Eduardo Ciannelli
Encyclopedia
Eduardo Ciannelli, sometimes credited as Edward Ciannelli, (30 August 1889 - 8 October 1969), was an Italian
baritone
and character actor
with a long career in American films, mostly playing gangsters and criminals.
, in the Gulf of Naples
, the son of a doctor who owned a health spa. He studied surgery at the University of Naples, and worked briefly as a doctor, but his love of grand opera
and the dramatic stage won out and he became a successful baritone, singing at La Scala
and touring Europe.
He went to America after the end of World War I
and appeared on Broadway
in Oscar Hammerstein II
's first musical Always You
and later in Rose-Marie
. He appeared in Theatre Guild
productions in the late 1920s, co-starring with the Lunts (Alfred Lunt
and Lynn Fontanne
), and Katharine Cornell
. During that period, he appeared in Uncle Vanya
, The Inspector General, The Front Page
. In 1935, he played Trock Estrella in Maxwell Anderson
's Winterset on Broadway and repeated his performance in the film version (1936). He played Cauchon in Shaw
's Saint Joan
in 1936, after which he left Broadway permanently, except for one notable occasion when he returned to play in Dore Schary
's The Devil's Advocate in 1961 and win the Tony Award
for Best Featured Actor
.
(1937) with Bette Davis
, Gunga Din
(1939) with Cary Grant
, (perhaps his most famous role, as the fanatical guru) Strange Cargo (1940) with Joan Crawford
and Clark Gable
, Alfred Hitchcock
's Foreign Correspondent
(1940), Kitty Foyle
(1940) with Ginger Rogers
, For Whom the Bell Tolls
(1943) with Gary Cooper
and Ingrid Bergman
, Passage to Marseille
(1944) with Humphrey Bogart
, The Mask of Dimitrios
(1944), Incendiary Blonde
(1945) with Betty Hutton
, Gilda
(1946) with Rita Hayworth
, and Prince of Foxes
(1949) with Orson Welles
.
In the 1950s and throughout the 1960s, he divided his time among Italian films such as Attila
(1954) with Anthony Quinn
and Sophia Loren
, Helen of Troy
(1956), appearances in American TV shows such as Climax Mystery Theater
, Perry Mason
, Alfred Hitchcock Presents
, Johnny Staccato
, The Detectives Starring Robert Taylor
, Dr. Kildare and a few films including Houseboat
(1958), The Visit
(1964), The Chase
(1966) with Marlon Brando
, and The Secret of Santa Vittoria
(1969), with Anthony Quinn and Anna Magnani
, which was his last film.
He died in Rome
, and was interred in the Cimitero Flaminio.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
baritone
Baritone
Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...
and character actor
Character actor
A character actor is one who predominantly plays unusual or eccentric characters. The Oxford English Dictionary defines a character actor as "an actor who specializes in character parts", defining character part in turn as "an acting role displaying pronounced or unusual characteristics or...
with a long career in American films, mostly playing gangsters and criminals.
Early life
Ciannelli was born on the island of IschiaIschia
Ischia is a volcanic island in the Tyrrhenian Sea. It lies at the northern end of the Gulf of Naples, about 30 km from the city of Naples. It is the largest of the Phlegrean Islands. Roughly trapezoidal in shape, it measures around 10 km east to west and 7 km north to south and has...
, in the Gulf of Naples
Gulf of Naples
The Gulf of Naples is a c. 15 km wide gulf located in the south western coast of Italy, . It opens to the west into the Mediterranean Sea. It is bordered on the north by the cities of Naples and Pozzuoli, on the east by Mount Vesuvius, and on the south by the Sorrentine Peninsula and the main...
, the son of a doctor who owned a health spa. He studied surgery at the University of Naples, and worked briefly as a doctor, but his love of grand opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
and the dramatic stage won out and he became a successful baritone, singing at La Scala
La Scala
La Scala , is a world renowned opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the New Royal-Ducal Theatre at La Scala...
and touring Europe.
He went to America after the end of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and appeared on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
in Oscar Hammerstein II
Oscar Hammerstein II
Oscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein II was an American librettist, theatrical producer, and theatre director of musicals for almost forty years. Hammerstein won eight Tony Awards and was twice awarded an Academy Award for "Best Original Song". Many of his songs are standard repertoire for...
