Gianni Agus (17 August 1917 – 4 March 1994) was an Italian actor with a career in film, television, and theatre since 1938. He appeared in more than 60 films between 1938 and 1991.
Life and career
Born in
Cagliari,
Sardinia
Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...
, after his diploma in accounting Agus moved to Rome to enrol in the
Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia
The Centro sperimentale di cinematografia (Experimental Film Centre or Italian National film school) was established in 1935 in Italy and aims to promote the art and technique of cinematography and film.
The centre is the oldest film school in ...
, from which he graduated in 1938.
The same year he made his screen debut in
Carmine Gallone
Carmine Gallone (10 September 1885 – 11 March 1973) was an early Italian film director, screenwriter, and film producer, who was also controversial for his works of pro-Fascist propaganda and historical revisionism. Considered one of Itali ...
's ''
The Life of Giuseppe Verdi'' and his stage debut with the
Merlini-
Cialente company.
Agus' career took off in the post-war period, with his participation in numerous revues and musical comedies, often working with
Wanda Osiris.
His popularity in the general public increased thanks to the television, particularly with the hosting of the
eight edition of the
Sanremo Music Festival
The Sanremo Music Festival, officially the Italian Song Festival () and commonly known as just (), is the most popular Italian song contest and awards ceremony, held annually in the city of Sanremo, Liguria. It is the longest-running annua ...
, and later as the sidekick of comedians
Peppino De Filippo
Peppino De Filippo (born Giuseppe De Filippo; 24 August 1903 – 27 January 1980) was an Italian actor.
De Filippo was born in Naples, brother of actor and dramatist Eduardo De Filippo and of Titina De Filippo. He made his stage debut at th ...
and
Paolo Villaggio
Paolo Villaggio (; 30 December 1932 – 3 July 2017) was an Italian actor, voice actor, writer, director and comedian. He is noted for the characters he created with paradoxical and grotesque characteristics: Professor Kranz, the ultra-timid G ...
on several TV-shows.
Partial filmography
* ''
The Life of Giuseppe Verdi'' (1938)
* ''Inventiamo l'amore'' (1938) - Un invitato alla festa
* ''
The Sons of the Marquis Lucera'' (1939)
* ''
Naples Will Never Die
''Naples Will Never Die'' (Italian: ''Napoli che non muore'') is a 1939 Italian comedy film directed by Amleto Palermi and starring Fosco Giachetti, Marie Glory and Paola Barbara.Liehm p.22 A young French tourist on holiday in Naples meets and fa ...
'' (1939) - Bebè
* ''Io, suo padre'' (1939)
* ''
His Young Wife'' (1945) - Velan
* ''
Adam and Eve
Adam and Eve, according to the creation myth of the Abrahamic religions, were the first man and woman. They are central to the belief that humanity is in essence a single family, with everyone descended from a single pair of original ancestors. ...
'' (1949) - Paride
* ''Femmina incatenata'' (1949) - Gianni
* ''
Figaro Here, Figaro There'' (1950) - Il conte di Almaviva
* ''
The Enchanting Enemy
''The Enchanting Enemy'' (Italian: ''L'incantevole nemica'') is a 1953 Italian comedy film directed by Claudio Gora and starring Silvana Pampanini, Robert Lamoureux and Carlo Campanini.Gundle p.275
The film's sets were designed by the art direc ...
'' (1953)
* ''
Funniest Show on Earth'' (1953) - Il signore dai capelli tinti di rosso (uncredited)
* ''Ci troviamo in galleria'' (1953) - Il lettore di pubblicità
* ''Verdi'' (1953) - (uncredited)
* ''
It Takes Two to Sin in Love'' (1954)
* ''
Cardinal Lambertini
Pope Benedict XIV ( la, Benedictus XIV; it, Benedetto XIV; 31 March 1675 – 3 May 1758), born Prospero Lorenzo Lambertini, was head of the Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the Lis ...
