Actors We Should Never Forget
They left a staggering legacy but very rarely are they included in lists and tributes.
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Born in Milan in 1933, Gian Maria Volontè studied in Rome at the National Dramatic Arts Academy, where he obtained his degree in 1957. He began working in theatre and television, where he was soon noticed as one of the most promising actors of his generation. After several supporting appearances in film, he reached notoriety with the character of Ramón Rojo in Sergio Leone's A Fistful of Dollars (1964). This success was doubled in Leone's next film, For a Few Dollars More (1965). The following ten years would be the most intense of Volontè career. L'armata Brancaleone (1966) (directed by Mario Monicelli) was the most successful Italian movie of the year, We Still Kill the Old Way (1967) (directed by Elio Petri) won the Grand Prix du Scenario at the Cannes Film Festival, and Volontè won his first Nastro d'Argento (Silver Ribbon - the most prestigious acting award in Italy) in 1970 for Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion (1970) (also directed by Petri), making him an international star. The film won the Academy Award for Best Foreign-Language Film, the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival and two Italian Golden Globes, including one for his performance. In 1972, he starred in two Italian movies as the protagonist: Petri's The Working Class Goes to Heaven (1971) and Francesco Rosi's The Mattei Affair (1972), both of which won the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival, where he also won a Special Mention. In his life, Volontè won a huge number of other prizes and honours, becoming one of the most celebrated Italian actors of the seventies, and challenging Vittorio Gassman and Marcello Mastroianni as the most popular Italian actor. He died in Greece in 1994.His body of work is overwhelming. Unforgettable actor.- Actor
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In 1940 Gerard left school and his parents wanted him be a lawyer. But soon his mother noticed that he was only interested in acting, although his father was against the idea. After timely intervention from Marc Allégret, who decided he showed some promise, Gerard's debut was in Claude Dauphin's play "One plain girl". After this, Gerard decided to get into the conservatory. He was wonder even in music. He himself used to find necessary sounds - exact, unexpected, and unforeseen. All this helped him to portray amazing characters. Millions of people were inspired by him.
One day Georges Lacombe offered Philipe a part in his movie Le pays sans étoiles (1946). Critical reaction was very favourable and he became a star, taking on prominent roles in films such as L'idiot (1946), Devil in the Flesh (1947), The Charterhouse of Parma (1948), Such a Pretty Little Beach (1949), Juliette ou La clef des songes (1951), Fanfan la Tulipe (1952), Beauties of the Night (1952), The Red and the Black (1954), La meilleure part (1955) and Le joueur (1958).
In 1951 Gerard Philipe married Annie. He dreamed of his own home and family, children. Their first child, Ann-Marie, was born in 1954, and in 1956 came Olivie. In 1959 Gerard returned to France. He seemed to be very tired. Doctors then gave him the bad news that he had a liver cancer. "He'll live 15 days or 6 months", - they decided. After that Gerard waited for death very calmly. On November 25, 1959 he died.He was unique among his peers. His work, remarkable.- Actor
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This dark, debonair, dashing and extremely distinguished Austrian actor was christened Adolf Wohlbrück in Vienna, the scion of a family of circus clowns. He broke away easily from generations of tradition as the circus life had no appeal whatsoever to Walbrook.
Trained by the legendary director Max Reinhardt, Walbrook's reputation grew on both the Austrian and German stages. In between he managed a couple of undistinguished roles in silent films. Billed as Adolf Wohlbrück, the youthfully handsome actor graced a number of romantic films come the advent of sound beginning in 1931. Among them Waltz War (1933) and the gender-bending comedy Victor and Victoria (1933), which later served as the inspiration and basis for Blake Edwards' own Victor/Victoria (1982) starring wife Julie Andrews. Hollywood beckoned in the late 30s for Walbrook to re-shoot dialog for an upcoming international picture The Soldier and the Lady (1937) again playing Michael Strogoff, a role he had played impeccably in both previous French and German adaptations. With the rise of oppression in Nazi Germany he moved to Great Britain and took his trademark mustache and dark, handsome features to English language films where he went on to appear to great effect.
