giano Spadaro (16 January 1893 - 26 June 1965) was an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

singer-songwriter and actor.

Early life

Spadaro was born in the

quartiere A (; plural: ) is a territorial subdivision of certain Italian towns. The word derives from (‘fourth’) and was thus properly used only for towns divided into four neighborhoods by the two main roads. It has been later used as a synonymous ...

of Santo Spirito in

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany Regions of Italy, region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilan ...

, to Gustavo Spadaro and Mary Marchesini.

Career

He debuted on stage at seventeen years old and, taking the road into

variety shows Variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is entertainment made up of a variety of acts including musical performances, sketch comedy, magic, acrobatics, juggling, and ventriloquism. It is normally introduced by a compèr ...

as a chansonnier, a fantasist and impersonator, he became an international celebrity when he replaced Maurice Chevalier at the Folies-Bergère in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

. In 1927 he was protagonist alongside

Viviane Romance Viviane Romance (born Pauline Ronacher Ortmanns; 4 July 1912 – 25 September 1991) was a French actress. Viviane Romance was born in Roubaix, France. She began her career as a dancer at the Moulin Rouge in Paris and was elected Miss Paris of 19 ...

and

Jean Gabin Jean Gabin (; 17 May 190415 November 1976) was a French actor and singer. Considered a key figure in French cinema, he starred in several classic films including ''Pépé le Moko'' (1937), '' La grande illusion'' (1937), ''Le Quai des brumes'' ...

of a very successful variety show at the

Moulin Rouge Moulin Rouge (, ; ) is a cabaret in Paris, on Boulevard de Clichy, at Place Blanche, the intersection of, and terminus of Rue Blanche. In 1889, the Moulin Rouge was co-founded by Charles Zidler and Joseph Oller, who also owned the Paris Ol ...

. Regarded as the first great Italian singer-songwriter, Spadaro also wrote many successful songs dedicated to his home city in the 1930s and 40s including lyrics and music.; the best known of these being probably "Porta un bacione a Firenze" (Bring a Kiss to Florence). Spadoro acted in several films, usually in supporting roles and appeared in '' The Golden Coach'' (La carrozza d'oro) with

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 ...

in 1952. In 1953 he played Pinzi in

Musoduro ''Musoduro'' is a 1953 French-Italian drama film directed by Giuseppe Bennati and starring Fausto Tozzi, Marina Vlady and Cosetta Greco.Goble p.469 Cast * Fausto Tozzi as Marco / Musoduro * Marina Vlady as Lucia Giardano * Cosetta Greco as An ...

, a French-Italian drama film directed by

Giuseppe Bennati Giuseppe Bennati (4 January 1921 – 26 September 2006) was an Italian film director and writer. He directed ''Il microfono è vostro'' (1952), '' Musoduro'' (1954), ''L'amico del giaguaro'' (1958), ''Labbra rosse'' (1960), ''Congo vivo'' (1961) ...

in a cast led by

Fausto Tozzi Fausto Tozzi (29 October 1921 – 10 December 1978) was an Italian film actor and screenwriter. He appeared in 70 films between 1951 and 1978. He wrote the script for ''The Defeated Victor'', which was entered into the 9th Berlin Internation ...

Marina Vlady Marina Vlady (born 10 May 1938) is a French actress. Biography Vlady was born in Clichy, Hauts-de-Seine to White Russian immigrant parents. Her father was an opera singer and her mother was a dancer. Her sisters, now all deceased, were the ac ...

and

Cosetta Greco Cosetta Greco (8 October 1930 – 14 July 2002) was an Italian film actress. She appeared in more than 30 films between 1943 and 1971. Selected filmography * '' Farewell Love!'' (1943) - La cameriera di casa Dias * ''Caccia all'uomo'' (194 ...

. He was Baron Gaetano Cefalù in the 1961 comedy ''

Divorce Italian Style ''Divorce Italian Style'' ( it, Divorzio all'italiana) is a 1961 Italian dark comedy film directed by Pietro Germi. The screenplay is by Germi, Ennio De Concini, Alfredo Giannetti, and Agenore Incrocci, based on Giovanni Arpino's novel '' Un de ...

''. and appeared in Renato Castellani's Italian comedy-drama ''Mad Sea'' (Mare Matto) in 1963. The cast, headed by

Gina Lollobrigida Luigia "Gina" Lollobrigida (born 4 July 1927) is an Italian actress, photojournalist, and politician. She was one of the highest-profile European actresses of the 1950s and early 1960s, a period in which she was an international sex symbol. As o ...

and

Jean-Paul Belmondo Jean-Paul Charles Belmondo (; 9 April 19336 September 2021) was a French actor and producer. Initially associated with the New Wave of the 1960s, he was a major French film star for several decades from the 1960s onward. His best known credits ...

, included

Tomas Milian Tomas Milian (born Tomás Quintín Rodríguez-Varona Milián Salinas de la Fé y Álvarez de la Campa; 3 March 1933 – 22 March 2017) was a Cuban-born actor and singer with American and Italian citizenship, known for the emotional intensity and ...

, himself, Noël Roquevert and

Dominique Boschero Dominique Boschero (born 27 April 1937) is a French-Italian actress. Life and career Born in Paris by Italian parents, Boschero spent her childhood in Frassino, Italy with her grandparents until the age of 15, when she returned to Paris.Mauri ...

Personal life

He and Clementina Lovisolo were married in 1924.

Death

Spodaro died on 26 June 1965 in his home town, Firenze,

Toscana it, Toscano (man) it, Toscana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Citizenship , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = Italian , demogra ...

, ItalyArtist Odoardo Spadaro
/ref> of unspecified causes. He was 72.

Selected filmography

* '' La carrozza d'oro (1952) * ''

'' aka ''The Hunt'' (1953) * ''

'' (1961) * '' Mare Matto'' (1963)

References

1893 births Italian male singer-songwriters Musicians from Florence 1965 deaths Italian male film actors Italian male stage actors 20th-century Italian male actors 20th-century Italian male singers {{Italy-singer-stub