Rocco D'Assunta (7 February 1904 – 27 January 1970) was an Italian actor, comedian and playwright.

Life and career

Born in

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

, D'Assunta started acting at very young age with several Sicilian stage companies, including the ones led by Angelo Musco and

Giovanni Grasso Giovanni Grasso (11 November 1888 – 30 April 1963) was an Italian stage and film actor. He appeared in more than 80 films between 1910 and 1955. He was born and died in Catania, Sicily, Italy. Born into a family of marionettists, he was ...

. At the beginning of the thirties he moved to Rome where he was part of the "Za-Bum Company" directed by

Mario Mattoli Mario Mattoli (; 30 November 1898 – 26 February 1980) was an Italian film director and screenwriter. He directed 86 films between 1934 and 1966. His 1939 film ''Defendant, Stand Up!'' was shown as part of a retrospective on Italian comedy ...

, then he devoted himself to radio as a member of the "Teatro Comico Musicale" on Radio Roma that got him some popularity thanks to his comic monologues caricaturing typical Sicilian characters. He made his cinema debut in 1933, and was mainly cast in character roles of Sicilian people. He was also active on television. D'Assunta was also the author, under the pseudonym Roda, of the stage play ''Io, Angelo Musco'', which was first represented in 1962. His daughter Solvejg D'Assunta is also an actress and a voice actress.

Partial filmography

*'' Nini Falpala'' (1933) * '' Bad Subject'' (1933) * '' La segretaria per tutti'' (1933) * ''

Creatures of the Night ''Creatures of the Night'' is the tenth studio album by American rock band Kiss, released in 1982. It was the band's last for Casablanca Records, the only label for which Kiss had recorded up to that point. The album was dedicated to the mem ...

'' (1934) * ''

Red Passport ''Red Passport'' (Italian: ''Passaporto rosso'') is a 1935 Italian historical drama film directed by Guido Brignone and starring Isa Miranda, Filippo Scelzo and Ugo Ceseri. A group of Italian immigrants to South America join in a revolution. It w ...

'' (1935) - Un soldato in trincea * '' Golden Arrow'' (1935) * ''

King of Diamonds The king of diamonds is a playing card in the standard 52-card deck. King of Diamonds may also refer to: * ''King of Diamonds'' (film), a 1936 Italian comedy film directed by Enrico Guazzoni * ''King of Diamonds'' (TV series), a 1961–62 Ameri ...

'' (1936) - Don Cola - il sensale * '' Doctor Antonio'' (1937) - Michele Pironti * ''

Abandon All Hope ''Inferno'' (; Italian for "Hell") is the first part of Italian writer Dante Alighieri's 14th-century epic poem '' Divine Comedy''. It is followed by '' Purgatorio'' and '' Paradiso''. The ''Inferno'' describes Dante's journey through Hell, ...

'' (1937) * ''

The Ferocious Saladin ''The Ferocious Saladin'' (Italian: ''Il feroce Saladino'') is a 1937 Italian " white-telephones" comedy film directed by Mario Bonnard and starring Angelo Musco, Alida Valli and Lino Carenzio. The film was made at Cinecittà in Rome. On 28 Apri ...

'' (1937) * ''L'antenato'' (1938) * ''Il suo destino'' (1938) - Il sordo * ''L'aria del continente'' (1939) * ''Think It Over Jack'' (1940) - Customer * ''Sempre più difficile'' (1943) - Cardella * ''

Christmas at Camp 119 ''Christmas at Camp 119'' (Italian: ''Natale al campo 119'') is a 1947 Italian comedy-drama film directed by Pietro Francisci and starring Aldo Fabrizi, Vittorio De Sica and Peppino De Filippo. A group of Italian prisoners of war being held cap ...

'' (1947) - Lojacono, il siciliano * '' Outlaw Girl'' (1950) - Don Agatino Santoro * '' The Outlaws'' (1950) - Rocco Creo, the sacristan * '' The Knight Has Arrived!'' (1950) - Capo dei Banditi * ''

O.K. Nerone ''O.K. Nerone'' is a 1951 Italian comedy film directed by Mario Soldati. Cast * Gino Cervi: Imperator Nero * Silvana Pampanini: Imperatrice Poppea * Walter Chiari: Fiorello Capone * Jackie Frost: Licia * Carlo Campanini: Jimmy Gargiulo ...

'' (1951) - Pannunzia, the Prefect * ''

Una bruna indiavolata! ''Una bruna indiavolata!'' is a 1951 Italian comedy film directed by Carlo Ludovico Bragaglia. Cast * Silvana Pampanini as Clara * Ugo Tognazzi as Carlo Soldi * Nando Bruno as Autista del taxi * Carlo Sposito as Giulio Scanagatta * Rocco D'As ...

'' (1951) - Il ladro * '' Anna'' (1951) - Un padre * '' Cops and Robbers'' (1951) - Client in Tavern (uncredited) * ''

Toto in Color ''Toto in Color'' (Italian: ''Totò a colori'') is a 1952 Italian comedy film, and was the first Italian color film shot with the Ferraniacolor system. The film was directed by Steno and starred the comic actor Totò. Plot Antonio Scannagatti is ...

'' (1952) - Il cognato siciliano * '' Man, Beast and Virtue'' (1953) - Zeppo * ''Canto per te'' (1953) * ''

An American in Rome ''An American in Rome'' (originally ''Un americano a Roma'') is a 1954 Italian comedy film directed by Steno. The film consists in a satire of Americanization, and it was referred as "a milestone in the evolution of Italian self-identification". ...

'' (1954) - Commissario * ''

Totò lascia o raddoppia? ''Totò lascia o raddoppia?'' ("''Totò double or nothing?''") is a 1956 Italian comedy film directed by Camillo Mastrocinque. Plot The Duke Gagliardo della Forcoletta decides to participate in the television quiz '' Lascia o raddoppia?'' in or ...

'' (1956) - Joe Taccola * '' The Wanderers'' (1956) - Un corteggiatore di Dolores * ''Ci sposeremo a Capri'' (1956) - Onorato Raimondi * ''Amaramente'' (1956) - Luigi Cerelli * ''Roulotte e roulette'' (1959) - Facciponti * ''Mafia alla sbarra'' (1963) * ''Liolà'' (1964) * '' Seduced and Abandoned'' (1964) - Orlando Califano * ''I soldi'' (1965)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:D'Assunta, Rocco 1904 births 1970 deaths Italian male film actors Italian male television actors Italian male stage actors Italian male radio actors Male actors from Palermo 20th-century Italian male actors Italian male comedians 20th-century Italian male writers 20th-century Italian dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Italian comedians