Rocco D'Assunta (7 February 1904 – 27 January 1970) was an Italian actor, comedian and playwright.

Life and career

Born in

Palermo Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan ...

, D'Assunta started acting at very young age with several Sicilian stage companies, including the ones led by

Angelo Musco Angelo Musco (18 December 1872 – 6 October 1937) was an Italian actor in theater and film. He was known for his comic abilities as well as for his carefully drawn psychological portraits. Life and career Born in Catania, Catania, Sicily to ...

and

Giovanni Grasso Giovanni Grasso (11 November 1888 – 30 April 1963) was an Italian stage and film actor. He appeared in more than 80 films between 1910 and 1955. He was born and died in Catania, Sicily, Italy. Born into a family of marionettists, he was ...

. At the beginning of the thirties he moved to Rome where he was part of the "Za-Bum Company" directed by

Mario Mattoli Mario Mattoli (; 30 November 1898 – 26 February 1980) was an Italian film director and screenwriter. He directed 86 films between 1934 and 1966. His 1939 film ''Defendant, Stand Up!'' was shown as part of a retrospective on Italian comedy ...

, then he devoted himself to radio as a member of the "Teatro Comico Musicale" on

Radio Roma Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitt ...

that got him some popularity thanks to his comic monologues caricaturing typical Sicilian characters. He made his cinema debut in 1933, and was mainly cast in character roles of Sicilian people. He was also active on television. D'Assunta was also the author, under the pseudonym Roda, of the stage play ''Io, Angelo Musco'', which was first represented in 1962. His daughter Solvejg D'Assunta is also an actress and a voice actress.

Partial filmography

*''

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) * ''

Bad Subject ''Bad Subject'' ( it, Un cattivo soggetto) is a 1933 Italian comedy film directed by Carlo Ludovico Bragaglia and starring Vittorio De Sica. It is a remake of ''The Devil to Pay!'' (1930). Cast * Vittorio De Sica as Willy * Giuditta Rissone as ...

'' (1933) * ''

La segretaria per tutti ''La segretaria per tutti'' is a 1933 Italian comedy film directed by Amleto Palermi and featuring Vittorio De Sica. Cast * Adele Carlucci * Amelia Chellini * Franco Coop * Rocco D'Assunta * Vittorio De Sica * Tino Erler * Armando Falconi * Ri ...

'' (1933) * ''

Creatures of the Night ''Creatures of the Night'' is the tenth studio album by American rock band Kiss, released in 1982. It was the band's last for Casablanca Records, the only label for which Kiss had recorded up to that point. The album was dedicated to the memor ...

'' (1934) * ''

Red Passport ''Red Passport'' (Italian: ''Passaporto rosso'') is a 1935 Italian historical drama film directed by Guido Brignone and starring Isa Miranda, Filippo Scelzo and Ugo Ceseri. A group of Italian immigrants to South America join in a revolution. It ...

'' (1935) - Un soldato in trincea * '' Golden Arrow'' (1935) * ''

King of Diamonds The king of diamonds is a playing card in the standard 52-card deck. King of Diamonds may also refer to: * ''King of Diamonds'' (film), a 1936 Italian comedy film directed by Enrico Guazzoni * ''King of Diamonds'' (TV series), a 1961–62 Ameri ...

'' (1936) - Don Cola - il sensale * '' Doctor Antonio'' (1937) - Michele Pironti * ''

Abandon All Hope ''Inferno'' (; Italian for "Hell") is the first part of Italian writer Dante Alighieri's 14th-century epic poem ''Divine Comedy''. It is followed by ''Purgatorio'' and '' Paradiso''. The ''Inferno'' describes Dante's journey through Hell, gui ...

'' (1937) * ''

The Ferocious Saladin ''The Ferocious Saladin'' (Italian: ''Il feroce Saladino'') is a 1937 Italian " white-telephones" comedy film directed by Mario Bonnard and starring Angelo Musco, Alida Valli and Lino Carenzio. The film was made at Cinecittà in Rome. On 28 April ...

