Renzo Ricci (27 September 1899 – 20 October 1978) was an Italian

stage Stage, stages, or staging may refer to: Arts and media Acting * Stage (theatre), a space for the performance of theatrical productions * Theatre, a branch of the performing arts, often referred to as "the stage" * ''The Stage'', a weekly Brit ...

and

film actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

. He was also a noted

theatre director A theatre director or stage director is a professional in the theatre field who oversees and orchestrates the mounting of a theatre production such as a play, opera, dance, drama, musical theatre performance, etc. by unifying various endeavors a ...

. Ricci played the title role in

Roberto Rossellini Roberto Gastone Zeffiro Rossellini (8 May 1906 – 3 June 1977) was an Italian film director, screenwriter and producer. He was one of the most prominent directors of the Italian neorealist cinema, contributing to the movement with films such a ...

's 1961 film ''

Garibaldi Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi ( , ;In his native Ligurian language, he is known as (). In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as () or (). 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, revolutionary and republican. H ...

''.Bondanella, Peter. ''The Films of Roberto Rossellini''. Cambridge University Press, 1993. p.165.

Life and career

Born in Florence, Ricci started acting in a local dramatic society while still being a student of the Istituto tecnico, and made his professional debut in 1915, with the stage company held by

Emma Gramatica Emma Gramatica (born Aida Laura Argia Gramatica; 25 October 1874 – 8 November 1965) was an Italian stage and film actress. She appeared in 29 films between 1919 and 1962. She was born in Borgo San Donnino, today Fidenza, province of Parma ...

. Mainly active on stage, he was a member of several companies, notably the

Giorgio Strehler Giorgio Strehler (; ; 14 August 1921 – 25 December 1997) was an Italian stage director, theatre practitioner, actor, and politician. Strehler was one of the most significant figures in Italian theatre during his lifetime, described by Mel Gu ...

's company at the Piccolo Teatro in Milan. In 1957 he won the San Genesio Prize for his performance in

Eugene O'Neill Eugene Gladstone O'Neill (October 16, 1888 – November 27, 1953) was an American playwright. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into the U.S. the drama techniques of Realism (theatre), realism, earlier associated with ...

's ''

Long Day's Journey into Night ''Long Day's Journey into Night'' is a play in four acts written by American playwright Eugene O'Neill in 1939–1941 and first published posthumously in 1956. It is widely regarded as his magnum opus and one of the great American plays of the ...

''. He was married with actress

Margherita Bagni Margherita Bagni (pseudonym of Margherita Maria Bagna; 21 February 1902 – 2 July 1960) was an Italian actress and voice actress. She appeared in 37 films between 1918 and 1959. Daughter of actress Ines Cristina and prompter Ambrogio Bagn ...

with whom he had a daughter, Eleonora "Nora", also an actress. After his first wife's death he married his lover, another stage actress, Eva Magni.

Selected filmography

* '' Before the Jury'' (1931) * ''

La Wally ''La Wally'' is an opera in four acts by composer Alfredo Catalani, to a libretto by Luigi Illica, first performed at La Scala, Milan, on 20 January 1892. It was Catalani's last opera. The libretto is based on a hugely successful ' by Wilhelmin ...

'' (1932) *'' Nini Falpala'' (1933) * '' Disturbance'' (1942) * '' Nero and the Burning of Rome'' (1953) * '' Casta Diva'' (1954) * ''

'' (1961) * '' I am Semiramis'' (1963) * '' Sandra'' (1965)

References

External links

* 1899 births 1978 deaths Italian male film actors Male actors from Florence Italian male stage actors Italian theatre directors 20th-century Italian male actors {{Italy-film-actor-stub