Alan Furlan (13 April 1920 – 14 May 1997) was an Italian-American

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

Biography

Born Aleardo Furlan in Farla, in the North

Friuli Friuli (; ; or ; ; ) is a historical region of northeast Italy. The region is marked by its separate regional and ethnic identity predominantly tied to the Friulians, who speak the Friulian language. It comprises the major part of the autono ...

region of

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, Furlan acted in films in Europe and the United States, on Broadway and in commercials. On Broadway he appeared in productions such as ''Holiday for Lovers'' (1957), ''The Best House in Naples'' (1956), ''Idiot's Delight'' (1951) and ''Romeo and Juliet'' (1951) starring

Olivia de Havilland Dame Olivia Mary de Havilland (; July 1, 1916July 26, 2020) was a British and American actress. The major works of her cinematic career spanned from 1935 to 1988. She appeared in 49 feature films and was one of the leading actresses of her tim ...

. In the late 1940s, he performed in Chicago area

summer stock In American theater, summer stock theater is a theater that presents stage productions only in the summer. The name combines the season with the tradition of staging shows by a resident company, reusing stock scenery and costumes. Summer stock ...

theaters with actors such as Richard Kiley. Furlan played the role of Giancarlo in the Italian film '' Donatella'' (1956) which was selected for competition at the

Berlin Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (), usually called the Berlinale (), is an annual film festival held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festival has been held every February since 1978 and is one of Europ ...

. He appeared in numerous live broadcast

anthology drama An anthology series is a written series, radio program, radio, television show, television, film series, film, or video game series that presents a different story and a different set of characters in each different episode, Season (television) ...

television series with lead roles in episodes of Police Call, one of the top grossing television series released in 1955, as well as a supporting role in the Producers' Showcase production (1957) of the melodramatic comedic Broadway play ''The Great Sebastians'', starring

Alfred Lunt Alfred David Lunt (August 12, 1892 – August 3, 1977) was an American actor and director, best known for his long stage partnership with his wife, Lynn Fontanne, from the 1920s to 1960, co-starring in Broadway theatre, Broadway and West End thea ...

and

Lynn Fontanne Lynn Fontanne (; 6 December 1887 – 30 July 1983) was an English actress. After early success in supporting roles in the West End theatre, West End, she met the American actor Alfred Lunt, whom she married in 1922 and with whom she co-starred i ...

and the

Armstrong Circle Theatre ''Armstrong Circle Theatre'' is an American anthology drama television series which ran from June 6, 1950, to June 25, 1957, on NBC, and from October 2, 1957, to August 28, 1963, on CBS. It alternated weekly with '' The United States Steel Ho ...

episode ''The Sound of Violence: The Jukebox Racket'' (1959). He toured with

Mae West Mary Jane "Mae" West (August 17, 1893 – November 22, 1980) was an American actress, singer, comedian, screenwriter, and playwright whose career spanned more than seven decades. Recognized as a prominent sex symbol of her time, she was known ...

as her Latin lover in ''Come On Up, Ring Twice'' and performed in the TV version of the ''Moon and Sixpence'' with

Laurence Olivier Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier ( ; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director. He and his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud made up a trio of male actors who dominated the British stage of the m ...

(1959). Furlan later became the mentor of

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

's Sunset Playhouse where he remained

artistic director An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre company or dance company, who handles the organization's artistic direction. They are generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogu ...

for 28 years.

Personal life

He was married to Mary Lake and they had a daughter Nicola Lea.

Filmography

*''

Orient Express The ''Orient Express'' was a long-distance passenger luxury train service created in 1883 by the Belgian company ''Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits'' (CIWL) that operated until 2009. The train traveled the length of continental Europe, w ...

'' (1953, Episode: "His Son") (a.k.a. '' His Boy'') as Marc *'' La tua donna'' (1954) *'' Police Call'' (1955, TV Series) *'' Donatella'' (1956) as Giancarlo *''

War and Peace ''War and Peace'' (; pre-reform Russian: ; ) is a literary work by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy. Set during the Napoleonic Wars, the work comprises both a fictional narrative and chapters in which Tolstoy discusses history and philosophy. An ...

'' (1956) as Russian Officer (uncredited) *''Defend My Love'' (1956) (a.k.a. ''Difendo il mio amore'') (original title Italy) as Il direttore del giornale *''I tre moschettieri'' (1956, TV Series) (a.k.a. ''The Three Musketeers'') (USA title) as Sasquinet *'' Producers' Showcase'' (1957, Episode: "The Great Sebastians") as Paviat *''

'' (1959, Episode: "The Sound of Violence: The Jukebox Racket") as Charlie Williams * ''The Sinner'' (1959) ( ''La peccatrice del deserto'') (original title Italy) (a.k.a. ''Desert Desperados'') (USA title) as Rais (final film role)

Broadway stage work

*''Romeo and Juliet'' (1951) *'' Idiot's Delight'' (1951) *''The Best House in Naples'' (1956) *''Holiday for Lovers'' (1957)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Furlan, Alan 1920 births 1997 deaths American male film actors Italian male film actors Italian emigrants to the United States 20th-century American male actors 20th-century Italian male actors People from Friuli Male actors from Friuli-Venezia Giulia