Corrado Gaipa (13 March 1925 – 21 September 1989) was an Italian actor and voice actor. A well known actor of Italian cinema, he was internationally known for his role as Don Tommasino in ''

The Godfather ''The Godfather'' is a 1972 American Epic film, epic crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, who co-wrote the screenplay with Mario Puzo, based on Puzo's best-selling The Godfather (novel), 1969 novel. The film stars an ensemble cast inc ...

'', while his popularity in Italy was also connected to his activity as a voice dubber.

Biography

Born in

Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...

, Gaipa enrolled in the Silvio d'Amico Academy of Dramatic Arts, where he studied for three years and performed an adaptation of the play '' You Can't Take It with You''. He then graduated in 1946. In 1948, Gaipa joined a theatre group based 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, ...

and began acting in radio dramas which were broadcast in many cities across Italy such as

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 ...

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

and

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

. He also appeared in many films, beginning with '' That Splendid November'' (1969). He became well known worldwide playing Don Tommasino in the 1972 film ''

'', directed by

Francis Ford Coppola Francis Ford Coppola ( ; born April 7, 1939) is an American filmmaker. He is considered one of the leading figures of the New Hollywood and one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. List of awards and nominations received by Francis Ford Coppo ...

. While also active on stage, radio and television, he was heavily active as a voice actor and especially as a dubber: he provided the Italian voice of

Obi-Wan Kenobi Obi-Wan "Ben" Kenobi () is a character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. In the original film trilogy, he is a Jedi Master who trains Luke Skywalker in the ways of the Force. In the prequel trilogy, he mentors Luke's father, Anakin Skywalke ...

(portrayed by

Alec Guinness Sir Alec Guinness (born Alec Guinness de Cuffe; 2 April 1914 – 5 August 2000) was an English actor. In the BFI, British Film Institute listing of 1999 of BFI Top 100 British films, the 100 most important British films of the 20th century ...

) in the ''Star Wars'' original trilogy as well as

Bagheera Bagheera ( / ''Baghīrā'') is a fictional character in Rudyard Kipling's Mowgli stories in '' The Jungle Book'' (coll. 1894) and '' The Second Jungle Book'' (coll. 1895). He is a black panther ( melanistic Indian leopard) who serves as frie ...

in the Italian-Language version of ''

The Jungle Book ''The Jungle Book'' is an 1894 collection of stories by the English author Rudyard Kipling. Most of the characters are animals such as Shere Khan the tiger and Baloo the bear, though a principal character is the boy or "man-cub" Mowgli, who ...

''. He also dubbed over the voices of

Lionel Stander Lionel Jay Stander (January 11, 1908 – November 30, 1994) was an American actor, activist, and a founding member of the Screen Actors Guild. He had an extensive career in theatre, film, radio, and television that spanned nearly 70 years, ...

Eli Wallach Eli Herschel Wallach ( ; December 7, 1915 – June 24, 2014) was an American film, television, and stage actor from New York City. Known for his character actor roles, his entertainment career spanned over six decades. He received a British Aca ...

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Rod Steiger Rodney Stephen Steiger ( ; April 14, 1925 – July 9, 2002) was an American actor, noted for his portrayal of offbeat, often volatile and crazed characters. Ranked as "one of Hollywood's most charismatic and dynamic stars", he is closely associ ...

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and

Spencer Tracy Spencer Bonaventure Tracy (April 5, 1900 – June 10, 1967) was an American actor. He was known for his natural performing style and versatility. One of the major stars of Classical Hollywood cinema, Hollywood's Golden Age, Tracy was the ...

. Gaipa assisted with the foundation of a dubbing company in the 1970s alongside Renato Turi,

Giancarlo Giannini Giancarlo Giannini (; born 1 August 1942) is an Italian actor and voice actor. He won the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor for his performance in '' Love and Anarchy'' (1973) and received an Academy Award nomination for '' Seven Beaut ...

, Valeria Valeri, Oreste Lionello and other historical Italian dubbers.Cronologia fondamentale dell'epoca d'oro del doppiaggio italiano Dagli albori agli anni 1970
(in Italian)

Illness and death

In Gaipa's later years, he developed serious health problems and went from using a walking stick to a wheelchair, ultimately dying in

on 21 September 1989, at the age of 64. At the time of his death, he had just signed to reprise the role of Don Tommasino in ''

The Godfather Part III ''The Godfather Part III'' is a 1990 American epic crime film produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola from the screenplay co-written with Mario Puzo. The film stars Al Pacino, Diane Keaton, Talia Shire, Andy García, Eli Wallach, Jo ...

'', which was instead passed on to Vittorio Duse.

Filmography

Cinema

Television

Documentaries

Voice work

Dubbing

Films (Animation, Italian dub)

Films (Live action, Italian dub)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gaipa, Corrado 1925 births 1989 deaths Male actors from Palermo Italian male film actors Italian male voice actors Italian male stage actors Italian male television actors Italian male radio actors Accademia Nazionale di Arte Drammatica Silvio D'Amico alumni 20th-century Italian male actors