Biagio Pelligra (born 24 June 1937, in

Comiso Comiso () is a ''comune'' of the Province of Ragusa, Sicily, Southern Italy. As of 2017, its population was 29,857. History In the past Comiso has been incorrectly identified with the ancient Greek colony of Casmene in Magna Graecia. Under the B ...

) is an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

stage, film and television actor.

Life and career

Born in

Province of Ragusa The province of Ragusa (; ) was a province in the autonomous region of Sicily, Italy, located in the southeast of the island. Following the abolition of the Sicilian provinces, it was replaced in 2015 by the Free municipal consortium of Ragusa ...

, Pelligra started his acting career in the second half of the sixties, and after several minor roles he got his first role of weight in 1972, in Marco Leto's ''

Black Holiday ''Black Holiday'' () is a 1973 Italian Political cinema, political drama film directed by Marco Leto and starring Adalberto Maria Merli and Adolfo Celi. Cast * Adolfo Celi as Commissioner Rizzuto * Adalberto Maria Merli as Franco Rossini * John ...

''. Following the critical success of the film, from then he started appearing, often in secondary roles, in several

art film An art film, arthouse film, or specialty film is an independent film aimed at a niche market rather than a mass market audience. It is "intended to be a serious, artistic work, often experimental and not designed for mass appeal", "made prima ...

s, working with

Roberto Rossellini Roberto Gastone Zeffiro Rossellini (8 May 1906 – 3 June 1977) was an Italian film director, screenwriter and producer. He was one of the most prominent directors of the Italian neorealist cinema, contributing to the movement with films such a ...

Paolo and Vittorio Taviani Paolo Taviani (; 8 November 1931 – 29 February 2024) and Vittorio Taviani (; 20 September 1929 – 15 April 2018), collectively referred to as the Taviani brothers, were Italian film directors and screenwriters who collaborated on numerous fi ...

Marco Tullio Giordana Marco Tullio Giordana (born 1 October 1950) is an Italian film director and screenwriter. Biography Born in Milan, during the 1970s he approached the cinema by collaborating on the screenplay of Roberto Faenza's 1977 documentary ''Forza Itali ...

and

Peter Del Monte Peter Del Monte (29 July 1943 – 31 May 2021) was an Italian film director and screenwriter. He directed fifteen films between 1969 and 2021. His 1982 film ''Invitation au voyage'' won the prize for the Best Artistic Contribution at the 1982 Ca ...

, among others. Pelligra's popularity is however mainly linked to a series of poliziotteschi, sceneggiate and mafia films, in which he specialized in roles of criminals and villains.

Partial filmography

* '' Shoot Loud, Louder... I Don't Understand'' (1966) * '' Death Laid an Egg'' (1968) - Chemical operator * ''

Commandos A commando is a combatant, or operative of an elite light infantry or special operations force, specially trained for carrying out raids and operating in small teams behind enemy lines. Originally, "a commando" was a type of combat unit, as opp ...

'' (1968) - Carmelo * ''L'alibi'' (1969) * '' Under the Sign of Scorpio'' (1969) * ''Le 10 meraviglie dell'amore'' (1969) - Turi * '' Joe Dakota'' (1972) - Banker (uncredited) * ''

'' (1973) - Mastrodonato * '' Allonsanfàn'' (1974) - priest * '' Anno uno'' (1974) * ''Irene, Irene'' (1975) * ''La Cecilia'' (1975) - Tullio * '' Il marsigliese'' (1975) - Gigino Puleo * '' Al piacere di rivederla'' (1976) - Marshal of

Carabinieri The Carabinieri (, also , ; formally ''Arma dei Carabinieri'', "Arm of Carabineers"; previously ''Corpo dei Carabinieri Reali'', "Royal Carabineers Corps") are the national gendarmerie of Italy who primarily carry out domestic and foreign poli ...

* '' The Tough Ones'' (1976) - Savelli * '' Free Hand for a Tough Cop'' (1976) - Calabrese * '' Bloody Payroll'' (1976) - Tropea * '' Antonio Gramsci: The Days of Prison'' (1977) - Bruno * ''Il mammasantissima'' (1979) - Don Salvatore Bufalo * '' From Corleone to Brooklyn'' (1979) - Scalia * ''Improvviso'' (1979) - Lo zio Luigi * '' To Love the Damned'' (1980) - Police commissioner * ''

Zappatore ''Zappatore'' is an Italian drama film directed by Alfonso Brescia and starring Mario Merola. The film was released in Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western E ...

'' (1980) - Accountant D'Inzillo * '' The Mafia Triangle'' (1981) - Coppola * '' Carcerato'' (1981) - Nicola Esposito * ''L'Ombre rouge'' (1981) * ''Laura... a 16 anni mi dicesti sì'' (1983) - Tito * '' The Professor'' (1986) - The Father * '' Women in Arms'' (1991) - Antonio Guidotti * '' The Saracen Woman (La Sarrasine)'' (1992) - Salvatore Moschella * '' Who Killed Pasolini?'' (1995) - Police officer * '' An Eyewitness Account'' (1997) - Police Commissioner De Lio * ''La collezione invisibile'' (2003) - Caruso * '' I Vicerè'' (2007) - Baldassarre * '' Il Capo dei Capi'' (2007, TV Mini-Series) - Pietro Scaglione

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pelligra, Biagio 1937 births People from Comiso Italian male stage actors Italian male film actors Italian male television actors Living people Actors from the Province of Ragusa Male actors from Sicily