Rossella Falk (10 November 1926 – 5 May 2013) was an Italian actress. She had a long career and is possibly best known for appearing in ''

8½ ' (Italian title: , ) is a 1963 surrealist comedy-drama film directed and co-written (with Tullio Pinelli, Ennio Flaiano and Brunello Rondi) by Italian filmmaker Federico Fellini. The metafictional narrative centers on Guido Anselmi, played by M ...

'' by

Federico Fellini Federico Fellini (; 20 January 1920 – 31 October 1993) was an Italian film director and screenwriter known for his distinctive style, which blends fantasy and baroque images with earthiness. He is recognized as one of the greatest and most i ...

in 1963.

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 ...

as Rosa Antonia Falzacappa, Falk graduated from the Accademia d'Arte Drammatica in May 1948, a few months after having received the best new actress award at the

World Youth Festival The World Festival of Youth and Students is an international event organized by the World Federation of Democratic Youth (WFDY) and the International Union of Students after 1947. History The festival has been held regularly since 1947 as an eve ...

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

. In a few years she established herself as one of the more talented and requested Italian stage actress. In 1951 she started a long collaboration with the director

Luchino Visconti Luchino Visconti di Modrone, Count of Lonate Pozzolo (; 2 November 1906 – 17 March 1976) was an Italian filmmaker, stage director, and screenwriter. A major figure of Italian art and culture in the mid-20th century, Visconti was one of the fat ...

with the role of Stella in an adaptation of the play ''

A Streetcar Named Desire ''A Streetcar Named Desire'' is a play written by Tennessee Williams and first performed on Broadway on December 3, 1947. The play dramatizes the experiences of Blanche DuBois, a former Southern belle who, after encountering a series of person ...

''. In 1954, after having worked at the Piccolo Teatro in Milan, directed by

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 ...

in ''La mascherata'', Falk started, together with Giorgio De Lullo,

Anna Maria Guarnieri Anna Maria Guarnieri (born 20 August 1933, in Milan) is an Italian actress, notable for her work in theatre and film and as a voice actor Voice acting is the art of performing voice-overs to present a character or provide information to an ...

Romolo Valli Romolo Valli (7 February 1925 – 1 February 1980) was an Italian actor. Valli was born in Reggio Emilia. He was one of the best known Italian actors from the 1950s to his death. He worked for both the stage and the silver screen. Among the ...

and

Umberto Orsini Umberto Orsini (born 2 April 1934, in Novara) is an Italian stage, television and film actor. Born in Novara, Orsini gave up his career as notary to attend the Accademia Nazionale di Arte Drammatica Silvio D'Amico. In the late 1950s, he emerged ...

, the stage company "La compagnia dei giovani" with whom she achieved national and international success. Leaving the company in the 1970s, she continued her stage career working among others with

Franco Zeffirelli Gian Franco Corsi Zeffirelli (12 February 1923 – 15 June 2019), was an Italian stage and film director, producer, production designer and politician. He was one of the most significant opera and theatre directors of the post-World War II era, ...

Gabriele Lavia Gabriele Lavia (born 10 October 1942) is an Italian actor, film director and theatre director. Biography Lavia was born in Milan, Lombardy. Since 1970 he has had roles in nearly thirty films and television programs. He is known for his appe ...

Giuseppe Patroni Griffi Giuseppe Patroni Griffi (26 February 1921 – 15 December 2005) was an Italian playwright, screenwriter, director, and author. He was born in Naples in an aristocratic family and moved to Rome immediately after the end of World War II and spent ...

. Less active in cinema, she is probably best known for her role in

's ''

'', Falk was also active in television series and radio plays. Her last work was the 2009 stage play ''Est Ovest'', in which she was directed by

Cristina Comencini Cristina Comencini (; born 8 May 1956) is an Italian film director, screenwriter and novelist. Biography She is one of four daughters of Italian film director Luigi Comencini. She attended with her sisters the Lycée français Chateaubriand (Rome) ...

