Vittorio Gassman
About
Biography
Filmography
Family & Companions
Bibliography
Notes
"Vittorio was Italian theater--an extraordinary artist who seemed immortal." --frequent co-star Claudia Cardinale quoted in Daily Variety, June 30, 2000.
Biography
Handsome, occasionally grandiloquent, Vittorio Gassman has been a popular and successful stage and screen actor in his native Italy for well over fifty years. American cineastes will recall his performances in such classics as "Bitter Rice" (1948) and "Big Deal on Madonna Street" (1956). Less discerning filmgoers may remember him as Anatole in King Vidor's 1956 version of "War and Peace" or the crime lord King Benny in Barry Levinson's "Sleepers" (1996).
Born in Genoa but raised in Rome, Gassman first studied for a law degree before attending the National Dramatic Academy. He joined the Elsa Mellini Company in 1943 and quickly became established as a rising star, appearing in numerous classical roles. His striking good looks and talent were soon put to use in Italian cinema playing the romantic figure in a number of period pieces. His performance as Silvana Mangano's lover in his fourth film, "Riso amaro/Bitter Rice" (1949), made him an international star. The pair proved so popular they were reunited for 1951's "Anna," in which Gassman undertook a less heroic role.
Inevitably, Hollywood beckoned and Gassman was put under contract at MGM but the studio did not know how best to exploit the actor's capabilities, relegating him to roles as stereotypical Europeans in such fare as "The Glass Wall" (1953) and "Mambo" (1954), the latter opposite his then-wife Shelley Winters. His last US film for many years was a turn as Anatole in King Vidor's filming of "War of Peace" (1956).
Returning to Europe, Gassman undertook a dream project, writing, starring and co-directing (with Francesco Rosi) "Kean" (1956), a biopic of the legendary British actor Edmund Kean. Many critics noted Gassman's tendency to overact in the role and that hammy quality has informed many of his subsequent film roles. But he could rein in his talent to offer fine comic turns as one of a group of bumbling thieves in "Big Deal on Madonna Street" (1958) and a jet-setting playboy in "The Easy Life" (1961). (The latter was one of 16 film projects he collaborated on with director Dino Risi.) Throughout much of the early 1960s, Gassman divided his time between his Teatro Popolare Italiano and the cinema. On stage, he tackled roles from Agamemnon in "Oresteia" to several in the Shakespearean canon while on screen he was usually seen in comic roles. A career highlight came with his turn as a blind army captain in 1975's "Profumo di donne/Scent of a Woman" for which he was named the year's best actor at the Cannes Film Festival. (The film was the basis for the 1992 Americanized remake that starred Al Pacino.) After neatly 30 years, the actor returned to US films as the groom's father in Robert Altman's uneven "A Wedding" (1978) and was wasted in Altman's dreadful "Quintet" (1979). A number of his other American features were equally unworthy (e.g., "The Nude Bomb" 1980; "Tempest" 1983). In 1983, he and his son Alessandro co-wrote and co-starred in "Di Padre in figlio/From the Father to the Son." Four years later, he shone in dual roles as a patriarch and the patriarch's father in flashbacks in Ettore Scola's "La Famiglia/The Family" (1987). As the 90s dawned, Gassman's film work dwindled a bit, but he offered a fine turn as an aging crime lord in Barry Levinson's "Sleepers" (1996).
Filmography
Director (Feature Film)
Cast (Feature Film)
Writer (Feature Film)
Misc. Crew (Feature Film)
Cast (Special)
Cast (TV Mini-Series)
Life Events
1927
Moved with family to Rome
1943
Made stage debut as member of Elsa Mellini Company
1946
Film acting debut in "Preludio d'amore"
1949
Breakthrough screen role opposite Silvana Mangano in "Riso amaro/Bitter Rice"
1951
Reteamed with Mangano in "Anna"
1952
Signed contract with MGM
1954
Starred opposite then-wife Shelley Winters in "Mambo"
1956
Co-starred in "War and Peace", directed by King Vidor
1957
Wrote, co-directed (with Francesco Rosi) and starred in the biopic "Kean", about British actor Edmund Kean
1958
Had featured role in "Big Deal on Madonna Street", directed by Mario Monicelli
1958
Founded theater company Teatro Popolare Italiano
1959
Enjoyed a stage success in "Irma La Douce"
1959
First of 16 films with writer-director Dino Risi, "Il Mattatore"; originally made for Italian TV
1959
Reteamed with Monicelli for "The Great War"; starred opposite Albert Sordi
1960
Directed and starred in a stage production of "Oresteia" in Syracuse, Greece
1961
Initial collaboration with Vittoria De Sica, "The Last Judgement"
1963
Played a short season at London's Aldwych Theatre with his Teatro Popolare Italiano
1964
Essayed multiple roles in Ettore Scola's "Parliamo di donne/Let's Talk About Women"
1967
Appeared opposite Shirley MacLaine in one segment of the anthology film "Woman Times Seven", directed by De Sica
1969
With Adolfo Celi, co-wrote, co-directed and co-starred in "L'Alibi"
1972
First feature as solo director "Senza famiglia nullatenenti cercano affetto/Without Family"
1975
Won critical praise for his portrayal of a blind army captain in the black comedy "Profumo di donna/Scent of a Woman", directed by Risi
1978
Returned to US features as co-star of Robert Altman's "A Wedding"
1979
Reteamed with Altman for "Quintet"
1981
Appeared opposite Burt Reynolds in "Sharkey's Machine"
1983
With son Allesandro, co-wrote and co-starred in "Di Padre in figlio/From Father to Son"; also directed
1984
Toured USA in one-man stage show "Viva Vittorio!"
1985
Last feature (to date) as director "Affabulazione"
1987
Reteamed with Scola for "La Famiglia/The Family"; played dual role
1990
Cast as Sinbad in Philippe DeBroca's "Sheherazade/Les 1,001 nuits/A Thousand and One Nights"
1991
Last screen collaboration with Risi (to date), "Tolgo il disturbo/I'll Be Going Now"
1996
Delivered a fine turn as an aging crime lord in Barry Levinson's "Sleepers"
1997
Recorded Italian volume of poetry written by Pope John Paul II; released c, December
1999
Appeared in new version of "Il Mattatore" for Italian TV
1999
Had featured role in "La Bomba/Once Upon a Time in Little Italy"
1999
Reteamed with Scola for "Tavole apparechchiate e charienti/The Dinner"
Photo Collections
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Trailer
Family
Companions
Bibliography
Notes
"Vittorio was Italian theater--an extraordinary artist who seemed immortal." --frequent co-star Claudia Cardinale quoted in Daily Variety, June 30, 2000.
