Sergio Fantoni (7 August 1930 – 17 April 2020) was an Italian actor, voice actor and director.
Biography
Fantoni was born in
Rome to the actor
Cesare Fantoni. He began his career appearing in films, radio dramas, television and theatrical productions from the late 1940s. He made his debut film appearance alongside his father in the 1949 film ''
Anthony of Padua
Anthony of Padua ( it, Antonio di Padova) or Anthony of Lisbon ( pt, António/Antônio de Lisboa; born Fernando Martins de Bulhões; 15 August 1195 – 13 June 1231) was a Portuguese people, Portuguese Catholic Church, Catholic priesthood (Cath ...
''.
In addition to working mainly in his own country, he starred in international productions as well. Fantoni made several appearances in Hollywood films in the 1960s, most notably opposite
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular ...
in the
war film ''
Von Ryan's Express'', made in 1965. In 1960, he played the villainous
Haman in ''
Esther and the King
''Esther and the King'' ( it, Ester e il re) is a 1960 American-Italian religious epic film produced and directed by Raoul Walsh and starring Joan Collins as Esther, Richard Egan as Ahasuerus, and Denis O'Dea as Mordecai. Walsh and Michael Elkins ...
'', starring
Joan Collins and
Richard Egan in the title roles. Among his roles in the UK, Fantoni appeared alongside Anglo-Italian
actress Cherie Lunghi in the
Channel 4 television series ''
The Manageress''.
Fantoni was also a voice actor. He most notably dubbed over
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 ...
’s voice in ''
Apocalypse Now''. He also provided voice-overs for
Henry Fonda,
Rock Hudson,
Gregory Peck
Eldred Gregory Peck (April 5, 1916 – June 12, 2003) was an American actor and one of the most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1970s. In 1999, the American Film Institute named Peck the 12th-greatest male star of Classic Hollywood ...
,
Ben Kingsley,
Max von Sydow and
Robert Taylor in at least one or two of their movies.
Personal life
Fantoni was married to actress Valentina Fortunato (whom he met at the Piccolo Teatro di Milano in 1954) from 1961 until her death in 2019. They had one daughter, Monica.
In 1997, Fantoni underwent a
laryngectomy, which caused problems for his voice. Because of this, he devoted himself mainly to directing until his retirement in 2003.
Fantoni died on 17 April 2020, at the age of 89.
Selected filmography
* ''
Anthony of Padua
Anthony of Padua ( it, Antonio di Padova) or Anthony of Lisbon ( pt, António/Antônio de Lisboa; born Fernando Martins de Bulhões; 15 August 1195 – 13 June 1231) was a Portuguese people, Portuguese Catholic Church, Catholic priesthood (Cath ...
'' (1949) – Un cavaliere
* ''
Paolo e Francesca'' (1950)
* ''
The Lion of Amalfi
''The Lion of Amalfi'' (Italian: ''Il Leone di Amalfi'') is a 1950 Italian historical adventure film directed by Pietro Francisci and starring Vittorio Gassman, Milly Vitale and Carlo Ninchi. After making his 1949 biopic ''Anthony of Padua'', Fra ...
'' (1950) – Ruggero
* ''Le meravigliose avventure di Guerrin Meschino'' (1952)
* ''
Captain Phantom'' (1953) – Officer in second
* ''
Senso'' (1954) – Luca
* ''
The Prince with the Red Mask
''The Prince with the Red Mask'' (Italian: ''Il principe dalla maschera rossa'') is a 1955 Italian historical adventure film directed by Leopoldo Savona and starring Frank Latimore, Maria Fiore and Yvonne Furneaux.Curti p.172
The film's sets were ...
