Riccardo Cucciolla (5 September 1924 – 17 September 1999) was an Italian actor and voice actor. He appeared in 60 films between 1953 and 1999. He won the Best Actor Award at the 1971 Cannes Film Festival for the film '' Sacco & Vanzetti''.

Biography

Born in

Bari Bari ( ; ; ; ) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia Regions of Italy, region, on the Adriatic Sea in southern Italy. It is the first most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy. It is a port and ...

, in southern Italy, Cucciolla gained a degree in law, then made his stage debut in an amateur production in his home city. From 1946, he started working in radio as a voice actor and as the narrator of documentaries; at the same time, he started working in cinema, as a dubber and a voice actor. Cucciolla made his film debut in 1953, in

Anton Giulio Majano Anton Giulio Majano (5 July 1909 – 12 August 1994) was an Italian screenwriter and film director. His career spanned from 1937 to 1986. Selected filmography Director and screenwriter * ''The Eternal Chain'' (1952) * ''Good Folk's Sunday'' ...

's '' Good Folk's Sunday''. After some minor roles, he had his first important role in '' Italiani brava gente'' (1965), followed by a further significant role in

Giuliano Montaldo Giuliano Montaldo (22 February 1930 – 6 September 2023) was an Italian film director, screenwriter, and actor. He was known internationally for his biographical docudrama Sacco & Vanzetti (1971 film), ''Sacco & Vanzetti'' (1971), which was n ...

's ''Grand Slam'' (1967). Cucciolla came to national and international recognition with the leading role in Montaldo's '' Sacco e Vanzetti'', for which he was awarded best actor at

Cannes Cannes (, ; , ; ) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions Internatio ...

and won a Silver Ribbon. In the wake of that sudden popularity, he intensively worked throughout the decade, alternating notable films with others of more modest quality and ambition. Starting from eighties he thinned out his appearances, mainly focusing on dubbing and television roles. As a dubber, he provided voice-overs for Roger Moore, Claudio Villa, Erland Josephson, John Cazale,

Jonathan Pryce Sir Jonathan Pryce (born John Price; 1 June 1947) is a Welsh actor. He is known for his performances on stage and in film and television. He has received numerous awards, including two Tony Awards and two Laurence Olivier Awards as well as nom ...

, Richard Egan,

James Caan James Edmund Caan ( ; March 26, 1940 – July 6, 2022) was an American actor. He came to prominence playing Sonny Corleone in ''The Godfather'' (1972), for which he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, Academy Award an ...

Robert Duvall Robert Selden Duvall (; born January 5, 1931) is an American actor. With a career spanning seven decades, he is regarded as one of the greatest actors of all time. He has received an Academy Awards, Academy Award, a British Academy Film Awards ...

and more. On 17 September 1999, Cucciolla died in Rome at the age of 75. He is survived by his wife, the poet Alida Sessa; their son Riccardo; and two children by his first wife, Francesco and Lietta.

Selected filmography

* '' Good Folk's Sunday'' (1953) - Cesco * '' I Vitelloni'' (1953) - Narrator (voice, uncredited) * '' Il seduttore'' (1954) - Racca * ''Il piccolo vetraio'' (1955) - (voice) * '' Rascel-Fifì'' (1957) - Undici * '' Silver Spoon Set'' (1960) - Anselmo Foresi (voice, uncredited) * '' Love in Rome'' (1960) - Narrator (uncredited) * '' Primitive Love'' (1964) - Narrator (uncredited) * '' Attack and Retreat'' (1964) - Sanna * '' Six Days a Week'' (1965) * '' Grand Slam'' (1967) - Agostino Rossi * '' The Seven Cervi Brothers'' (1968) - Gelindo Cervi * '' Bandits in Rome'' (1968) - Vice Commissioner Pascuttini * ''La rivoluzione sessuale'' (1968) - Emilio Missiroli * '' Una sull'altra'' (1969) - Benjamin Wormser * '' Giacomo Casanova: Childhood and Adolescence'' (1969) - Narratore (voice, uncredited) * '' Sacco e Vanzetti'' (1971) - Nicola Sacco * '' The Case Is Closed, Forget It'' (1971) - Pesenti * '' We Are All in Temporary Liberty'' (1971) - Mario De Rossi * '' The Sicilian Checkmate'' (1972) - Professor Salemi * '' Un apprezzato professionista di sicuro avvenire'' (1972) - Nicola Perella * ''

Un flic ''Un flic'' ('A Cop'), also known as ''Dirty Money'', is a 1972 crime thriller film, the last directed by Jean-Pierre Melville before his death the following year. It stars Alain Delon, Richard Crenna and Catherine Deneuve. Delon had previously ...