Portraying a host of imperious kings, bon vivants and and foreign dignitaries over the course of his career, he played everything from composer Johann Strauss to the Bavarian King Ludwig I. With a tendency for grand, intense, over-the-top acting, he was nevertheless quite impressive in a number of portrayals. Such included the sympathetic German officer in the landmark Powell and Pressburger satire The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943) and gentle pacifist in another of their collaborations 49th Parallel (1941); as Prince Albert in the black-and-white glossy costumer Victoria the Great (1937) immediately followed by its color remake Queen of Destiny (1938) both opposite Anna Neagle's Queen Victoria; and, most notably, as the obsessively demanding impresario opposite ballerina Moira Shearer in the romantic melodrama The Red Shoes (1948). His stiff and stern military officers were just as notable which included sterling work in The Queen of Spades (1949) and last-speaking English film I Accuse! (1958).
He retired from films at the end of the 1950s, and in later years returned to the European stage and included television roles to his resume. He died in Germany in 1967 of a heart attack.He was fearless and magnetic.- Actor
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Popular but troubled renegade French actor Patrick Dewaere was christened Jean-Marie Patrick Bourdeaux on January 26, 1947, at Saint-Brieuc in Britanny in the north-west region of France. The third of six children born to actress Mado Maurin (1915-2011), his mother made acting a family affair. All of his siblings -- Jean-Pierre Maurin (1941-1996), Yves-Marie Maurin (1944-2009), Dominique Maurin (1949- ), Jean-François Vlerick (also known as Jean-Francois Maurin) (1957- ) and Marie-Véronique Maurin (1960- ) -- all became thespians. Patrick made his film debut at the age of four under the name Patrick Maurin in Amazing Monsieur Fabre (1951).
While growing up, he was taunted by his schoolyard friends for his young film endeavors, he learned sensitivity and isolation at an early age. Other films during this adolescent period of time included his playing an unbilled child role in Gene Kelly's The Happy Road (1957).
As a young adult in the early 1960s Patrick appeared on French television, then joined the "Café de Gare" theatrical troupe in 1968 where he remained for nearly a decade. It was during these stage years that he changed his stage name to Dewaere, the maiden name of his great grandmother. He also met and became romantically involvement with fellow troupe member Miou-Miou. A child, Angele, was born to this liaison in 1974, but the couple broke up after only two years. Another daughter, Lola, was born in the early 1980s from a later marriage.
After numerous film bits, stardom was finally his with the leading rebel-like role of Pierrot in Bertrand Blier's anarchic comedy Going Places (1974) [Going Places], which also starred up-and-coming actor Gérard Depardieu and lady love Miou-Miou. He and Depardieu earned instant "anti-hero" stardom in this tale of two wanderlust petty thugs. Patrick's genius for dark, offbeat comedy was apparent in the number of black comedies that came his way. Catherine & Co. (1975) [Catherine & Co.] co-starred Patrick with Jane Birkin, a social commentary on the prostitution business. He followed this with the crime drama The French Detective (1975) [The French Detective] as Lino Ventura's inspector sidekick. Dewaere earned high marks for his off-balanced role in La meilleure façon de marcher (1976) [The Best Way], then paired up again with Depardieu in the Oscar-winning cross-over comedy Get Out Your Handkerchiefs (1978) [Get Out Your Handkerchiefs].
Infinitely more interested in searching out complex roles than fame, his work in films were more often than not experimental, low budget and quirky in style. He appeared innately drawn to playing sensitive, scruffy, miserable neurotics, misfits and losers, as exemplified by his characters in Hothead (1979) [Hothead], Serie Noire (1979), Heat of Desire (1981) [Heat of Desire], Hotel America (1981) [Hotel America] which co-starred Catherine Deneuve, and the critically-acclaimed Beau-père (1981).
