The Comedy and Tragedy of a Neapolitan Genius

On the occasion of Italy's mega-broadcast of numerous films by its beloved, Totò, we take a look at the life and career of Napoli's comic genius.

His birth name was Antonio De Curtis, but the world knows him best as Totò, the Neapolitan comedian whose distinctive face and nutty ways made him one of the most popular Italian film stars in history.

Totò was born on February 15, 1898 in Rione Sanità, a poor area of Naples. As a boy, he had a passion for sports. Legend has it that a nose injury caused by a football or boxing match gave him his signature look that played a major role in the personality of his characters. In 1917, Totò started acting locally in Napoli's comedia dell'arte and wrote poetry in his dialect. In the early '20s, he headed to Rome.

Upon his arrival in the Eternal City, he enjoyed performing i theaters working in "avanspettacolo," a vaudeville show that combined music, ballet and comedy. He mastered the genre and in the '30s, founded his own company and took it on the road. Not long after, he tackled the big screen and went on to appear in more than 100 films. Among his most acclaimed movies are "I ladri," "Totò e le donne," "Totò e Cleopatra" and Pier Paolo Pasolini’s "Uccellacci e uccellini."

A scene from Pasolini's "Uccellacci e uccellini"

Although Totò was at top of his career, his personal life was another story. Shortly after working in Roman theatres, he met a woman named Liliana Castagnola. The two lived together for some time. After he reportedly left to take a part in the North, Castagnola committed suicide. A few years later, he met a woman, Diana Bandini Rodigliani with whom he had a daughter. He named the baby girl Liliana after Castagnola. He married Diana in 1934 or 1935 (various dates have been given), but the marriage ended in 1940 when he filed for divorce on the grounds of her infidelity. The two managed to live together for the sake of their daughter, but they were each free to have other relationships. Some years later, Totò met actress, Silvana Pampanini on the set of "47 morto chi parla." At the same time this new relationship was blooming, his live-in ex-wife Diana accepted a marriage proposal from a lawyer. Totò was hurt and wrote the song "Malafemmina" (The Bad Girl), which has been called “A declaration of love and hate to his first wife.”

L to R- Liliana De Curtis, Totò and Franca Faldini

Totò’s next and final relationship was with Franca Faldini. It was love at first sight in 1951 when he saw her photo on the cover of an Italian magazine. She was 21 and he was 53. They secretly wed in Switzerland in 1954 and later that year, Franca gave birth to their son Massenzio. It was a hard labor and Franca nearly lost her life. The couple’s son sadly did not make it, and passed away a few hours after being born. Totò was devastated and threw himself into his work. But in 1956, it caught up with him when he suffered a serious bout of bronchitis. That would mark the beginning of his brave and difficult battle with his health. Then on April 15, 1967, Totò passed away. He spoke his last words to his wife, Franca Faldini, who has been called the true love of his life. He said, "I've loved you very much Franca, very much."

Several his films are available on Amazon. Click on the images below to watch a few of our favorites.

Comments

The Sweetness and Genius of Giulietta Masina

Fellini and Masina on the set of "La Strada" As open-hearted and sunny as Federico Fellini was dark and complex, they were perfect counterpoints during a half-century of marriage and professional collaboration. Nicknamed a “female Chaplin” and described by Chaplin himself as the actress who moved him most, Giulietta Masina confronted the tragedy of her characters with an eternal innocence and enthusiasm that gave Italians hope in the most challenging of times. Born in 1921 in San Giorgio di Piano, a commune north of Bologna, Masina was the oldest of four children born to a father who was a music professor and violinist and a mother who was a grade-school teacher. Her parents sent her as a child to live in Rome with her widowed aunt while she attended school there. As Masina took an early interest in gymnastics, her aunt saw in her a passion for performing and encouraged her to pursue acting. So after high school, Masina attended Rome’s La...

Ornella Muti: Five decades of Acting and Still Going Strong

Ornella Muti was born Francesca Romana Rivelli in Rome in 1955 to a Neapolitan father and an Estonian mother. She began her career as a model during her teenage years and made her film debut in 1970 with “La Moglie più bella” (The Most Beautiful Wife). Her follow-up role was in the 1971 film, “Sole nella pelle” (Sun on the Skin), in which she played the daughter of wealthy parents who runs off with a hippie they don’t approve of. The film offers a telling journey through Italian society in the seventies, with its political climate, breathtaking seaside, and the styles and cars of that time. Much of the film is set amid the sunny Italian seaside and captures the innocence and beauty of first love. Muti made her American film debut in 1980 with "Flash Gordon." She played the role of Princess Aura. She’s appeared in two other American films, including “Oscar,” directed by John Landis and starring Don Ameche, Chazz Palminteri, and Sylvester Stallone. In 1992, she w...

Federico Fellini: A Look into the Life and Career of an Icon

A Fellini family portrait “The term became a common word to describe something on the surface you can say is bizarre or strange, but actually is really like a painter working on a film,” said Martin Scorsese when asked to define “Felliniesque,” an adjective inspired by one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. The oldest of three children, Federico Fellini was born in the seaside town of Rimini in 1920. His father was a traveling salesman, so his mother was left to do the bulk of raising the children. One can argue that Fellini was born for his destiny. “You could tell that even as a child, he was different and unique. He was very intelligent, well above average. He was always the one to organize things, direct the others, make up games. He could control the other kids with just a look, said Fellini’s sister, Maddalena, in an interview with journalist Gideon Bachmann. Not only was Fellini directing the children, but he was also putting on shows and charging ...

A Conversation with Documentary Filmmaker Luigi Di Gianni

His documentary films have given voice to a people who would have otherwise been forgotten while preserving rituals and traditions no longer practiced. Visually stunning and emotionally moving, they reflect an Italy we’re not used to seeing in cinema. Born in Naples in 1926, Luigi Di Gianni captured a dimension of Italy that people outside the South didn’t even know existed. He began his career working in the region of Basilicata, which back then was referred to as Lucania. He first visited the region with his parents when he was a boy. His father, being from the Lucanian village of Pescopagano, wanted to show his son his homeland. That trip made an impression on the 9-year-old and created a deep affection that would one day inspire him to return. “I always remained very emotional about returning to this part of my homeland of Lucania,” he says. “It seemed like a different planet compared to Rome, where I lived. The tiring journey, the unpaved roads, the difficulti...

The Life and Work of Monica Bellucci

Monica Bellucci as Malèna Born in Umbria in 1964, Monica Bellucci is one of the most recognizable faces of international cinema. But she didn't always have her sights set on the spotlight. She went to college to study law and modeled to pay her tuition. Her success in the fashion world coupled with the offers that were pouring in to appear on the big screen eventually took over, changing her fate. Bellucci made her on-screen debut in the 1990 television movie, " Vita coi figli." Just two years later, she scored her first American role in Francis Ford Coppola's "Dracula." In addition to her native language, she speaks fluent English and French, which has made for a smooth transition from Italian to international cinema. Stateside, she has acted in blockbusters such as "The Matrix-Reloaded," " The Passion of the Christ" and " The Sorcerer's Apprentice." She has also appeared in several French films, a...

Italian Cinema Today

Search This Blog