'' (1937) * ''L'antenato'' (1938) * ''Il suo destino'' (1938) - Il sordo * ''L'aria del continente'' (1939) * ''Think It Over Jack'' (1940) - Customer * ''Sempre più difficile'' (1943) - Cardella * ''

Christmas at Camp 119 ''Christmas at Camp 119'' (Italian: ''Natale al campo 119'') is a 1947 Italian comedy-drama film directed by Pietro Francisci and starring Aldo Fabrizi, Vittorio De Sica and Peppino De Filippo. A group of Italian prisoners of war being held cap ...

'' (1947) - Lojacono, il siciliano * ''

Outlaw Girl ''Il Brigante Musolino'' (Italian: ''The Brigand Musolino''), released in the US as ''Outlaw Girl'', is a 1950 Italian crime drama film inspired by the life of the Calabrian outlaw Giuseppe Musolino. It was directed and written by Mario Camerini ...

'' (1950) - Don Agatino Santoro * '' The Outlaws'' (1950) - Rocco Creo, the sacristan * ''

The Knight Has Arrived! ''The Knight Has Arrived!'' (Italian: ''È arrivato il cavaliere!'') is a 1950 Italian comedy film directed by Mario Monicelli and Steno and starring Tino Scotti, Silvana Pampanini and Nyta Dover. The film's sets were designed by the art di ...

'' (1950) - Capo dei Banditi * '' O.K. Nerone'' (1951) - Pannunzia, the Prefect * ''

Una bruna indiavolata! ''Una bruna indiavolata!'' is a 1951 Italian comedy film directed by Carlo Ludovico Bragaglia. Cast * Silvana Pampanini as Clara * Ugo Tognazzi as Carlo Soldi * Nando Bruno as Autista del taxi * Carlo Sposito as Giulio Scanagatta * Rocco D'As ...

'' (1951) - Il ladro * ''

Anna Anna may refer to: People Surname and given name * Anna (name) Mononym * Anna the Prophetess, in the Gospel of Luke * Anna (wife of Artabasdos) (fl. 715–773) * Anna (daughter of Boris I) (9th–10th century) * Anna (Anisia) (fl. 1218 to 1221) ...

'' (1951) - Un padre * '' Cops and Robbers'' (1951) - Client in Tavern (uncredited) * ''

Toto in Color ''Toto in Color'' (Italian: ''Totò a colori'') is a 1952 Italian comedy film, and was the first Italian color film shot with the Ferraniacolor system. The film was directed by Steno and starred the comic actor Totò. Plot Antonio Scannagatti is ...

'' (1952) - Il cognato siciliano * ''

Man, Beast and Virtue ''L'uomo, la bestia e la virtù'' (), internationally released as ''Man, Beast and Virtue'', is a List of Italian films of 1953, 1953 Cinema of Italy, Italian comedy film directed by Stefano Vanzina, Steno. It starred Italian comedian Totò and fa ...

'' (1953) - Zeppo * ''Canto per te'' (1953) * ''

An American in Rome ''An American in Rome'' (originally ''Un americano a Roma'') is a 1954 Italian comedy film directed by Steno. The film consists in a satire of Americanization, and it was referred as "a milestone in the evolution of Italian self-identification". I ...

'' (1954) - Commissario * ''

Totò lascia o raddoppia? ''Totò lascia o raddoppia?'' ("''Totò double or nothing?''") is a 1956 Italian comedy film directed by Camillo Mastrocinque. Plot The Duke Gagliardo della Forcoletta decides to participate in the television quiz '' Lascia o raddoppia?'' in or ...

'' (1956) - Joe Taccola * '' The Wanderers'' (1956) - Un corteggiatore di Dolores * ''Ci sposeremo a Capri'' (1956) - Onorato Raimondi * ''Amaramente'' (1956) - Luigi Cerelli * ''Roulotte e roulette'' (1959) - Facciponti * ''Mafia alla sbarra'' (1963) * ''Liolà'' (1964) * '' Seduced and Abandoned'' (1964) - Orlando Califano * ''I soldi'' (1965)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:D'Assunta, Rocco 1904 births 1970 deaths Italian male film actors Italian male television actors Italian male stage actors Italian male radio actors Male actors from Palermo 20th-century Italian male actors Italian male comedians 20th-century Italian male writers 20th-century Italian dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Italian comedians