This obsession may have triggered a deep and profound suffering in his own off-screen personal life. Unlike his counterpart Depardieu, Patrick's fame never branched out internationally, but he was recognized consistently throughout Europe for his superlative portrayals. Amazingly, he was nominated for seven César awards (the French equivalent of the "Oscar") but never won.
Patrick's career ended in tragic and still mysterious circumstances. Shortly after the release of the film Paradis pour tous (1982) [Paradise for All], a dark comedy in which his character commits suicide, the 35-year-old actor decided to end his own life by shooting himself with a rifle in his Paris home on July 16, 1982. At the time he was working on the Claude Lelouch's film Edith and Marcel (1983). A shocking, inexplicable end to friends, fans and family alike, Dewaere later became the subject of a full-length French documentary Patrick Dewaere (1992), which was shown at the Cannes Film Festival. The Patrick Dewaere Award was established in France in 1983.Not even his picture on IMDB. He died tragically young. "Look at "Beau Pere", "The Best Way To Walk", "Going Places"- Actor
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Remote, somewhat morose and, as a result, intriguing, Viennese talent Oskar Werner was born in 1922, not far from the birthplace of "Waltz King" Johann Strauss, and christened Oskar Josef Bschließmayer. His parents divorced when he was fairly young.
While growing up, Oskar found performing in school plays helped draw out a deep yearning to act. As a teenager, Oskar was further tempted when his uncle managed to find him some un-credited roles in a couple of German and Austrian war-era films.
Oskar dropped out of high school in order to pursue acting. Not long after, he became the youngest actor ever, up until that point, to be offered membership to the Burgtheater.
His name was changed to 'Oskar Werner', and he made his official debut in 1941. His career, however, was almost immediately interrupted by World War II. An avowed pacifist and fervent loathing of the Nazi regime, Werner eventually was forced to wear the German Axis army uniform, but finagled his way into KP duty feigning incompetence. Moreover, he married Elizabeth Kallina, a half-Jewish actress, which further endangered his life. Their daughter, Elinore, was born in 1944. The young family spent much of their time in the Vienna woods, hiding from both the Russians and Germans after the city was shelled.
In post-war years, Oskar returned to the Burgtheater and widened his range of classics on the stage. Performing in such productions as "The Misanthrope", "I Remember Mama", "Julius Caesar" and "Danton's Death", he also played a diverse range of character roles and "older men" parts.
He did not make any kind of dent in films until appearing in both the German (1948) and English versions of The Angel with the Trumpet (1950) as one of the more dissolute members of a family of piano makers.
An aloof, handsome blond with wide-set, hooded eyes and quietly solemn features, Werner showed extreme promise in just a few Austrian/German films, including the role of composer Beethoven's manipulative young nephew 'Karl' in the Austrian-made Eroica (1949).
Less than 2 years later, Oskar would have a resounding hit starring in his very first English-language film, Decision Before Dawn (1951), as the German prisoner of war protagonist in the Fox feature.
Though ready for film-stardom, Werner's experience with the film studios quickly soured him on Hollywood, as it failed on its promise to develop him into a Hollywood commodity. As a result, he returned to Europe and his theatre roots, determined only to come back to films when it suitably piqued his interest.
He fulfilled that promise, perhaps to his career detriment.
Having become one of the most esteemed young actor found on Western European stages, he hit international celebrity with his definitive portrayal of "Hamlet" in 1952, a role he would return to frequently. He returned to filming a few years later; four of his features were released in 1955. He played a German captain in the film The Last Ten Days (1955) [released in the States as The Last Ten Days of Hitler]; Lieutenant Baumgarten in the historical thriller Spionage (1955) [aka: Colonel Redl]; the title role in the romanticized biopic The Life and Loves of Mozart (1955); and the student in the Max Ophüls drama Lola Montès (1955).
In 1957, he founded the Theatre Ensemble Oskar Werne, with which he performed in such productions as "Bacchus." He would also return on occasion to the Burgtheater where he played "Henry V" and "Prince Hal" in "Henry IV".