'' (1954) - Count Pepoli
* ''Giove in doppiopetto'' (1954)
* ''
Susanna Whipped Cream'' (1957) - Trombetti
* ''Femmine tre volte'' (1957) - Marchese De Blasi
* ''La cento chilometri'' (1959) - Corsetti's Friend with a Bow Tie
* ''
The Fascist
''The Fascist'' ( it, Il federale) is a 1961 Italian film directed by Luciano Salce.
It was coproduced with France. It was also the first feature film scored by Ennio Morricone.
Plot
The movie takes place in 1944, when Italy was divided ...
'' (1961) - Capo del fascio di Cremona
* ''Pesci d'oro e bikini d'argento'' (1961)
* ''
The Two Marshals
''The Two Marshals'' ( it, I due marescialli) is a 1961 Italian comedy film written and directed by Sergio Corbucci. The film was a hit at the Italian box office, with 2.765.531 spectators and a total gross of 536.513.000 lire.Matilde Amorosi, ...
'' (1961) - Podestà Pennica
* ''2 samurai per 100 geishe'' (1962) - Avv. Sciabica
* ''I motorizzati'' (1962) - Mario
* ''Sexy Toto'' (1963) - Ispettore di dogana
* ''Uno strano tipo'' (1963) - Gastone
* ''Toto vs. the Four'' (1963) - Dottor Cavallo (uncredited)
* ''Divorzio alla siciliana'' (1963) - L'avvocato
* ''Le motorizzate'' (1963) - The Prosecutor (segment "Il Vigile Ignoto")
* ''Toto and Cleopatra'' (1963) - Ottavio
* ''Europa: Operazione Strip-tease'' (1964)
* ''L'immorale'' (1980) - Un presentatore televisivo
* ''The Long, the Short, the Cat'' (1967) - Il conte
* ''Soldati e capelloni'' (1967) - Colonello Ortega
* ''Peggio per me... meglio per te'' (1967) - Barone Marcianò
* ''The Most Beautiful Couple in the World'' (1968) - Gianni
* ''La vuole lui... lo vuole lei'' (1968)
* ''Franco e Ciccio... Ladro e Guardia'' (1969) - Naked man in airport
* ''Lisa dagli occhi blu'' (1970) - Centro Spaziale Engineer
* ''Il gatto di Brooklyn aspirante detective'' (1973) - Aldemiro Arcangelo Gabriele De Porcaris
* ''Ku-Fu? Dalla Sicilia con furore'' (1973) - Kon Ki Lay
* ''Dirty Weekend (1973 film), Dirty Weekend'' (1973) - Sergio
* ''4 marmittoni alle grandi manovre'' (1974) - Il colonnello
* ''Il colonnello Buttiglione diventa generale'' (1974) - Generale La Tanica
* ''Il trafficone'' (1974) - on. Rivolta
* ''The Balloon Vendor'' (1974) - Circus Manager
* ''Buttiglione diventa capo del servizio segreto'' (1975) - Generale La Tanica
* ''Due sul pianerottolo'' (1976) - Dott. Gianni Tagliolini
* ''My Sister in Law'' (1976) - Angelo Scotti
* ''Orazi e curiazi 3-2'' (1977) - Mezio
* ''Fracchia la belva umana'' (1981) - Dott. Orimbelli
* ''Culo e camicia'' (1981) - Annibale Panebianco
* ''I carabbimatti'' (1981) - Giuseppe Marrone
* ''Camera d'albergo'' (1981) - Himself
* ''Sbirulino'' (1982) - Brescioni
* ''Cuando calienta el sol... vamos a la playa'' (1982)
* ''Questo e Quello'' (1983) - Editor (segment "Questo... amore impossibile")
* ''Matilda'' (1990) - Matilda's Father
References
External links
*
1917 births
1994 deaths
Italian male film actors
20th-century Italian male actors
Italian male stage actors
Italian male television actors
Italian television presenters
Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia alumni
{{Italy-actor-stub