Filmography

* '' Guarany'' (by

Riccardo Freda Riccardo Freda (24 February 1909 – 20 December 1999) was an Italian film director. He worked in a variety of genres, including sword-and-sandal, horror film, horror, ''giallo'' and spy films. Freda began directing ''I Vampiri'' in 1956. The f ...

) (1948) * ''

Angels of Darkness ''Angels of Darkness'' (Italian: ''Donne proibite'') is a 1954 Italian melodrama film directed by Giuseppe Amato and starring Linda Darnell, Anthony Quinn and Valentina Cortese. The film's sets were designed by the art director Virgilio Marchi. ...

'' (by

Giuseppe Amato Giuseppe Amato (born Giuseppe Vasaturo; 24 August 1899 – 3 February 1964) was an Italian film producer, screenwriter and director. He produced 58 films between 1932 and 1961, and is especially known for ''Bicycle Thieves''. He was born in ...

) (1954) - Morena * ''

Vento del sud ''Vento del sud'' also known as ''South Wind'' is a 1959 Italian mafia crime thriller film directed by Enzo Provenzale starring Claudia Cardinale and Renato Salvatori. Cast *Renato Salvatori ... Antonio Spagara *Claudia Cardinale ... Grazia M ...

'' (by Franco Provenzale) (1960) - Deodata Macri * ''

'' (by

) (1964) - Rosella * ''

Made in Italy Made in Italy is a merchandise mark indicating that a product is all planned, manufactured and packed in Italy, especially concerning the design, fashion, food, manufacturing, craftsmanship, and engineering industries. History Made in Italy ...

'' (by

Nanni Loy Nanni Loy (born Giovanni Loi; 23 October 1925 – 21 August 1995) was an Italian film, theatre and TV director. Specifically, Nanni Loy was Sardinian, and one of several notable Sardinian film makers, including Franco Solinas. Biography Lo ...

) (1965) - Erminia, His Wife (segment "5 'La Famiglia', episode 2") * ''

Modesty Blaise ''Modesty Blaise'' is a British comic strip featuring a fictional character of the same name, created by author Peter O'Donnell and illustrator Jim Holdaway in 1963. The strip follows Modesty Blaise, an exceptional young woman with many talent ...

'' (by

Joseph Losey Joseph Walton Losey III (; January 14, 1909 – June 22, 1984) was an American theatre and film director, producer, and screenwriter. Born in Wisconsin, he studied in Germany with Bertolt Brecht and then returned to the United States. Blackliste ...

) (1966) - Mrs. Fothergill * ''

The Legend of Lylah Clare ''The Legend of Lylah Clare'' is a 1968 American drama film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and directed by Robert Aldrich. The film stars Peter Finch, Kim Novak (in multiple roles), Ernest Borgnine, Michael Murphy, and Valentina Cortese. The fi ...

'' (by

Robert Aldrich Robert Burgess Aldrich (August 9, 1918 – December 5, 1983) was an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. His notable credits include '' Vera Cruz'' (1954), ''Kiss Me Deadly'' (1955), ''The Big Knife'' (1955), '' Autumn L ...

) (1968) - Rossella * '' Run, Psycho, Run'' (by

Brunello Rondi Brunello Rondi (26 November 1924 – 7 November 1989) was a prolific Italian screen writer and film director best known for his frequent script collaborations with Federico Fellini. His brother, Gian Luigi Rondi, was an Italian film critic. Bi ...

) (1968) * ''

May Morning May Morning is an annual event in Oxford, United Kingdom, on May Day (1 May). Event The event starts early at 6 a.m. with the Magdalen College Choir singing a hymn, the Hymnus Eucharisticus, from the top of Magdalen Tower, a tradition str ...

'' (by

Ugo Liberatore Ugo Liberatore (26 September 1927 – 21 June 2012) was an Italian screenwriter and film director. He contributed to more than forty films since 1960. Selected filmography References External links * {{DEFAULTSORT:Liberatore, Ugo 1927 ...

