Maurizio Arena (26 December 1933 – 21 November 1979) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in more than 70 films between 1952 and 1978.
Life and career
Born in Rome as Maurizio Di Lorenzo, Arena made his film debut at nineteen years old, with a small role in ''
Bellezze in moto-scooter''.
His
breakout role came in 1956 with the role of Romolo in the successful
Dino Risi
Dino Risi (23 December 1916 – 7 June 2008) was an Italian film director. With Mario Monicelli, Luigi Comencini, Nanni Loy, and Ettore Scola, he was one of the masters of ''commedia all'italiana''.
Biography
Risi was born in Milan. He had an ...
's romance-comedy film ''
Poor, But Handsome''.
Until the early 1960s Arena was one of the most popular actors in the Italian cinema, and was a regular feature of gossip columns for his tumultuous personal life.
In later years his celebrity declined, and Arena found roles 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 smaller films, and occasionally worked as a singer.
He became an
alternative medicine healer with some local following.
He died at age 45 following a heart attack, a complication from a long-standing
renal
In humans, the kidneys are two reddish-brown bean-shaped blood-filtering organs that are a multilobar, multipapillary form of mammalian kidneys, usually without signs of external lobulation. They are located on the left and right in the retrop ...
condition.
In 2008 a park was named after him in his native district
Garbatella.
Selected filmography
* ''
La figlia del diavolo'' (1952) - Corrado
* ''
Beauties on Motor Scooters'' (1952)
* ''
Siamo tutti inquilini'' (1953) - Carlo
* ''
Roman Holiday
''Roman Holiday'' is a 1953 American romantic comedy film directed and produced by William Wyler. It stars Audrey Hepburn as a princess out to see Rome on her own and Gregory Peck as a reporter. Hepburn won an Academy Award for Best Actress f ...
'' (1953) - Young Boy with Car (uncredited)
* ''
La lupa'' (1953)
* ''
It Happened in the Park'' (1953) - Il fidanzato di Virginia (segment: Incidente a Villa Borghese)
* ''Tormento d'anim'' (1953)
* ''
A Day in Court'' (1954) - Lorenzo (uncredited)
* ''
Tripoli, Beautiful Land of Love'' (1954) - Feruccio
* ''
Peppino e la vecchia signora'' (1954)
* ''
Toto and Carolina'' (1955) - Mario, il ladro
* ''
The Sign of Venus'' (1955) - Maurice
* ''
Roman Tales'' (1955) - Mario
* ''Processo all'amore'' (1955)
* ''La porta dei sogni'' (1955) - Silvio
* ''Accadde di notte'' (1956)
* ''
Tempo di villeggiatura'' (1956) - Checco
* ''Un giglio infranto'' (1956) - Ferdinando
* ''
Sangue di zingara'' (1956) - Tore
* ''
Poor, But Handsome'' (1957) - Romolo Toccacieli
* ''
The Black Devil'' (1957) - Ruggero
* ''
The Man Who Wagged His Tail
''The Man Who Wagged His Tail'' (, , also known as ''An Angel Over Brooklyn'' and ''An Angel Passed Over Brooklyn'') is a 1957 Spanish-Italian fantasy-comedy film directed by Ladislao Vajda.
Plot
Mr. Bozzi is the owner and lessor of many apar ...
'' (1957) - Alfonso
* ''
Pretty But Poor'' (1957) - Romolo Toccacieli
* ''
Vacanze a Ischia'' (1957) - Franco
* ''Buongiorno primo amore!'' (1957) - Giancarlo
* ''Il cocco di mamma'' (1958) - Aldo Manca
* ''Napoli, sole mio!'' (1958) - Michele Brunati
* ''
The Italians They Are Crazy
''The Italians They Are Crazy'' (Italian: ''Gli italiani sono matti'') is a 1958 Italian-German comedy film
The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this g ...
