Rossano Brazzi (18 September 1916 – 24 December 1994) was an Italian actor, director and screenwriter. He was known for playing roles that typified the suave, romantic leading man archetype, both in his native country and in Hollywood. Brazzi trained as a stage actor and was a matinee idol of Italian cinema, before moving to Hollywood in the early 1950s. He was propelled to international fame with his role in the English-language film '' Three Coins in the Fountain'' (1954), followed by leading male roles in

David Lean Sir David Lean (25 March 190816 April 1991) was an English film director, producer, screenwriter, and editor, widely considered one of the most important figures of Cinema of the United Kingdom, British cinema. He directed the large-scale epi ...

's '' Summertime'' (1955), opposite Katharine Hepburn. and the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical '' South Pacific''. His other notable English-language films include '' The Barefoot Contessa'' (1954), '' The Story of Esther Costello'' (1957), opposite Joan Crawford, '' Count Your Blessings'' (1959), '' Light in the Piazza'' (1962), and '' The Italian Job'' (1969). He also wrote and directed several films in his native Italy, sometimes using the pseudonym Edward Ross.

Early life

Brazzi was born in

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

, Italy, the son of Maria Ghedini and Adelmo Brazzi, an employee of the Rizzoli shoe factory. He was named after Rossano Veneto, where his father was stationed during his military service in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. Brazzi attended San Marco University in Florence, Italy, where he was raised from the age of four. He was a lawyer before becoming an actor and made his film debut in 1939.

Career

Italian Film Star

Early Italian roles included '' Tosca'' (1941), '' The Hero of Venice'' (1941), '' The King's Jester'' (1941), '' A Woman Has Fallen'' (1941) and '' We the Living'' (1942) with Alida Valli. Brazzi was in '' Girl of the Golden West'' (1942), a Western, '' The Gorgon'' (1942), and the biopic '' Maria Malibran'' (1942). He made '' Back Then'' (1943) in Germany. After the war, Brazzi was in '' The Black Eagle'' (1946), '' The Great Dawn'' (1947), '' Fury'' (1947), '' Bullet for Stefano'' (1947), '' The Courier of the King'' (1947), and '' The White Devil'' (1947). There was also the biopic '' Eleonora Duse'' (1948). Brazzi moved to Hollywood and was cast as the professor in '' Little Women'' (1949). Back in Italy he made ''

Volcano A volcano is commonly defined as a vent or fissure in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most oft ...

'' (1951) with Anna Magnani, '' The Fighting Men'' (1950), and '' Romanzo d'amore'' (1951). This was followed by ''

The Black Crown ''The Black Crown'' (stylized as ''THE BLΔCK CRΦWN'') is the third studio album by American deathcore band Suicide Silence, which was released July 12, 2011, through Century Media Records. It is the final album to feature vocalist Mitch L ...

'' (1951), '' Tragic Spell'' (1951), '' Revenge of Black Eagle'' (1951), '' The Mistress of Treves'' (1951), '' The Woman Who Invented Love'' (1952), '' Milady and the Musketeers'' (1952), '' They Were Three Hundred'' (1952), '' Son of the Hunchback'' (1952), '' Guilt Is Not Mine'' (1952), and '' Prisoner in the Tower of Fire'' (1953).

Hollywood Star

Brazzi made another Hollywood film '' Three Coins in the Fountain'' (1954), partly shot in Italy, which was a huge success. He was cast in a key role in '' The Barefoot Contessa'' (1954) opposite Ava Gardner. Brazzi starred in '' Angela'' (1955), '' Barrier of the Law'' (1955), and '' The Last Five Minutes'' (1955) then did another English language movie, '' Summertime'' (1955) with Katharine Hepburn. After '' Il conte Aquila'' (1955) he made some British movies, '' Loser Takes All'' (1956), and '' The Story of Esther Costello'' (1957) then went to Hollywood for '' Interlude'' (1957) with June Allyson, '' Legend of the Lost'' (1957) with John Wayne and Sophia Loren, '' South Pacific'' (1958) with Mitzi Gaynor, and '' A Certain Smile'' (1958) with Joan Fontaine. Brazzi did '' Count Your Blessings'' (1959) with Deborah Kerr at MGM.

Personal life

Marriages and relationships

In 1940, Brazzi married

baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often Hereditary title, hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than ...

ess Lidia Bertolini (1921–1981) to whom he was married until her death from liver cancer in 1981. The couple had no children. However, he did father a son, George Llewellyn Brady (born 24 July 1955), from a relationship with 20-year-old Llewella Humphreys (1934–1992), the daughter of American mobster

Murray Humphreys Murray Humphreys (born Llewellyn Morris Humphreys; April 20, 1899 – November 23, 1965), also known as The Camel or The Hump, was a Chicago mobster of Wales, Welsh descent who was the chief political fixer (person), fixer and labor racketee ...