) (1970) - Mrs. Finley * ''

The Fifth Cord ''The Fifth Cord'' (Italian: ''Giornata nera per l'ariete'', lit. "Black Day for Aries") is a 1971 Italian giallo film directed by Luigi Bazzoni. The film's Italian title reprises Dario Argento's practice of using animals in the titles of his th ...

'' (by Luigi Bazzoni) (1971) - Sophia Bini * ''

Black Belly of the Tarantula Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

'' (by

Paolo Cavara Paolo Cavara (4 July 1926 – 7 August 1982) was an Italian screenwriter and film director. He is best known for collaborating with Gualtiero Jacopetti and Franco E. Prosperi on the 1962 mondo film ''Mondo Cane'', and for directing the ficti ...

) (1971) - Franca Valentino * ''

Seven Blood-Stained Orchids ''Seven Blood-Stained Orchids'' ( it, Sette orchidee macchiate di rosso) is a 1972 ''giallo'' film directed by Umberto Lenzi, who also co-wrote the screenplay. Plot A killer is driving around the streets of Italy looking for a specific victim w ...

'' (by

Umberto Lenzi Umberto Lenzi (6 August 1931 – 19 October 2017) was an Italian film director, screenwriter, and novelist. A fan of film since young age, Lenzi studied at the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia and made his first film in 1958 which went unr ...

) (1972) - Elena Marchi * ''

The Killer Is on the Phone ''The Killer Is on the Phone'' ( it, L'assassino... è al telefono) is a 1972 ''giallo'' film directed by Alberto De Martino. It was released in the U.S. in July, 1975. The film is set in Bruges, Belgium, and stars Telly Savalas and Anne Heywo ...

'' (by

Alberto De Martino Alberto De Martino (12 June 1929 – 2 June 2015) was an Italian film director and screenwriter. Born in Rome, De Martino started as a child actor and later returned to the cinema where worked as a screenwriter, director and dubbing supervis ...

) (1972) - Margaret Vervoort * ''

Days of Inspector Ambrosio ''Days of Inspector Ambrosio'' (Italian: ''I giorni del commissario Ambrosio'') is a 1988 Italian crime film directed by Sergio Corbucci. It is loosely based on several novels written by Renato Olivieri. Plot A few days before Inspector Ambrosi ...

'' (by

Sergio Corbucci Sergio Corbucci (; 6 December 1926 – 1 December 1990) was an Italian film director, screenwriter and producer. He directed both very violent Spaghetti Westerns and bloodless Bud Spencer and Terence Hill action comedies. He is the older bro ...

) (1988) - Moglie di Vittorio Borghi * ''

Love Story with Cramps ''Love Story with Cramps'' ( it, Storie d'amore con i crampi) is a 1995 Italian romantic comedy film written and directed by Pino Quartullo. Plot Cast * Pino Quartullo as Francesco * Chiara Caselli as Marcella/Amanda * Sergio Rubini as Rob ...

'' (by

Pino Quartullo Giuseppe "Pino" Quartullo (born 12 July 1957) is an Italian actor, director, screenwriter and playwright. Life and career Born in Civitavecchia, after getting a degree in architecture, Quartullo graduated in directing at the Silvio d’Amico ...

) (1995) - Directrice agenzia * '' Sleepless'' (by

Dario Argento Dario Argento (; born 7 September 1940) is an Italian film director, producer, screenwriter, actor and film critic, critic. His influential work in the horror film, horror genre during the 1970s and 1980s, particularly in the subgenre known as ...

) (2001) - Laura de Fabritiis

References

External links

* 1926 births Italian film actresses 2013 deaths Italian stage actresses Italian television actresses Italian radio personalities Actresses from Rome 20th-century Italian actresses 21st-century Italian actresses Accademia Nazionale di Arte Drammatica Silvio D'Amico alumni Burials at the Cimitero Flaminio {{Italy-actor-stub

Life and career

Filmography

References

Further reading

External links