His interest in filming was not piqued again until 1962, when he became an international sensation alongside French star Jeanne Moreau, in François Truffaut's 'New Wave' cinematic masterpiece Jules and Jim (1962) as the highly romantic and intellectual "Jules". He stood firm, however, despite the rash of critical kudos, and did not make a film again until four years later, earning an Oscar nomination for his tortured shipboard romance with Simone Signoret (also nominated) in the glossy high seas drama Ship of Fools (1965). Notable for his roles of almost unbearable but restrained intensity, Werner furthered his film reputation by co-starring with Richard Burton and Claire Bloomin the now- classic Cold War spy film, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1965). Truffaut blessed him as well with another sterling role, in the futuristic classic Fahrenheit 451 (1966), but the relationship between both of the men was irreparably damaged over artistic differences during filming.
The unhappy experience Werner had during filming, triggered an already burgeoning drinking problem, and marked the start of decline of his career.
Werner made only three films following the Truffaut affair, but the roles, as usual, were performed superbly. He played the suave and very-married symphony conductor who has an illicit affair with a reporter (Barbara Ferris) in the tender remake of the June Allyson/Rossano Brazzi tearjerker Interlude (1968); he appeared as an unorthodox Jesuit priest in the all-star epic The Shoes of the Fisherman (1968); and boarded another WW II-era ship as German Faye Dunaway's Jewish husband in the all-star feature, Voyage of the Damned (1976).
Sadly, his longstanding problem with drink turned Oskar into a virtual recluse. Twice divorced (his second wife being Anne Power, the adopted daughter of father, Tyrone Power) and mother, Annabella, Werner later had a son, Felix, from a 1966 liaison with American model Diane Anderson.
His later years were spent traveling internationally, committing to poetry/pacifist readings, and occasionally performing on the stage. In 1967, he presented his one-man show 'An After-Dinner Evening with Oskar Werner', which was comprised of readings from the works of Schiller, Goethe and others. In 1970, he once-again toured with 'Hamlet'. His final stage appearance was in a 1983 production of 'The Prince of Homburg'.
On the night of Monday, 22 October, 1984, Werner canceled a concert reading at a German drama club due to illness. The following day - 23 October, 1984 Werner was found dead by heart attack, at the age of 61. He was laid to rest in his adopted country of Liechtenstein. He passed away only two days after Truffaut.Look at him falling in love with Simone Signoret in "Ship Of Fools" and then tell me.- Actor
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One of Italy's most captivating and talented cinematic comedy stars, Italian veteran Alberto Sordi was known for satirizing his country's social mores in pungent black comedies, farcical tales and grim drama. He, along with peers Vittorio Gassman, Ugo Tognazzi and Nino Manfredi, arguably represent the finest of post-war Italian cinema history. Born in Rome on June 15, 1920 in the Trastevere district, Sordi grew up in a musical family, his father being a tuba player for the Rome Opera House. A choir boy at the Sistine Chapel, he later trained for the theater in Milan but returned to Rome to work in radio and musical halls in comedy shows. In the late 30s he found his way into film as an extra. His first important role was in The Three Pilots (1942), a fascist war picture, but he wouldn't hit international stardom until a decade later when he starred in Federico Fellini's early films The White Sheik (1952) and I Vitelloni (1953). The titles of some of his most prolific characters were as simple as their titles: The Seducer, The Bachelor, The Husband, The Widower, The Traffic Cop, and The Moralist. Most of his protagonists amusingly, but not always pleasantly, stereotyped the worst attributes of Italian men and society, yet many of his films are unparalleled in quality and considered masterpieces. Sordi went on to star, direct and co-write more than 150 films. Never married and rather an introvert, he enjoyed a quiet, reclusive personal life. On his 80th birthday, he was made Mayor of Rome for the day. In 2002, after 190 films, he announced his retirement, and died of a heart attack the following year at age 82.A huge star in his own country but unknown in the USA. Look for his
work, you'll be amazed.- Actor
