Albert De Conti Cadassamare (29 January 1887 – 18 January 1967), professionally billed as Albert Conti, was an Austrian-Hungarian-born Italian-American film actor.

Life

Born in the village of Gorizia (now, part of Italy), Conti achieved moderate fame as an actor in American films, but first he specialized in law (high school and law college in

Graz Graz (; sl, Gradec) is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562 (294,236 of whom had principal-residence status). In 2018, the popul ...

) and natural science, and married Patricia Cross. When World War I began, he became an officer. He was the son of Albert, Ritter Conti von Cedassamare and his wife, Countess Marie Bernhardine Anna

Kaboga The House of Kaboga (Kabužić in Croatian, Caboga in Italian) were a patrician family from the city of Dubrovnik and its Republic of Ragusa. Their numbers, economic power and social and political status marked them as wealthy, influential an ...

, a member of an old Ragusan/ Dubrovnik noble family (''see'':

House of Caboga The House of Kaboga (Kabužić in Croatian, Caboga in Italian) were a patrician family from the city of Dubrovnik and its Republic of Ragusa. Their numbers, economic power and social and political status marked them as wealthy, influential and ...

). After his discharge from the Austrian army at the close of World War I, he came to America like many other now-impoverished postwar Europeans from both sides of the conflict.

Emigration to U.S.A.

Conti emigrated to the United States via the Port of Philadelphia in 1919. After settling in the new country, Conti was obliged to take a series of manual labor jobs, his patrician background notwithstanding. While working in the California oil fields, he answered an open call placed by director

Erich von Stroheim Erich Oswald Hans Carl Maria von Stroheim (born Erich Oswald Stroheim; September 22, 1885 – May 12, 1957) was an Austrian-American director, actor and producer, most noted as a film star and avant-garde, visionary director of the silent era. H ...

, who was in search of an Austrian military officer to act as technical advisor for his upcoming film ''Merry-Go-Round'' (1923). A better actor than most of his fellow Habsburg Empire expatriates, Conti was able to secure dignified character roles in several silent and sound films; his credits ranged from

Josef von Sternberg Josef von Sternberg (; born Jonas Sternberg; May 29, 1894 – December 22, 1969) was an Austrian-American filmmaker whose career successfully spanned the transition from the silent to the sound era, during which he worked with most of the major ...

's ''Morocco'' (1930) to the early

Laurel and Hardy Laurel and Hardy were a British-American Double act, comedy duo act during the early Classical Hollywood cinema, Classical Hollywood era of American cinema, consisting of Englishman Stan Laurel (1890–1965) and American Oliver Hardy (1892–19 ...

knockabout '' Slipping Wives'' (1927). He appeared in the 1928 silent film ''Dry Martini'' as a roué artist. Though he made his last film in 1942, Albert Conti remained in the industry as an employee of the MGM wardrobe department, where he worked until his retirement in 1962.

Selected filmography

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Conti, Albert Austrian male film actors Italian Austro-Hungarians Nobility from Trieste Actors from Trieste 1887 births 1967 deaths Austro-Hungarian Army officers Austro-Hungarian military personnel of World War I Austrian male silent film actors Austrian emigrants to the United States American male film actors 20th-century American male actors 20th-century Austrian male actors Austrian people of Italian descent