Carlo Campanini (5 October 1906 – 20 November 1984) was an Italian actor, singer and comedian. He appeared in more than 120 films between 1939 and 1969.

Life and career

Born in

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

, Campanini attended a technical school and a course of singing, then he started his career at nineteen entering the company of prose Casaleggio, with whom he toured six months in Argentina. In the following years Campanini was cast as singer-comedian and even as a tenor in a number of

revue A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatre, theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketch comedy, sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural pre ...

and

operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs and including dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, and length of the work. Apart from its shorter length, the oper ...

companies. In 1936 he became the leading actor in the company of Vivienne D'Arys, in which he successfully teamed with Carlo Dapporto. He made his film debut in 1939, in '' Lo vedi come sei... lo vedi come sei?'' alongside Macario, then he soon became a very usual presence in comedy films, in roles of

sidekick A sidekick is a close companion or colleague who is, or is generally regarded as, subordinate to those whom they accompany. Origins The first recorded use of the term dates from 1896. It is believed to have originated in pickpocket slang of ...

or as a

character actor A character actor is an actor known for playing unusual, eccentric, or interesting character (arts), characters in supporting roles, rather than leading ones.28 April 2013, The New York Acting SchoolTen Best Character Actors of All Time Retrie ...

. In 1945 he had his only film leading role, in the critically appreciated

Mario Soldati Mario Soldati (17 November 1906 – 19 June 1999) was an Italian writer and film director. In 1954, he won the Strega Prize for ''Lettere da Capri.'' He directed several works adapted from novels, and worked with leading Italian actresses, s ...

's drama '' His Young Wife''. Since 1950, starting from the comedy play ''Sogno di un Walter'', he became the usual sidekick of

Walter Chiari Walter Annicchiarico (8 March 1924 – 20 December 1991), known as Walter Chiari , was an Italian stage and screen actor, mostly in comedy roles. Biography Walter Annicchiarico was born in Verona, Italy on 8 March 1924 to a family originall ...

on stage, TV and films. In 1945, Campanini was initiated in the regular

Scottish Rite The Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry is a List of Masonic rites, rite within the broader context of Freemasonry. It is the most widely practiced List of Masonic rites, Rite in the world. In some parts of the world, and in the ...

Masonic Lodge A Masonic lodge (also called Freemasons' lodge, or private lodge or constituent lodge) is the basic organisational unit of Freemasonry. It is also a commonly used term for a building where Freemasons meet and hold their meetings. Every new l ...

''Fulgor Ortis'' in Rome, affiliated to the Grand Orient of Italy. Its Grand Master was the prince and actor Antonio De Curtis. Some years later, he was converted to the Roman Catholic faith by Padre Pio of Pietralcina and according to then canon law, he left Freemasonry.'' The spiritual Brothers of Padre Pio''
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Selected filmography

*'' Dora Nelson'' (1939) *'' Lo vedi come sei... lo vedi come sei?'' (1939) *'' Goodbye Youth'' (1940) * '' La zia smemorata'' (1940) *'' The Adventuress from the Floor Above'' (1941) * '' The Actor Who Disappeared'' (1941) * '' Light in the Darkness'' (1941) *'' Schoolgirl Diary'' (1941) * '' Thrill'' (1941) *''

Honeymoon A honeymoon is a vacation taken by newlyweds after their wedding to celebrate their marriage. Today, honeymoons are often celebrated in destinations considered exotic or romantic. In a similar context, it may also refer to the phase in a couple ...

'' (1941) *'' I Live as I Please'' (1942) * '' Violets in Their Hair'' (1942) * '' Invisible Chains'' (1942) *'' Love Story'' (1942) *'' The Lady Is Fickle'' (1942) * '' Once a Week'' (1942) * '' Sealed Lips'' (1942) * '' Music on the Run'' (1943) * '' Lively Teresa'' (1943) *'' Anything for a Song'' (1943) * '' Two Suffer Better Than One'' (1943) *'' The Za-Bum Circus'' (1944) *'' His Young Wife'' (1945) *'' The Ten Commandments'' (1945) * '' Romulus and the Sabines'' (1945) * '' Departure at Seven'' (1946) *'' The Models of Margutta'' (1946) *'' How I Lost the War'' (1947) * '' Bullet for Stefano'' (1947) * '' The White Primrose'' (1947) *'' The Two Orphans'' (1947) *'' Christmas at Camp 119'' (1948) *'' Mad About Opera'' (1948) * '' Eleven Men and a Ball'' (1948) * '' The Flame That Will Not Die'' (1949) *'' A Night of Fame'' (1949) *'' The Elusive Twelve'' (1950) * ''

The Cadets of Gascony ''The Cadets of Gascony'' (Italian: ''I cadetti di Guascogna'') is a 1950 Italian comedy film directed by Mario Mattoli and starring Walter Chiari, Carlo Campanini and Mario Riva. It was shot at the Farnesina Studios in Rome, with sets designed by ...

'' (1950) * ''

The Transporter ''The'' is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the ...

'' (1950) * '' Seven Hours of Trouble'' (1951) *'' Toto the Third Man'' (1951) * '' Briscola'' (1951) * '' The Steamship Owner'' (1951) *'' My Heart Sings'' (1951) * '' Sardinian Vendetta'' (1952) * ''

Poppy A poppy is a flowering plant in the subfamily Papaveroideae of the family Papaveraceae. Poppies are herbaceous plants, often grown for their colourful flowers. One species of poppy, '' Papaver somniferum'', is the source of the narcotic drug ...

'' (1952) * '' If You Won a Hundred Million'' (1953) * '' It Was She Who Wanted It!'' (1953) *'' Neapolitan Turk'' (1953) * ''

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 a ...

'' (1953) * '' Milanese in Naples'' (1954) * ''

Public Opinion Public opinion, or popular opinion, is the collective opinion on a specific topic or voting intention relevant to society. It is the people's views on matters affecting them. In the 21st century, public opinion is widely thought to be heavily ...

'' (1954) *''

Les Hussards ''Les Hussards'' (), is a French Comedy film, comedy film from 1955, directed by Alex Joffé, written by Gabriel Arout, starring Bernard Blier, Giovanna Ralli, Bourvil, and with Georges Wilson, Virna Lisi, Louis de Funès playing supporting roles ...

'' (1955) *'' Sins of Casanova'' (1955) *'' I giorni più belli'' (1956) *'' L'amore nasce a Roma'' (1958) *'' Non perdiamo la testa'' (1959) *''

Obiettivo ragazze ''Obiettivo ragazze'' is a 1963 Italian comedy film directed by Mario Mattoli and starring the comic duo Franco and Ciccio. Plot Four ex-soldiers meet and reminisce about the times they were in the military: a parachutist mistaking his sergean ...

'' (1963) *'' The Betrothed'' (1964)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Campanini, Carlo 1906 births 1984 deaths Italian male film actors Male actors from Turin 20th-century Italian male actors Italian male comedians Italian male television actors Italian male stage actors 20th-century Italian comedians Comedians from Turin