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Hadn't it been for his school teacher, who managed to get him money for a theater education, he would probably never had become an actor. After two failed attempts at becoming a student at the Royal Dramatic Theatre's acting school he succeeded at the age of 19. During these years in the beginning of the 1950s he played against Inga Tidblad in the world premiere of 'Eugene O'Neill's 'Long Days Journey Into Night'. 32 years later he was in the same play again, this time directed by Ingmar Bergman. His capacity for work was truly amazing, some years he made several leading roles both in plays and films. He was also successful as Professor Higgins in Alan Jay Lerner's and Frederick Loewe's play 'My Fair Lady' 1959-1961. He became well known to the public with Lars-Magnus Lindgren's Love Mates (1961). During the 1960s he was busy with making movies and he himself directed Bokhandlaren som slutade bada (1969) and Good-Bye Nana (1970). His work with Ingmar Bergman began in 1952 with Secrets of Women (1952), continuing with Smiles of a Summer Night (1955) and with a grand finale in Fanny and Alexander (1982). He returned to the Royal Dramatic Theatre in 1982 and plays like William Shakespeare's 'King Lear', Hjalmar Bergman's 'Markurells i Wadköping' and Molière's 'Tartuffe'.Magnetic.- Miguel Ligero was born in 1911 in Rosario, Sante Fe, Argentina. He was an actor, known for Apartment Zero (1988), Frutilla (1980) and El tinglado de la risa (1970). He was married to Di Prinio, Norma. He died on 1 February 1989 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.He was Becket's favorite actor in the Spanish speaking world. Look at him in "Castigo Al Traidor" or his almost silent performance in "Apartment Zero"
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'Antonio Griffo Focas Flavio Angelo Ducas Comneno Porfirogenito Gagliardi De Curtis di Bisanzio' was a descendant of the 'Comneno di Bizanzio' and also one of the most popular Italian film stars in history. His genre was undoubtedly the comedy where he achieved world fame. From 1917 he was an actor of the companies of the "comedia dell'arte" and also poet in Neapolitan dialect. In 1939 he started his career at the movies and as "Gaspare" in I due orfanelli (1947) he had his big breakthrough.A Tragicomic genius. Huge in his country.- Actor
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It's fair to say that if 'Frank Capra (I)' hadn't cast Robert "Bobby" Williams in his 1931 film Platinum Blonde (1931) the actor would be entirely forgotten today. When the movie was made available on video in the 1980s the promotional copy on the video box emphasized the names most buffs would recognize: actresses Jean Harlow and Loretta Young, and director Capra himself. But for many viewers there's no question about it, Williams steals the show, with his low-key flair for comedy and unique, sleepy-eyed charm. Viewers may well ask "Who is this guy, and why haven't I heard of him?" The reason is simple, and sad: he died of peritonitis in 1931 just as 'Platinum Blonde (1931)_ went into wide release, just when he was on the brink of stardom.
Born in 1897 in the vicinity of Morganton, North Carolina, he was raised on a farm. The acting bug bit early: he ran away from home at age 11 to join a tent show. He endured a long, hard apprenticeship as an actor, performing on Mississippi river boats and in stock companies touring the Midwest before he reached New York as a young man. When Williams made his Broadway debut in the early 1920s, the New York stage had entered its richest era, when hundreds of shows opened each season. Williams' stage credits include Eyes of Youth opposite Marjorie Rambeau, The Trial of Mary Dugan, Milgrim's Progress, Scarlet Pages, and Love, Honor and Betray with Alice Brady. Several of these plays were made into silent movies but Bobby was not cast in the film versions, perhaps because he was based in New York. His best remembered Broadway role was that of Abie in the original production of Abie's Irish Rose (1922), an ethnic comedy considered old fashioned even when it opened. Critics hated it, but the show became the biggest success of its era, running for five years.
When Abie's Irish Rose opened, Bobby was married to singer Marion Harris, a vaudeville and recording artist who was far better known than he. Perhaps her greater fame was a source of tension, but for whatever reason the marriage did not last long. The couple had one daughter, also named Marion, who later became a singer in her own right under the name Marion Harris Jr.
