Gabriele Ferzetti

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Gabriele Ferzetti
Ferzetti in 1998
Born
Pasquale Ferzetti

(1925-03-17)17 March 1925
Rome, Kingdom of Italy
Died2 December 2015(2015-12-02) (aged 90)
Rome, Italy
OccupationActor
Years active1942–2015
Children1

Gabriele Ferzetti (born Pasquale Ferzetti; 17 March 1925 – 2 December 2015) was an Italian actor with more than 160 credits across film, television, and stage.[1] His career was at its peak in the 1950s and 1960s.

Ferzetti's first leading role was in the film

Casa Ricordi (1954). He made his international breakthrough in Michelangelo Antonioni's controversial L'Avventura (1960) as a restless playboy. After a series of romantic performances, he acquired a reputation in Italy as an elegant, debonair, and somewhat aristocratic looking leading man.[2][3]

Ferzetti starred as Lot in John Huston's biblical epic, The Bible: In the Beginning... (1966), and played railroad baron Morton in Sergio Leone's Once Upon a Time in the West (1968). Perhaps his best known role, internationally, was in the James Bond movie On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969) as Marc Ange Draco, although his voice was dubbed by British actor David de Keyser. He was perhaps best known to non-mainstream audiences for his role as the psychiatrist, Hans, in Liliana Cavani's The Night Porter (1974). In the 1970s, he appeared in a significant number of crime films, often as an inspector.

He appeared in Julia and Julia, opposite Laurence Olivier in Inchon (1982), and the cult film, First Action Hero. Later in his career, he played the role of Nono in the TV series Une famille formidable, while also appearing in Luca Guadagnino's 2009 film I Am Love.

Biography

Early life

Ferzetti was born as Pasquale Ferzetti in Rome, Italy on 17 March 1925.

Accademia d'Arte Drammatica in Rome, but was expelled.[3]

Career

1940s

Ferzetti made his screen debut in

Rondini in volo, 1949) and a role in Sicilian Uprising (Vespro siciliano, also from 1949), a historic film set in 1282 during the War of the Sicilian Vespers, he appeared alongside Elli Parvo, Piero Lulli, Charles Vanel, and Marcello Mastroianni in Luigi Capuano's Vertigine d'amore and Fabiola (both from 1949) as Claudio. The antiquity drama, set in Rome, was warmly received.[1]

1950s

Ferzetti opposite Gina Lollobrigida in The Wayward Wife (La Provinciale, 1953)

Ferzetti had a supporting role in

Gioacchino Rossini.[1] Ferzetti starred in Mario Soldati's The Wayward Wife (La Provinciale, 1953), a Cannes Film Festival nominee for best film, which saw him play the role of a professor who falls in love with a glamorous star (Gina Lollobrigida).[1] This comedy drama involves the tale of a Romanian countess who forces "Gemma" to become a prostitute. For his performance, Ferzetti received an award from the Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists, and further cemented his status as a leading actor in Italy by appearing alongside Lollobrigida.[1] Ferzetti appeared in Marcello Pagliero's comedy drama based on the play by Luigi Pirandello, Vestire gli ignudi (1954), playing the character of Ludovico Nota alongside Pierre Brasseur, Manlio Busoni, and Paolo Ferrara, and in Camilla (also 1954), under the directorship of Luciano Emmer.[7]

Ferzetti starred in

Burgundy in 1728. He later appeared in Carlo Ludovico Bragaglia's Hannibal, alongside Victor Mature, Rita Gam, Milly Vitale, and Rik Battaglia. The film is set during the Roman Republic; Ferzetti played Fabius Maximus
.

1960s

L'avventura
(1960)

Ferzetti starred in

Goldon Lion Award. He made his international breakthrough as an oversexed, restless playboy, Sandro, in Michelangelo Antonioni's L'Avventura (also 1960). Starring alongside Lea Massari and Monica Vitti romantically,[10][11] his role was well received. Liz-Anne Bawden in The Oxford Companion to Film said, "The acting is excellent. Gabriele Ferzetti repeats and develops his role from Le Amiche of the inadequate male/artist".[12]

Ferzetti in Long Night in 1943 (La lunga notte del '43), 1960

Ferzetti entered one of the busiest periods of his career, featuring in seven films released during 1962. Among these were

Il giorno più corto, directed by Sergio Corbucci, in Giuseppe Bennati's Congo vivo alongside Jean Seberg, in Jean Negulesco's American picture, Jessica, opposite Maurice Chevalier, Angie Dickinson, and Noël-Noël, and in Le Crime ne paie pas (US: Crime Does Not Pay) under director Gérard Oury. Among a large ensemble cast, Ferzetti had a role in Jean Delannoy's Imperial Venus (1963), and played the character of Leonardi in Charles Frend and Bruno Vailati's war drama, Torpedo Bay (also 1963), alongside Lilli Palmer, James Mason, and Alberto Lupo
.

In

Par un beau matin d'été (Crime on a Summer Morning, also 1965), alongside Jean-Paul Belmondo, Sophie Daumier, and Geraldine Chaplin.[13] He also had a role in Marcel Carné's Trois chambres à Manhattan (Three Rooms in Manhattan, 1965), a film which incidentally featured a young Robert De Niro
in an uncredited role.

Ferzetti began to work on American projects. He starred as

Un diablo bajo la almohada, Roberto Faenza's Escalation, Alberto De Martino's Roma come Chicago, and Sergio Leone's western epic, Once Upon a Time in the West, in which he played Morton, the railroad baron, opposite acclaimed actors Henry Fonda and Charles Bronson.[1]

Marc-Ange Draco in On Her Majesty's Secret Service
(1969)

In 1969, Ferzetti starred in

Gli intoccabili. The film was entered into the 1969 Cannes Film Festival.[14]

He next starred in

Marc-Ange Draco in the 1969 James Bond feature On Her Majesty's Secret Service
.

