Raffaele "Lello" Arena (born 1 November 1953) 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 ...

actor and comics writer. He was also an occasional

film director A film director or filmmaker is a person who controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfillment of that Goal, vision. The director has a key role ...

and

screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...

Life and career

Born in

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

as Raffaele Arena, he was the son of two workers in a tobacco factory. In 1969, at a very young age, Arena formed the cabaret ensemble "La Smorfia" together with

Massimo Troisi Massimo Troisi (; 19 February 1953 – 4 June 1994) was an Italian actor, cabaret performer, comedian, screenwriter and film director. He is best known for his works in the films '' I'm Starting back from Three'' (1981) and '' Il Postino: The ...

and Enzo Decaro. In 1978 and 1979, the group appeared in two RAI variety shows (''Non stop'' and ''Luna Park'') obtaining a great success. The group disbanded in 1980 and for some time Arena kept on collaborating with his friend Troisi, starring in his three first films. He won a

David di Donatello The David di Donatello Awards, named after Donatello's ''David (Donatello, bronze), David'', a symbolic statue of the Italian Renaissance, are film awards given out each year by the ''Accademia del Cinema Italiano'' (the Academy of Italian Cin ...

for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Troisi's '' Scusate il ritardo''. Later Arena focused his career on television, appearing in a large number of variety shows; he occasionally came back to cinema, even making his debut as a director in 1989 with ''Chiari di luna''. He is also active on stage.Giorgio Dell’Arti, Massimo Parrini. ''Catalogo dei viventi''. Marsilio, 2009. . Arena also worked as a comics writer, notably for '' Lupo Alberto'' and ''

Topolino ''Topolino'' (from the Italian language, Italian name for Mickey Mouse) is an Italian digest-sized comic series featuring Disney comics. The series has had a long running history, first appearing in 1932 as a comics magazine. Since 2013, it has ...

''.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Arena, Lello 1953 births Male actors from Naples Italian male stage actors Italian male film actors Italian male television actors David di Donatello winners Living people Italian film directors Italian television personalities Film people from Naples Italian male comedians Comedians from Naples