Even at the time of Williams' greatest Broadway success in Abie's Irish Rose, he seemed stalked by tragedy. Just a few days after the show opened, Bobby was driving from his home in Great Neck, Long Island, to the theater for a matinée performance. When he reached Corona, Queens, a 7 year-old boy named James Cali dashed into the street in front of his car. Williams was unable to stop or swerve, and the boy was knocked to the ground. The child died of a skull fracture hours later while Williams was held by the police for questioning. Character actor Wallace Ford, who had played the role of Abie during the show's pre-Broadway tour, stepped back into the role for the matinée and the next few performances while Williams recovered from shock. It appears that no charges were filed against him in the wake of the tragedy. Williams resumed the role of Abie but did not stay with the show much longer.
In the spring of 1924, Williams married actress Alice Lake, best known as leading lady in several film comedies made by 'Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle' and Buster Keaton in the late 1910s. Once again, the marriage was brief. In February of 1925 the daily paper the New York Mirror detailed the couple's separation in an article with the headline: "Gay Life Parts Couple; Robert Williams, Juvenile Actor, Packs Trunk and Leaves His Wife, Alice Lake, Pal of Viola Dana ." Without directly stating that either Lake or Dana were gay or bisexual, the article strongly implied that their relationship went beyond friendship, and was responsible for the breakup of Lake's marriage to Williams. The following day the newspaper allowed Dana a rebuttal in which she denied being a home wrecker and said she knew nothing of the Williams' marital problems. In any event, the couple divorced soon afterward.
For the next several years Williams remained busy with stage work. He also married actress Nina Penn, and at last seemed to find marital stability. In 1930 Williams was cast in the Broadway production of Donald Ogden Stewart 's play Rebound which proved to be moderately successful, or at least successful enough to be purchased by RKO for filming. By this point the talkie revolution had hit Hollywood and the studios were snapping up plays, playwrights, and stage actors by the hundreds. Williams went to Hollywood and repeated his role of Johnnie Coles opposite Ina Claire in the film version of Rebound. In rapid succession he appeared in two other films for RKO, The Common Law (1931) opposite Constance Bennett, and Devotion (1931) with Ann Harding and Leslie Howard.
It was then that 'Frank Capra (I)' cast Bobby in Platinum Blonde (1931), for Columbia Pictures. Williams played down-to-earth reporter Stew Smith, who is drawn to socialite Anne Schuyler (Jean Harlow ) despite their obvious differences in background. Stew marries Anne while his fellow reporter Gallagher, a gal accepted in the city room as "one of the boys," waits patiently for Stew to recognize that his marriage was a mistake and that she is in love with him. The role of Gallagher was assigned, rather bizarrely, to the luminously beautiful Loretta Young, who was then 18 years old and would never be anyone's idea of "one of the boys." For that matter, Harlow wasn't all that believable as a haughty socialite either, but for Williams the role of Stew Smith fit like a glove. This was the sort of role that within a few years would become the province of actors like Spencer Tracy, James Cagney, and occasionally Clark Gable: the man's man with attitude, macho without being obnoxious about it, a guy who is good at his work but has a faint air of insolence about him. Williams pulls it off beautifully and effortlessly steals the show from his miscast co-stars. One wants to see more of his work.
Unfortunately, his work was at an end, for this star-making performance turned out to be Williams' swan song. Bobby was rehearsing with Constance Bennett for his next RKO picture, Lady with a Past (1932), when he complained of stomach pains. After a day or two the pain worsened, and despite his protests Williams was rushed to a hospital for an appendicitis operation. Before the operation was completed his appendix burst. Days later, on November 3, 1931, Williams died of peritonitis. He was 34 years old. Platinum Blonde (1931) had been released just four days earlier, and the first reviews proclaimed that Hollywood had a new star. Instead, Robert Williams became one of Hollywood's great might-have-beens.Died so young, but look at him in Frank Capra's "Platinum Blond"