Biagio Pelligra (born 24 June 1937, in

Comiso Comiso ( scn, U Còmisu), 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. Under the Byzan ...

) is an

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

stage, film and television actor.

Life and career

Born in

Province of Ragusa The Province of Ragusa ( it, Provincia di Ragusa; Sicilian: ''Pruvincia 'i Rausa'') was a province in the autonomous region of Sicily in southern Italy, located in the south-east of the island. Following the abolition of the Sicilian provinces, ...

, 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 Marco Leto (18 January 1931 – 21 April 2016) was an Italian film and television director and screenwriter. Born in Rome, Leto started his career in the 1950s as an assistant director in a large number of films. In 1965 he started a colla ...

's ''

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

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

art film An art film (or arthouse film) is typically 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 primaril ...

s, working with

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

Paolo and Vittorio Taviani Paolo Taviani (; born 8 November 1931) 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 film productions. At the C ...

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

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 Poliziotteschi (; singular ''poliziottesco'') constitute a subgenre of crime and action films that emerged in Italy in the late 1960s and reached the height of their popularity in the 1970s. They are also known as ''polizieschi all'italiana'', ' ...

sceneggiate The sceneggiata (, pl. sceneggiate) or sceneggiata napoletana () is a form of musical drama typical of Naples. Beginning as a form of musical theatre after World War I, it was also adapted for cinema; sceneggiata films became especially popular ...

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 ''Death Laid an Egg'' ( it, La morte ha fatto l'uovo) is a 1968 ''giallo'' film directed by Giulio Questi. Written by Questi and Franco Arcalli, the film stars Ewa Aulin, Gina Lollobrigida and Jean-Louis Trintignant. Plot Married couple Anna ...

'' (1968) - Chemical operator * ''

Commandos 40_Commando.html" ;"title="Royal Marines from 40 Commando">Royal Marines from 40 Commando on patrol in the Sangin area of Afghanistan are pictured A commando is a combatant, or operative of an elite light infantry or special operations force ...

'' (1968) - Carmelo * ''L'alibi'' (1969) * ''

Under the Sign of Scorpio ''Sotto il segno dello scorpione'' (internationally released as ''Under the Sign of Scorpio'') is a 1969 Italian drama film directed by Paolo and Vittorio Taviani. It was screened at the Venice Film Festival. The film was defined as: "perhaps the ...

'' (1969) * ''Le 10 meraviglie dell'amore'' (1969) - Turi * '' Joe Dakota'' (1972) - Banker (uncredited) * ''

'' (1973) - Mastrodonato * ''

Allonsanfàn ''Allonsanfàn'' () is a 1974 Italian historical drama film written and directed by Paolo and Vittorio Taviani. The title of the film, which is also the name of a character, comes from the first words (french: Allons enfants, lit=Arise, children) o ...

'' (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 ''The Tough Ones'' () is a 1999 Finnish film directed by Aleksi Mäkelä. It was Finland's official Best Foreign Language Film submission at the 72nd Academy Awards, but did not manage to receive a nomination.* Plot The film starts when Jussi ...

'' (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 ''To Love the Damned'' ( it, Maledetti vi amerò) is a 1980 Italian drama film directed by Marco Tullio Giordana. It competed in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1980 Cannes Film Festival. It won the Golden Leopard award at the Locarno Inter ...

'' (1980) - Police commissioner * '' Zappatore'' (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 * ''

La Sarrasine ''La Sarrasine'' is a Canadian drama film, released in 1992."La Sarrasine shows that cultural clashes are not something new". ''Montreal Gazette'', February 16, 1992. Directed by Paul Tana and written by Tana and Bruno Ramirez, the film stars To ...

'' (1992) - Salvatore Moschella * ''

Who Killed Pasolini? ''Pasolini, un delitto italiano'' (''Pasolini, an Italian Crime''), internationally released as ''Who Killed Pasolini?'', is a 1995 Italian crime-drama film co-written and directed by Marco Tullio Giordana. It was released on 3 July 1996. It depi ...

'' (1995) - Police officer * '' An Eyewitness Account'' (1997) - Police Commissioner De Lio * ''La collezione invisibile'' (2003) - Caruso * '' I Vicerè'' (2007) - Baldassarre * ''

Il Capo dei Capi ''Il Capo dei Capi'' (''The Boss of the Bosses'') is a six-part Italian miniseries which debuted on Canale 5 between October and November 2007. It tells the story of Salvatore Riina, alias ''Totò u Curtu'' (Totò the Short), a mafioso boss f ...

'' (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