'' (1955)
* ''Io sono la primula rossa'' (1955) – Lord Sheridan
* ''
Nella città l'inferno'' (1959) – Giudice instruttore (uncredited)
* ''
Hercules Unchained'' (1959) – Eteocles
* ''Caterina Sforza, la leonessa di Romagna'' (1959) – Giacomo Feo
* ''La notte del grande assalto'' (1959) – Marco da Volterra
* ''
The Giant of Marathon'' (1959) – Teocrito
* ''
The Employee'' (1960) – Sergio
* ''
Escape by Night'' (1960) – Don Valerio
* ''
Atom Age Vampire
''Atom Age Vampire'' ( it, Seddok, l'erede di Satana, links=no) is a 1960 Italian horror film directed by Anton Giulio Majano. Shot in black-and-white, the film was produced by Elio Ippolito Mellino and stars Alberto Lupo, Susanne Loret, and Serg ...
'' (1960) – Pierre Mornet
* ''
I Delfini'' (1960) – Doctor Mario Corsi
* ''
Esther and the King
''Esther and the King'' ( it, Ester e il re) is a 1960 American-Italian religious epic film produced and directed by Raoul Walsh and starring Joan Collins as Esther, Richard Egan as Ahasuerus, and Denis O'Dea as Mordecai. Walsh and Michael Elkins ...
'' (1960) – Haman
* ''
Il peccato degli anni verdi
''Il peccato degli anni verdi'' (Italian for "The sin of the green years") is a 1960 Italian romance film written and directed by Leopoldo Trieste. It premiered at the Locarno International Film Festival with the title ''L'assegno''.
Plot
Rele ...
'' (1960) – Giulia's husband
* ''Il sicario'' (1961)
* ''Gioventù di notte'' (1961) – Commissario
* ''Man nennt es Amore'' (1961) – Fabrizio
* ''
Pigeon Shoot'' (1961) – Nardi
* ''Morte di un bandito'' (1961) – Michele Galardo
* ''
The Shortest Day'' (1962) – (uncredited)
* ''
Ten Italians for One German
''Ten Italians for One German'' ( it, Dieci italiani per un tedesco (Via Rasella)), is a 1962 Italian historical war drama film directed by Filippo Walter Ratti. It is a dramatization of the Fosse Ardeatine massacre.
Cast
* Gino Cervi as Duke ...
'' (1962) – Gilberto di San Severino
* ''
Catherine of Russia'' (1963) – Orloff
* ''
Kali Yug: Goddess of Vengeance'' (1963) – Ram Chand
* ''Il mistero del tempio indiano'' (1963) – Ram Chand
* ''
The Prize The Prize may refer to:
* ''The Prize'' (novel), a 1962 novel by Irving Wallace
** ''The Prize'' (1963 film), a 1963 film based on the novel
* ''The Prize'' (1950 film), a 1950 French film
* ''The Prize'' (2011 film), a 2011 Mexican film
*
* ...
'' (1963) – Dr. Carlo Farelli
* ''
High Infidelity
''High Infidelity'' ( it, Alta infedeltà) is a 1964 Italian comedy film directed by Mario Monicelli, Elio Petri, Franco Rossi and Luciano Salce.
Cast
;"Scandaloso" segment
* Nino Manfredi as Francesco
* Fulvia Franco as Raffaella
* John Phi ...
'' (1964) – Luigi (segment "La Sospinosa")
* ''
Corpse for the Lady'' (1964) – Commisario
* ''
Von Ryan's Express'' (1965) – Capt. Oriani
* ''
Do Not Disturb'' (1965) – Paul
* ''
What Did You Do in the War, Daddy?
''What Did You Do in the War, Daddy?'' is a 1966 comedy DeLuxe Color film written by William Peter Blatty and directed by Blake Edwards for the Mirisch Company in Panavision. It stars James Coburn and Dick Shawn. Filming was at Lake Sherwood Ran ...