's first musical Always You
Always You
Always You is an album by James Ingram, released in 1993. Following a four-year hiatus, singer-songwriter James Ingram came back in 1993 with "Always You", his fourth album on Qwest Records, the label run by producer Quincy Jones...
and later in Rose-Marie
Rose-Marie
Rose-Marie is an operetta-style musical with music by Rudolf Friml and Herbert Stothart, and book and lyrics by Otto Harbach and Oscar Hammerstein II. The story takes place in the Canadian Rockies and concerns Rose-Marie La Flemme, a French Canadian girl who loves miner Jim Kenyon...
. He appeared in Theatre Guild
Theatre Guild
The Theatre Guild is a theatrical society founded in New York City in 1918 by Lawrence Langner, Philip Moeller, Helen Westley and Theresa Helburn. Langner's wife, Armina Marshall, then served as a co-director. It evolved out of the work of the Washington Square Players.Its original purpose was to...
productions in the late 1920s, co-starring with the Lunts (Alfred Lunt
Alfred Lunt
Alfred Lunt was an American stage director and actor, often identified for a long-time professional partnership with his wife, actress Lynn Fontanne...
and Lynn Fontanne
Lynn Fontanne
Lynn Fontanne was a British actress and major stage star in the United States for over 40 years. She teamed with her husband Alfred Lunt.She lived in the United States for more than 60 years but never relinquished her British citizenship. Lunt and Fontanne shared a special Tony Award in 1970...
), and Katharine Cornell
Katharine Cornell
Katharine Cornell was an American stage actress, writer, theater owner and producer. She was born to American parents and raised in Buffalo, New York.Cornell is known as the greatest American stage actress of the 20th century...
. During that period, he appeared in Uncle Vanya
Uncle Vanya
Uncle Vanya is a play by the Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. It was first published in 1897 and received its Moscow première in 1899 in a production by the Moscow Art Theatre, under the direction of Konstantin Stanislavski....
, The Inspector General, The Front Page
The Front Page
The Front Page is a hit Broadway comedy about tabloid newspaper reporters on the police beat, written by one-time Chicago reporters Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur which was first produced in 1928.-Synopsis:...
. In 1935, he played Trock Estrella in Maxwell Anderson
Maxwell Anderson
James Maxwell Anderson was an American playwright, author, poet, journalist and lyricist.-Early years:Anderson was born in Atlantic, Pennsylvania, the second of eight children to William Lincoln "Link" Anderson, a Baptist minister, and Charlotte Perrimela Stephenson, both of Scots and Irish descent...
's Winterset on Broadway and repeated his performance in the film version (1936). He played Cauchon in Shaw
George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. Although his first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, in which capacity he wrote many highly articulate pieces of journalism, his main talent was for drama, and he wrote more than 60...
's Saint Joan
Saint Joan (play)
Saint Joan is a play by George Bernard Shaw, based on the life and trial of Joan of Arc. Published not long after the canonization of Joan of Arc by the Roman Catholic Church, the play dramatises what is known of her life based on the substantial records of her trial. Shaw studied the transcripts...
in 1936, after which he left Broadway permanently, except for one notable occasion when he returned to play in Dore Schary
Dore Schary
Isadore "Dore" Schary was an American motion picture director, writer, and producer, and playwright who became head of production at MGM and eventually president of the studio...
's The Devil's Advocate in 1961 and win the Tony Award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
for Best Featured Actor
Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play
This is a list of the winners and nominations of Tony Award for the Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play. The award has been presented since 1949.-1950s:* 1951: Eli Wallach – The Rose Tattoo* 1952: John Cromwell – Point of No Return...
.
Career
His Hollywood career consists of close to 150 film and television appearances. Notable among these are, Marked WomanMarked Woman
Marked Woman is a crime melodrama film released by Warner Bros. in 1937. It was directed by Lloyd Bacon, and stars Bette Davis and Humphrey Bogart, with featured performances by Lola Lane, Isabel Jewell, Rosalind Marquis, Mayo Methot, Jane Bryan, Eduardo Ciannelli and Allen Jenkins...
(1937) with Bette Davis
Bette Davis
Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis was an American actress of film, television and theater. Noted for her willingness to play unsympathetic characters, she was highly regarded for her performances in a range of film genres, from contemporary crime melodramas to historical and period films and occasional...
, Gunga Din
Gunga Din (film)
Gunga Din is a 1939 RKO adventure film directed by George Stevens, loosely based on the poem of the same name by Rudyard Kipling, combined with elements of his novel Soldiers Three...
