Chris Avram (born Cristea Avram; 31 August 1931 – 10 January 1989) was a

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

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 ...

film actor.

Early life and career

Avram was born in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

, into a family of active communists (his father being a member of the

Romanian Communist Party The Romanian Communist Party ( ; PCR) was a communist party in Romania. The successor to the pro-Bolshevik wing of the Socialist Party of Romania, it gave an ideological endorsement to a communist revolution that would replace the social system ...

while it was still banned, and his brother, Puiu, a Communist activist). In his youth, he attended a military school, after which he studied law for two years at the

University of Bucharest The University of Bucharest (UB) () is a public university, public research university in Bucharest, Romania. It was founded in its current form on by a decree of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza to convert the former Princely Academy of Bucharest, P ...

, before being admitted to the Academy of Theatrical Arts and Cinematography. After graduation, he worked for a while as a theater actor in

Timișoara Timișoara (, , ; , also or ; ; ; see #Etymology, other names) is the capital city of Timiș County, Banat, and the main economic, social and cultural center in Western Romania. Located on the Bega (Tisza), Bega River, Timișoara is consider ...

, before joining the in Bucharest. At a film festival in Moscow, he befriended

Marina Vlady Marina Vlady (born 10 May 1938) is a French actress. Biography Vlady was born in Clichy, Hauts-de-Seine to White Russian immigrant parents. Her father was an opera singer and her mother was a dancer. Her sisters, now all deceased, were the a ...

, who later went to Romania to star in , directed by Henri Colpi. With her help, he managed to flee to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

in 1966, where he remained. Later he settled in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

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 ...

, where he died of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

. He was married for a while to Romanian actress , with whom he had a son, Alexandru.

Partial filmography

*'' Darclee'' (1959) − Eugenio Giraldoni *' (1960) − the engineer Preda *'' Poveste sentimentală'' (1960) *'' Anotimpuri'' (1963) *'' The White Moor'' (1965) − Spânul *' (1966) − Grig *' (1966) − Lut (as Cristea Avram) *''Mamaia'' (1967) − Ștefan *'' Manon 70'' (1968) *'' Le temps de vivre'' (1969) − Michel Casno *''Delitto al circolo del tennis'' (1969) − Riccardo Dossi *''Il sole nella pelle'' (1971) − Father *'' A Bay of Blood'' (1971) (aka ''Twitch of the Death Nerve'') – Franco Ventura / Frank Ventura *''W Django!'' (1971) − Capitano Gomez *'' Variety'' (1971) − Arturo Robles *''I senza Dio'' (1972) − Sam, detto 'Minnesota Killer' *'' So Sweet, So Dead'' (1972) − Professor Casali *'' Holy God, Here Comes the Passatore!'' (1973) − Zambelli *''Cuore'' (1973) *'' Number One'' (1973) *'' The Violent Professionals'' (1973) − DelBuono *''Servo suo'' (1973) *''I figli di nessuno'' (1974) − Anselmo Vannini *''El amor empieza a medianoche'' (1974) − Andrés *'' The Killer Reserved Nine Seats'' (1974) − Patrick Davenant *''Il giudice e la minorenne'' (1974) − Marco Serra *'' The Eerie Midnight Horror Show'' (1974) (aka ''The Sexorcist'') − Mario *' (1975) − Marco / marito−husband *' (1976) − Prof. John *'' Emanuelle in Bangkok'' (1976) − Thomas Quizet *''Stangata in famiglia'' (1976) − Esposito *'' La malavita attacca... la polizia risponde!'' (1977) − Prof. Salviati − 'll Principe' *''

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

'' (1977) − Nelson *''La profezia'' (1978) − Andrea *'' Il commissario Verrazzano'' (1978) − Marco Verelli *'' The Iron Commissioner'' (1978) − Crivelli *''L'étrange monsieur Duvallier'' (1979, TV Series) − Della Pietra *'' Star Odyssey'' (1980) − Shawn *'' La ripetente fa l'occhietto al preside'' (1980) − Lino Pastorelli *'' Giochi erotici nella 3a galassia'' (1981) − Ceylon *' (1981) *'' Sogni mostruosamente proibiti'' (1982) *'' Vai avanti tu che mi vien da ridere'' (1982) − lo sceicco Abadjan *' (1983) − Il barone Mario di Villalba (final film role)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Avram, Cristea 1931 births 1989 deaths Romanian male film actors Italian male film actors Romanian defectors Romanian emigrants to Italy Deaths from cancer in Lazio 20th-century Italian male actors Caragiale National University of Theatre and Film alumni Male actors from Bucharest