'' (1966) – Capt. Fausto Oppo
* ''
Diabolically Yours'' (1967) – Freddie
* ''
Hornets' Nest'' (1970) – Capt. Friedrich Von Hecht
* ''
Sacco e Vanzetti'' (1971) – Consul Giuseppe Andrower (uncredited)
* ''
Bad Man's River'' (1971) – Colonel Enrique Fierro
* ''
The Bloody Hands of the Law'' (1973) – Musante
* ''Una chica y un señor'' (1974) – El Señor
* ''Le Hasard et la Violence'' (1974) – Inspecteur Tanner
* ''E cominciò il viaggio nella vertigine'' (1974) – Andrei
* ''L'inconveniente'' (1976)
* ''Si elle dit oui... je ne dis pas non'' (1983) – Carniato
* ''
The Belly of an Architect'' (1987) – Io Speckler
* ''
Private Affairs'' (1988)
* ''Per non dimenticare'' (1992)
* ''The Accidental Detective'' (2003) – Baroni (final film role)
Dubbing roles
Live action
*
Walter E. Kurtz
Colonel Walter Kurtz, portrayed by Marlon Brando, is a fictional character and the main antagonist of Francis Ford Coppola's 1979 film ''Apocalypse Now''. Colonel Kurtz is based on the character of a nineteenth-century ivory trader, also called ...
in ''
Apocalypse Now''
* Jordan "Bick" Benedict Jr. in ''
Giant''
* U.S. President in ''
Meteor''
*
Mahatma Gandhi in ''
Gandhi''
* Dr. Danielsson in ''
Hurricane''
* Charles Keith in ''
Marooned''
* Sheriff Henry Tawes in ''
I Walk the Line''
* Jake Wade in ''
The Law and Jake Wade''
* John Nordley in ''
The House of the Seven Hawks''
* Thomas Farrell in ''
Party Girl''
* Alwin Kramer in ''
Tora! Tora! Tora!''
* Max Bercovicz in ''
Once Upon a Time in America''
*
James A. Garfield in ''
The Price of Power
''The Price of Power'' ( it, Il prezzo del potere) is a 1969 Spaghetti Western directed by Tonino Valerii. The film stars Giuliano Gemma as the hero Bill Willer who tries to get revenge against the killers of his father while at the same time tr ...
''
* Prince Paul Chegodieff in ''
Rasputin and the Empress''
*
Caldicott in ''
The Lady Vanishes''
* Prince Paul von Haraldberg in ''
Anastasia''
* Prince Escalus of Verona in ''
Romeo and Juliet
''Romeo and Juliet'' is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetim ...
''
* Sir in ''
The Dresser''
* André Delambre in ''
The Fly''
* Dr. John Constable in ''
St. Ives''
* Robert Hearn in ''
The Naked and the Dead''
* Edoardo in ''
Il bell'Antonio''
* Peter Van Hoek in ''
The Badlanders
''The Badlanders'' is a 1958 American western caper film directed by Delmer Daves and starring Alan Ladd and Ernest Borgnine.''Variety'' film review; July 16, 1958, p. 6.'' Harrison's Reports'' film review; July 19, 1958, p. 114. Based on the ...
''
* Rodrigo Sanchez in ''
The Naked Maja
''The Naked Maja'' is a 1958 Italian-American co-production made by S.G.C., Titanus, and United Artists. This historical film recounting of the romance between the painter Francisco Goya and the Duchess of Alba was directed by Henry Koster, an ...
''
* Guy Haines in ''
Strangers on a Train''
*
Galeazzo Ciano in ''
The Verona Trial''
* Mr. Miggs in ''
Bonnie Scotland'' (1957 redub)
*
Lope de Aguirre in ''
Aguirre, the Wrath of God''
* Lee in ''
The Magnificent Seven''
* Karl Stegner in ''
Firepower''
References
External links
Official Website*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fantoni, Sergio
1930 births
2020 deaths
Male actors from Rome
Italian male film actors
Italian male stage actors
Italian male television actors
Italian male voice actors
Italian male radio actors
Italian theatre directors
20th-century Italian male actors
20th-century Italian dramatists and playwrights