Amedeo Nazzari

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Amedeo Nazzari
Nazzari in Apparizione (1943)
Born
Amedeo Carlo Leone Buffa

(1907-12-10)10 December 1907
Cagliari, Kingdom of Italy
Died5 November 1979(1979-11-05) (aged 71)
Rome, Italy
Years active1936–76
SpouseIrene Genna (1957–79; his death) (1931-1986)

Amedeo Nazzari (10 December 1907 – 5 November 1979) was an Italian actor. Nazzari was one of the leading figures of Italian classic cinema, often considered a local variant of the Australian–American star

Fascist era, Nazzari's popularity continued well into the post-war years
.

Early career

Amedeo Nazzari was born as Amedeo Carlo Leone Buffa in

Twentieth Century Fox to find an Italian actor to fill the boots of the recently deceased screen star Rudolph Valentino, but lost out to Alberto Rabagliati.[2] He was rejected after screen tests by Italian professionals, who found him too tall, thin and thought he had a too gloomy expression.[3]

Nazzari made his debut in

Fascist Party by Benito Mussolini, but declined saying "Thank You Duce! I would prefer not to concern myself with politics, occupied as I am with more pressing artistic commitments".[6]

Stardom

Despite declining to join the Fascist party, Nazzari, along with a handful of other actors such as

silent era
.

This policy involved large-scale government funding of films and the construction of the massive Cinecittà studio complex in Rome. The number of films produced each year climbed rapidly, with Nazzari a particularly prolific actor (making six films in 1939 and eight in 1941).[7] During the era he worked with some of the leading Italian actresses including Alida Valli, Lilia Silvi, Luisa Ferida, Mariella Lotti, Assia Noris, Vera Carmi and Clara Calamai, often more than once.

Nazzari was almost always cast as a straightforward hero, and he closely protected his public persona to avoid any negative roles. An exception was the historical comedy-drama film

The Jester's Supper (1942) in which he plays a loutish figure. Nazzari made four films with Alida Valli, including Unjustified Absence
(1939).

Following Italy's entry into the

Bengazi
in order to steal their battle plans. It was the only time he featured alongside the other great male star of the era, Fosco Giachetti.

Later career

Nazzari in Il Brigante Musolino (1950)

Star of Italian cinema during the 1940s and 1950s. He made several melodramas with

Catene in 1949. Nazzari acted himself in Federico Fellini's Nights of Cabiria
. He died in 1979 in Rome.

Awards

  • David di Donatello Special David, for a life dedicated to cinema with passionate professionalism and extraordinary success.
  • Venice Film Festival Best Actor in the Year of Count Volpi's Concession for Caravaggio, il pittore maledetto, 1941
  • Il bandito
    , 1947

Selected filmography

References

  1. ^ Gundle p.194
  2. ^ Gundle p.186
  3. ^ Gundle p.186
  4. ^ Gundle p.191
  5. ^ Gundle p.184
  6. ^ Gundle p.185
  7. ^ Gundle p.191

Bibliography

  • Amedeo Nazzari written by Piero Pruzzo and Enrico Lancia. Collana "Le stelle filanti", Gremese Editore, Roma, 1983.
  • Amedeo Nazzari. Il divo, l'uomo, l'attore by Simone Casavecchia, with an interview to Evelina Nazzari, Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia (Roma, 2007) in the 100 Anniversary of the birth of the actor (1907/2007). Sito ufficiale del C.S.C.
  • Amedeo Buffa in arte Nazzari written by Maria Evelina Buffa. Collana "Cinema italiano", Edizioni Sabinae, Roma, 2008.
  • Gundle, Stephen. Mussolini's Dream Factory: Film Stardom in Fascist Italy. Berghahn Books, 2013.

External links

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