Renzo Ricci (27 September 1899 – 20 October 1978) was an Italian

stage Stage or stages may refer to: Acting * Stage (theatre), a space for the performance of theatrical productions * Theatre, a branch of the performing arts, often referred to as "the stage" * ''The Stage'', a weekly British theatre newspaper * Sta ...

and

film actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), lite ...

. He was also a noted

theatre director A theatre director or stage director is a professional in the theatre field who oversees and orchestrates the mounting of a theatre production such as a play, opera, dance, drama, musical theatre performance, etc. by unifying various endeavors a ...

. Ricci played the title role in

Roberto Rossellini Roberto Gastone Zeffiro Rossellini (8 May 1906 – 3 June 1977) was an Italian film director, producer, and screenwriter. He was one of the most prominent directors of the Italian neorealist cinema, contributing to the movement with films such ...

's 1961 film ''

Garibaldi Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi ( , ;In his native Ligurian language, he is known as ''Gioxeppe Gaibado''. In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as ''Jousé'' or ''Josep''. 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, patr ...

''.Bondanella, Peter. ''The Films of Roberto Rossellini''. Cambridge University Press, 1993. p.165.

Life and career

Born in

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

, Ricci started acting in a local dramatic society while still being a student of the

Istituto tecnico Secondary education in Italy lasts eight years and is divided in two stages: '' scuola secondaria di primo grado'' (lower secondary school), also known as ''scuola media'', corresponding to the ISCED 2011 Level 2, middle school and '' scuola se ...

, and made his professional debut in 1915, with the stage company held by

Emma Gramatica Emma Gramatica (born Aida Laura Argia Gramatica; 25 October 1874 – 8 November 1965) was an Italian stage and film actress. She appeared in 29 films between 1919 and 1962. She was born in Borgo San Donnino, today Fidenza, Province of Parma ...

. Mainly active on stage, he was a member of several companies, notably the

Giorgio Strehler Giorgio Strehler (; ; 14 August 1921 – 25 December 1997) was an actor, Italian opera and theatre director. Biography Strehler was born in Barcola, Trieste; His father, Bruno Strehler, was a native of Trieste with family roots in Vienna and died ...

's company at the Piccolo Teatro in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

. In 1957 he won the San Genesio Prize for his performance in

Eugene O'Neill Eugene Gladstone O'Neill (October 16, 1888 – November 27, 1953) was an American playwright and Nobel laureate in literature. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into the U.S. the drama techniques of realism, earlier ...

's '' Long Day's Journey Into Night''. He was married with actress

Margherita Bagni Margherita Bagni (pseudonym of Margherita Maria Bagna; 21 February 1902 – 2 July 1960) was an Italian actress and voice actress. She appeared in 37 films between 1918 and 1959. She was born in Turin, Italy and died in Rome, Italy. Daughte ...

with whom he had a daughter, Eleonora "Nora", also an actress. After his first wife's death he married his lover, another stage actress,

Eva Magni Eva Magni (July 28, 1909 – February 11, 2005) was an Italian stage and film actress. She was active between 1926 and the late 1970s. Biography Magni was born in Milan into a family of artists, and made her professional debut in 1926, in t ...

Selected filmography

* ''

Before the Jury ''Before the Jury'' (Italian title:''Corte d'Assise'') is a 1931 Italian crime film directed by Guido Brignone and starring Marcella Albani, Lia Franca and Carlo Ninchi. It was made at the Cines Studios in Rome. The film is a precursor to the ...

'' (1931) * ''

La Wally ''La Wally'' is an opera in four acts by composer Alfredo Catalani, to a libretto by Luigi Illica, first performed at La Scala, Milan, on 20 January 1892. The libretto is based on a hugely successful ' by Wilhelmine von Hillern (1836–1916), ' ...

'' (1932) *''

Nini Falpala ''Ninì Falpalà'' is a 1933 Italian " white-telephones" comedy film directed by Amleto Palermi and starring Dina Galli, Renzo Ricci and Elsa De Giorgi.Chiti & Poppi p.237 It is based on a play by Augusto Novelli, and was shot at the Caesar Film ...

'' (1933) * '' Disturbance'' (1942) * ''

Nero and the Burning of Rome ''Nero and the Burning of Rome'' ( it, Nerone e Messalina) is a 1953 Italian epic historical drama film directed by Primo Zeglio and loosely based on real life events of Roman emperor Nero. It was based on the novel ''Nerone e Messalina'' (c.19 ...

'' (1953) * '' Casta Diva'' (1954) * ''

'' (1961) * ''

I am Semiramis ''Io Semiramide'' (AKA: ''I Am Semiramis'', AKA: ''Slave Queen of Babylon'', AKA: ''Duelo de Reyes'') is a 1963 film about Semiramis, a queen of the Neo-Assyrian Empire. It was directed by Primo Zeglio. The legends are in part based on the historic ...

'' (1963) * '' Sandra'' (1965)

References

External links

* 1899 births 1978 deaths Italian male film actors Actors from Florence Italian male stage actors Italian theatre directors 20th-century Italian male actors {{Italy-actor-stub