Directed by

Tracy di Vicenzo (Diana Rigg), who promises James Bond (George Lazenby) a handsome dowry for marrying her; they fall in love and marry anyway. Hunt had spotted Ferzetti in an Italian film, which he and Harry Saltzman were supposed to be reviewing another actor in, and both were immediately drawn to Ferzetti and persuaded the producers to test Ferzetti. However, despite speaking good English, his lines were dubbed by British actor David de Keyser, due to Ferzetti's strong Italian accent. In the end of the film, his character Draco's resources are vital in aiding Bond to destroy Ernst Stavro Blofeld's base at Piz Gloria. His final release of 1969 was L'amica, directed by Alberto Lattuada
.

1970s

In 1970, Ferzetti starred in the political thriller,

Bisturi la mafia bianca (1973), directed by Luigi Zampa
.

Ferzetti played Wilhelm Keitel (pictured) in Hitler: The Last Ten Days

In 1973, Ferzetti appeared in the TV movie,

Holocaust, The Night Porter, working under director Liliana Cavani. He starred alongside Dirk Bogarde and Charlotte Rampling and played Hans, a psychiatrist, one of his most notable roles. The film depicts the political continuity between wartime Nazism and post-war Europe, and the psychological continuity of characters locked into compulsive repetition of the past. Given the film's dark and disturbing themes, and a somewhat ambiguous moral clarification at the end, The Night Porter has tended to divide audiences and was accused of mere sensationalism. Film critic Roger Ebert said, "as nasty as it is lubricious, a despicable attempt to titillate us by exploiting memories of persecution and suffering."[15]

Ferzetti continued to appear in crime films, including

Elie Chouraqui
. In 1979, Ferzetti starred in
Anthony Richmond and Tonino Ricci, and also had an uncredited role in Terence Young's Bloodline
. He also appeared in the TV series I vecchi e i giovani.

1980s–2015

Ferzetti played a Turkish brigadier in another of Young's pictures, the historical war film,

Morte in Vaticano, 1982) directed by Marcello Aliprandi, and starred alongside Franco Nero in the crime comedy, Grog (also 1982), directed by Francesco Laudadio
, about two convicts who escape from prison and takes the family of a doctor as hostages.

In the mid-1980s, as he came closer to retirement age, Ferzetti's career in film began to decline, mainly appearing in low-budget TV movies and mini series, including an uncredited role in The Scarlet and the Black (1983) under Jerry London, and the mini-series Quo Vadis? (1985), La voglia di vincere (1987), and Around the World in 80 Days (1989). His only other films of the period were Julia and Julia (1987), directed by Peter Del Monte, in which he starred alongside Kathleen Turner, Gabriel Byrne, and Sting, and Computron 22, directed by Giuliano Carnimeo (1988).

In the 1990s, Ferzetti only appeared in minor or brief roles in TV movies, such as

Duke of Venice in Othello (1995), directed by Oliver Parker. He also appeared in Renzo Martinelli's Porzûs and Alfredo Angeli
's television series Con rabbia e con amore (both from 1997).

In the 2000s, Ferzetti appeared in

Io sono l'amore (2009), directed by Luca Guadagnino. His best known role, after 1996, is as Nono in the French series Une famille formidable, in which he appeared in 11 episodes, between 1996 and 2007. He portrayed Enrico in Edoardo Leo's comedy picture, 18 Years Later
(Diciotto anni dopo, 2010), which featured Marco Bonini in the lead role.

Death

Ferzetti died on 2 December 2015, aged 90.[16]

Filmography

Cinema

Television

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Marc Ange Draco (Gabriele Ferzetti)". Mi6.co.uk. Retrieved 11 October 2010.
  2. ^ "Giacomo Casanova e i suoi emuli" (in Italian). Cinebazar.it. Retrieved 12 October 2010.
  3. ^ a b "Biography". Fandango. Archived from the original on 2 January 2013. Retrieved 12 October 2010.
  4. ^ "Via delle Cinque Lune". Mymovies.it. Retrieved 11 October 2010.
  5. ^ "Benvenuto, reverendo!". Mymovies.it. Retrieved 12 October 2010.
  6. ^ "Barriera a Settentrione". Mymovies.it. Retrieved 12 October 2010.
  7. ^ "Vestire gli ignudi". Mymovies.it. Retrieved 12 October 2010.
  8. ^ Scott, A. O. (18 June 2010). "Le amiche (1955)". The New York Times. Retrieved 12 October 2010.
  9. ^ "NY Times: Girls for the Summer". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. 2012. Archived from the original on 20 October 2012. Retrieved 21 March 2009.
  10. ISBN 978-1405139793
    .
  11. ^ Morgan, Frederick (1961). The Hudson review, Volume 14. Hudson Review. p. 432.
  12. ISBN 978-0-19-211541-6. {{cite book}}: |author= has generic name (help
    )
  13. ^ Sandra Brennan (2011). "New York Times: Crime on a Summer Morning". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Archived from the original on 20 May 2011. Retrieved 28 August 2008.
  14. ^ "Festival de Cannes: Machine Gun McCain". festival-cannes.com. Archived from the original on 22 January 2013. Retrieved 7 April 2009.
  15. ^ Ebert, Roger (10 February 1975). "The Night Porter". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on 28 September 2012. Retrieved 23 December 2008.
  16. ^ La Repubblica (2 December 2015). "Addio a Gabriele Ferzetti, il seduttore introverso del nostro cinema". Retrieved 2 December 2015.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Gabriele Ferzetti.
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