. Llewella Humphreys later changed her name to Luella Brady, an anglicization of Brazzi. In 1984, Rossano Brazzi married Ilse Fischer, a German national, who had been the couple's housekeeper for many years. Originally from Düsseldorf, Fischer had met Brazzi as an infatuated fan in Rome at the age of twenty-four.Rossano Brazzi: Portrait of a "Gentleman of the Cinema"
/ref> This marriage was also childless. Eccentricities Brazzi was known in film production circles for a number of strange traits, including his preference for ordering off-menu and his love of karaoke. He was often referred to among contemporaries by his nickname Merlion.

Death

Brazzi died in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

on Christmas Eve 1994, aged 78, from a neural virus.

Selected filmography

*''Il destino in tasca'' (1938) *''Piccolo hotel'' (1939) *''Processo e morte di Socrate'' (1939) as Simmia *'' Bridge of Glass'' (1940) as comandante Mario Marchi * '' Kean'' (1940) as Edmund Kean *''Ritorno'' (1940) as Michele Donato, alias Mac Dynar *''La fuerza bruta'' (1941) as Fred *'' Tosca'' (1941) as Mario Cavaradossi * '' The Hero of Venice'' (1941) as Guido Fuser, suo figlio *'' The King's Jester'' (1941) as Il re Francesco Iº *'' A Woman Has Fallen'' (1941) as Roberto Frassi *'' We the Living'' (1942) as Leo Kovalenski *'' Girl of the Golden West'' (1942) as William / Manuel *'' The Gorgon'' (1942) sa Lamberto Finquinaldo *''I due Foscari'' (1942) as Jacopo Foscari *''Piazza San Sepolcro'' (1942) * '' Maria Malibran'' (1943) as Carlo de Beriot *'' Back Then'' (1943) as Pablo, Radrennfahrer und Clown *''Il treno crociato'' (1943) as Il tenente Alberto Lauri *''Silenzio, si gira!'' (1943) as Andrea Corsi *'' The Ten Commandments'' (1945) (segment "Non commettere atti impuri") *''La Resa di Titì'' (1945) as Guido, il diplomatico *''La casa senza tempo'' (1945) as Capitano Paolo Sivera *''Paese senza pace'' (1946) as Tita Nane *''Malìa'' (1946) as Cola, cognato di Jana *'' Black Eagle'' (1946) as Vladimir Dubrowskij *''La monaca di Monza'' (1947) * '' The Great Dawn'' (1947) as Renzo Gamba *'' Fury'' (1947) as Antonio *'' Bullet for Stefano'' (1947) as Stefano Pelloni *'' The Courier of the King'' (1947) as Julien Sorel * '' The White Devil'' (1947) as Prince André Mdwani as Il diavolo bianco *'' Eleonora Duse'' (1947) as Arrigo Boito *''I contrabbandieri del mare'' (1948) as Mario *'' Little Women'' (1949) as Professor Bhaer *''

'' (1950) as Donato *'' The Fighting Men'' (1950) as Saro Costa *'' Romanzo d'amore'' (1950) as Enrico Toselli *''

'' (1951) as Andrés *'' Tragic Spell'' (1951) as Pietro *'' Revenge of Black Eagle'' (1951) as Vladimir Dubrovskij * '' The Mistress of Treves'' (1952) as Sigfrido, conte di Treviri *'' The Woman Who Invented Love'' (1952) as Conte Grilli *'' Milady and the Musketeers'' (1952) as Conte de la Fere aka Athos * '' They Were Three Hundred'' (1952) as Volpintesta *'' Son of the Hunchback'' (1952) as Philippe de Lagardère * '' Guilt Is Not Mine'' (1952) as Carlo Rocchi *'' Prisoner in the Tower of Fire'' (1953) as Cesare Borgia *''Carne de horca'' (1953) as Juan Pablo de Osuna *''C'era una volta Angelo Musco'' (1953) as The story-teller *''La Chair et le Diable'' (1954) as Giuseppe Guardini *'' Three Coins in the Fountain'' (1954) as Georgio Bianchi *''La contessa di Castiglione'' (1954) as Le comte de Cavour *'' The Barefoot Contessa'' (1954) as Count Vincenzo Torlato-Favrini *'' Angela'' (1954) as Nino * '' Barrier of the Law'' (1954) as Lt. Mario Grandi *'' The Last Five Minutes'' (1955) as Dino Moriani *'' Summertime'' (1955) as Renato de Rossi *'' Il conte Aquila'' (1955) as Conte Federico Confalonieri *''Faccia da mascalzone'' (1956) *'' Loser Takes All'' (1956) as Bertrand *'' The Story of Esther Costello'' (1957) as Carlo Landi *'' Interlude'' (1957) as Tonio Fischer *'' Legend of the Lost'' (1957) as Paul Bonnard *'' South Pacific'' (1958) as Emile De Becque *'' A Certain Smile'' (1958) as Luc Ferrand *'' Count Your Blessings'' (1959) as Charles Edouard de Valhubert *'' Siege of Syracuse'' (1960) as Archimede *'' Austerlitz'' (1960) as Lucien Bonaparte *''