'' (1972) - Paul Weber * ''Incensurato provata disonestà carriera assicurata cercasi'' (1972) - Commissario * '' The Assassination of Matteotti'' (1973) -

Antonio Gramsci Antonio Francesco Gramsci ( , ; ; 22 January 1891 – 27 April 1937) was an Italian Marxist philosophy, Marxist philosopher, Linguistics, linguist, journalist, writer, and politician. He wrote on philosophy, Political philosophy, political the ...

* '' No, The Case Is Happily Resolved'' (1973) - Professor Eduardo Ranieri * '' Paolo il caldo'' (1973) - Paolo's Father * ''24 ore... non un minuto di più'' (1973) - Minister Handras * '' The Sensual Man'' (1974) - Celio D'Altamura * ''Le Hasard et la Violence'' (1974) - Dr. Puget (uncredited) * '' The Visitor'' (1974) * '' Borsalino & Co.'' (1974) - Volpone * ''

Rabid Dogs ''Rabid Dogs'' () is an Italian thriller noir film directed by Mario Bava, starring Riccardo Cucciolla, Don Backy, Lea Lander, Maurice Poli, George Eastman and Erika Dario. Taking place largely in real time, the film follows a trio of pa ...

'' (1974) - Riccardo * '' The Last Day of School Before Christmas'' (1975) - Ambro * '' C.I.A. Secret Story'' (1975) - Giuseppe Pinelli * ' (1975) - Olivares * ''Il fratello'' (1975) * ''La linea del fiume'' (1976) - Dr. Roder * '' Take All of Me'' (1976) - Padre di Stella * '' Meet Him and Die'' (1976) - Commissioner Sacchi * '' Antonio Gramsci: The Days of Prison'' (1977) - Antonio Gramsci * '' Turi and the Paladins'' (1979) - Don Saverio * ''Il ragazzo di Ebalus'' (1984) - Old farmer * '' The Assisi Underground'' (1985) - Luigi Brizzi * ''Una casa in bilico'' (1986) - Teodoro detto Teo * '' Il coraggio di parlare'' (1987) - Don Carmelo Fiorillo * ''Remake'' (1987) - Himself * ''

32 dicembre ''32nd of December'' is a 1988 Cinema of Italy, Italian comedy film written and directed by Luciano De Crescenzo. It is loosely based on the De Crescenzo's novel ''Oi Dialogoi''. For his performance Enzo Cannavale won the Nastro d'Argento for Nas ...

'' (1988) - Anselmi, lo spasimante (segment "La gialla farfalla") * ''Il segreto dell'uomo solitario'' (1988) * ''Vanille fraise'' (1989) - Andreani * ' (1991) - Massimo Serboli * ''In Calabria'' (1993) - Narrator (voice) * ''L'Affaire'' (1994) - Van Doude * '' La voce del cuore'' (1995, TV Mini-Series) - Antonio * ''Lucky Punch'' (1996) - Zipolino * '' Our God's Brother'' (1997) - The Monk

Dubbing roles

Live action

Fredo Corleone Frederico "Fredo" Corleone is a fictional character in Mario Puzo's 1969 novel ''The Godfather''. Fredo is portrayed by American actor John Cazale in the Francis Ford Coppola 1972 film adaptation and in the 1974 sequel, ''The Godfather Part II ...

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 ...

'' *Fredo Corleone in ''

The Godfather Part II ''The Godfather Part II'' is a 1974 American epic film, epic crime film produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola, loosely based on the 1969 novel ''The Godfather (novel), The Godfather'' by Mario Puzo, who co-wrote the screenplay with Cop ...

'' *Alexander in '' The Sacrifice'' *Judge Cancedda in '' I Am Afraid'' *Elliot Carver in ''

Tomorrow Never Dies ''Tomorrow Never Dies'' is a 1997 spy film, the eighteenth in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions and the second to star Pierce Brosnan as fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Directed by Roger Spottiswoode from a screenplay ...

'' *Lee Stegler in '' Countdown'' *Mr. Hillyer in '' Rambling Rose''

References

External links