'' (1958) - Benedetti
* ''Valeria ragazza poco seria'' (1958) - Mario Renzetti
* ''
Love and Troubles'' (1958) - Roberto
* ''Via col para... vento'' (1958) - Alberto Pompei
* ''Caporale di giornata'' (1958) - Felice Fornari
* ''Marinai, donne e guai'' (1958) - Mario Santarelli
* ''Avventura a Capri'' (1959) - Mario
* ''
Poor Millionaires'' (1959) - Romolo
* ''
Noi siamo due evasi
''Noi siamo due evasi'' is a 1959 Italy, Italian Crime film, crime-comedy film directed by Giorgio Simonelli.
Cast
* Ugo Tognazzi: Bernardo Cesarotti
* Magali Noël: Odette
* Raimondo Vianello: Camillo Gorini
* Sandra Mondaini: Isabella
* ...
'' (1959) - Brigadiere Francesco Curti
* ''
The Defeated Victor'' (1959) - Romolo De Santis
* ''La duchessa di Santa Lucia'' (1959) - Carlo
* ''
The Magistrate'' (1959) - Orlando Di Giovanni
* ''Terror of Oklahoma'' (1959) - Clay Norton
* ''Simpatico mascalzone'' (1959) - Mario
* ''
Policarpo'' (1959) - il fattorino dei fiori
* ''Il principe fusto'' (1960) - Ettore
* ''
Il carabiniere a cavallo'' (1961) - Renato Gorini
* ''
You Must Be Blonde on Capri'' (1961) - Roberto Calli
* ''Maurizio, Peppino e le indossatrici'' (1961) - Maurizio Innocenzi
* ''Fra' Manisco cerca guai'' (1961) - Giulio
* ''Pugni, pupe e marinai'' (1961) - Alberto Mariani
* ''
The Legion's Last Patrol'' (1962) - Dolce Vita
* ''
Il giorno più corto'' (1962)
* ''I soliti rapinatori a Milano'' (1963) - Aldo
* ''Via Veneto'' (1964)
* ''
La fuga'' (1965) - Alberto Spina
* ''
Le bambole'' (1965) - Massimo (segment "Il Trattato di Eugenetica")
* ''
The Peking Medallion'' (1967) - Danny
* ''Gli altri, gli altri... e noi'' (1967) - Antonio
* ''
They Came to Rob Las Vegas'' (1968) - Clark
* ''Agnaldo, Perigo à Vista'' (1969)
* ''Mazzabubù... quante corna stanno quaggiù?'' (1971) - Giuseppe
* ''
Er Più – storia d'amore e di coltello'' (1971) - Bartolo Di Lorenzo
* ''Storia di fifa e di coltello - Er seguito d'er più'' (1972) - Bartolo Di Lorenzo
* ''Anche se volessi lavorare, che faccio?'' (1972) - Garrone
* ''
Storia de fratelli e de cortelli'' (1973) - Nino
* ''
The Assassination of Matteotti'' (1973) - Communist Activist
* ''Società a responsabilità molto limitata'' (1973) - Gateano Stipoli
* ''
The Godson of the Godfather'' (1973) - Don Vincenzo
* ''
The Balloon Vendor'' (1974) - Romolo
* ''
To Love Ophelia'' (1974) - Spartaco Cesaroni
* ''
Loaded Guns'' (1975) - Padre Best
* ''
Hallucination Strip'' (1975) - Buscemi, Il Siciliano
* ''Il sogno di Zorro'' (1975) - Friar Miguel
* ''Remo e Romolo (Storia di due figli di una lupa)'' (1976) - Marte
* ''
The Career of a Chambermaid'' (1976) - Luciani
* ''Vai col liscio'' (1976) - Aldemiro
* ''Atti impuri all'italiana'' (1976) - Gedeone - the Mayor
* ''
The Mistress Is Served'' (1976) - Domenico Cardona
* ''Puttana galera!'' (1976) - Marpione
* ''
La Bidonata'' (1977) - Maurizio
* ''Pugni, dollari e spinaci'' (1978) - Sammy Mania
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arena, Maurizio
1933 births
1979 deaths
Italian male film actors
Male actors from Rome
20th-century Italian male actors
Deaths from kidney disease