Mondo cane ''Mondo Cane'' (a somewhat coarse Italian expletive, literally ) is a 1962 Italian mondo documentary film and directed by the trio of Gualtiero Jacopetti, Paolo Cavara, and Franco E. Prosperi, with narration by Stefano Sibaldi. The film ...

'' (1962) as Himself *'' Light in the Piazza'' (1962) as Signor Naccarelli *'' Rome Adventure'' (1962) as Roberto Orlandi *'' Redhead'' (1962) as Fabio *'' Three Fables of Love'' (1962) as Leo (segment "Le lièvre et le tortue") *'' Dark Purpose'' (1964) as Count Paolo Barbarelli *''La ragazza in prestito'' (1964) as Mario Menacci *''Instant Love'' (1964) - Claudio DeSantis *'' The Battle of the Villa Fiorita'' (1965) as Lorenzo *'' Un amore'' (1965) as Antonio Dorigo *'' The Christmas That Almost Wasn't'' (1966) as Phineas T. Prune *'' The Bobo'' (1967) as Carlos Matabosch *''La ragazza del bersagliere'' (1967) as Fernando Moschino *'' Per amore... per magia...'' (1967) as Il narratore *'' Woman Times Seven'' (1967) as Giorgio (segment "Amateur Night") *''Gli altri, gli altri... e noi'' (1967) *'' King of Africa'' (1968) as Dr. Hamilton *'' Criminal Affair'' (1968) as Ross Simpson (also wrote and directed) *'' Krakatoa, East of Java'' (1969) as Giovanni Borghese *''Il diario segreto di una minorenne (è nata una donna)'' (1968) *''Psychout for Murder'' (1969) as Brigoli *'' The Italian Job'' (1969) as Beckerman *''Vita segreta di una diciottenne'' (1969) *'' The Adventurers'' (1970) as Baron de Coyne *''Intimità proibita di una giovane sposa'' (1970) as Adolfo Rogano *''Trittico'' (1971) as Andrea, the Surgeon *''Mister Kingstreet's War'' (1971) as Major Bernadelli *''Vivi ragazza vivi!'' (1971) as padre di Barbara *'' Drummer of Vengeance'' (1971) as The Sheriff *'' Master of Love'' (1972) as Lorenzo del Cambio *'' The Great Waltz'' (1972) as Tedesco *'' Frankenstein's Castle of Freaks'' (1974) as Count Frankenstein *''Giro girotondo... con il sesso è bello il mondo'' (1975) *'' Dracula in the Provinces'' (1975) as Dr. Paluzzi *''Gli angeli dalle mani bendate'' (1975) *'' Season for Assassins'' (1975) as Father Eugenio *''Political Asylum'' (1975) as Ambassador Lara *'' Hawaii Five-O'' (1977) as Stavrik *''Caribia'' (1978) *''Mr. Too Little'' (1978) as Zabo The Great *'' Catherine and I'' (1980) as Arthur *''Champagne... e fagioli'' (1980) as Narrator (uncredited) *'' Omen III: The Final Conflict'' (1981) as DeCarlo *''Anche i ladri hanno un santo'' (1981) *'' Il paramedico'' (1982) as Augusto Pinna *'' The Far Pavilions'' (1982) *'' Hart to Hart'' (1983) as Pastori *'' Fear City'' (1984) as Carmine *'' Final Justice'' (1985) as Don Lamanna *'' Formula for a Murder'' (1985) as Dr. Sernich *'' The Third Solution'' (1988) as Marini *'' Fatal Frames - Fotogrammi mortali'' (1996) as Dr. Lucidi (final film role)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brazzi, Rossano 1916 births 1994 deaths Italian male film actors Italian male television actors Male actors from Bologna Male actors from Florence 20th-century Italian male actors 20th-century Italian male singers Burials at the Cimitero Flaminio