Skip to main content

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

Popular posts from this blog

The Anthology Film Archives Presents: The Italian Connection: Poliziotteschi and Other Italo-Crime Films of the 1960s and '70's

June 19 – June 29 Influenced both by 1960s political cinema and Italian crime novels, as well as by French noir and American cop movies like "Dirty Harry" and "The French Connection," many Italian filmmakers in the late-60s and early-70s gradually moved away from the spaghetti western genre, trading lone cowboys for ‘bad’ cops and the rough frontier of the American west for the mean streets of modern Italy. Just as they had with their westerns, they reinvented the borrowed genre with their inimitable eye for style and filled their stories with the kidnappings, heists, vigilante justice, and brutal violence that suffused this turbulent moment in post-boom 1970s Italy. The undercurrent of fatalism and cynicism in these uncompromising movies is eerily reminiscent of the state of discontent in Italy today. ‘The Italian Connection’ showcases the diversity and innovation found in the genre, from the gangster noir of Fernando Di Leo’s "Caliber 9" ...

The Timeless Talent of Stefania Sandrelli

On screen since the tender age of 14, she has captivated audiences for more than 50 years with a compelling combination of strength and vulnerability. She achieved stardom at just 14 years old playing the angelic cousin of a love-struck Marcello Mastroianni in Pietro Germi’s “Divorce Italian Style.” More than half a century later, she is still going strong and remains one of Italy’s most esteemed actors. Stefania Sandrelli was born on June 5, 1946, in Viareggio in the province of Lucca in northern Italy. As a child, she studied music and dance. Then in 1960, she won a beauty pageant and was featured on the cover of Le Ore magazine. Her purity captivated the country and shortly thereafter, movie offers began pouring in. Just one year later, she made her cinema debut in three feature films: Mario Sequi’s Gioventù di notte , Luciano Salce’s The Fascist, and Pietro Germi’s Divorce Italian Style . She instantly became a star and before long was a key figure in Italy’s legend...

A Conversation with Actor Mirko Frezza of David di Donatello Winner "Il più grande sogno"

The 2017 David di Donatello award show, which took place on Monday, was an exciting event that celebrated many great contemporary talents of Italian cinema.  I was fortunate to have seen most of the nominees.  Among my personal favorites  is Michele Vannucci's  Il più grande sogno  simply because it is based on one of the most inspiring, beautiful stories I've ever  heard, and the person behind that story is as authentic and down-to-earth as they come. The film won the 3 Future Award, which is determined by the public. With Director Michele Vannucci and Actor Mirko Frezza I first saw  Il più grande sogno last September when it premiered at the Venice Film Festival. I didn't make it to Venice, but thanks to a great online platform called Festival Scope , which offers a handful of premieres to be screened on the web, I felt like I was there. The film itself blew me away, and then when I realized it was based on a true story, I knew t...

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...

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 ...