(1939) with Cary Grant
Cary Grant
Archibald Alexander Leach , better known by his stage name Cary Grant, was an English actor who later took U.S. citizenship...
, (perhaps his most famous role, as the fanatical guru) Strange Cargo (1940) with Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford , born Lucille Fay LeSueur, was an American actress in film, television and theatre....
and Clark Gable
Clark Gable
William Clark Gable , known as Clark Gable, was an American film actor most famous for his role as Rhett Butler in the 1939 Civil War epic film Gone with the Wind, in which he starred with Vivien Leigh...
, Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
's Foreign Correspondent
Foreign Correspondent (film)
Foreign Correspondent is a 1940 American spy thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock which tells the story of an American reporter who tries to expose enemy spies in Britain, a series of events involving a continent-wide conspiracy that eventually leads to the events of a fictionalized World War...
(1940), Kitty Foyle
Kitty Foyle (film)
Kitty Foyle, subtitled The Natural History of a Woman, is a 1940 film starring Ginger Rogers, Dennis Morgan, James Craig, Ernest Cossart and Gladys Cooper.-Plot:...
(1940) with Ginger Rogers
Ginger Rogers
Ginger Rogers was an American actress, dancer, and singer who appeared in film, and on stage, radio, and television throughout much of the 20th century....
, For Whom the Bell Tolls
For Whom the Bell Tolls (film)
For Whom the Bell Tolls is a 1943 film in Technicolor based on the novel of the same name by Ernest Hemingway. It stars Gary Cooper, Ingrid Bergman, Akim Tamiroff and Katina Paxinou. This was Ingrid Bergman's first technicolor film. Hemingway handpicked Cooper and Bergman for their roles. The film...
(1943) with Gary Cooper
Gary Cooper
Frank James Cooper, known professionally as Gary Cooper, was an American film actor. He was renowned for his quiet, understated acting style and his stoic, but at times intense screen persona, which was particularly well suited to the many Westerns he made...
and Ingrid Bergman
Ingrid Bergman
Ingrid Bergman was a Swedish actress who starred in a variety of European and American films. She won three Academy Awards, two Emmy Awards, and the Tony Award for Best Actress. She is ranked as the fourth greatest female star of American cinema of all time by the American Film Institute...
, Passage to Marseille
Passage to Marseille
Passage to Marseille is a 1944 war film made by Warner Brothers, directed by Michael Curtiz and produced by Hal B. Wallis with Jack L. Warner as executive producer. The screenplay was by Casey Robinson and Jack Moffitt from the novel Sans Patrie by Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall...
(1944) with Humphrey Bogart
Humphrey Bogart
Humphrey DeForest Bogart was an American actor. He is widely regarded as a cultural icon.The American Film Institute ranked Bogart as the greatest male star in the history of American cinema....
, The Mask of Dimitrios
The Mask of Dimitrios
The Mask of Dimitrios is an American film noir directed by Jean Negulesco and written by Frank Gruber, based on the 1939 novel of the same name written by Eric Ambler . Ambler is known as a major influence on writers and an inventor of the modern thriller genre...
(1944), Incendiary Blonde
Incendiary Blonde
Incendiary Blonde is a 1945 American musical drama film of 1920s nightclub star Texas Guinan. Filmed in Technicolor by director George Marshall, it starred actress Betty Hutton in the title role. The music was written by Robert Emmett Dolan...
(1945) with Betty Hutton
Betty Hutton
Betty Hutton was an American stage, film, and television actress, comedienne and singer.-Early life:Hutton was born Elizabeth June Thornburg, daughter of a railroad foreman, Percy E. Thornburg and his wife, the former Mabel Lum . While she was very young, her father abandoned the family for...
, Gilda
Gilda
Gilda is a 1946 American black-and-white film noir directed by Charles Vidor. It stars Glenn Ford and Rita Hayworth in her signature role as the ultimate femme fatale. The film was noted for cinematographer Rudolph Mate's lush photography, costume designer Jean Louis' wardrobe for Hayworth , and...
(1946) with Rita Hayworth
Rita Hayworth
Rita Hayworth was an American film actress and dancer who attained fame during the 1940s as one of the era's top stars...
, and Prince of Foxes
Prince of Foxes (film)
Prince of Foxes is a 1949 film based on the Samuel Shellabarger novel Prince of Foxes. The movie starred Tyrone Power as Orsini and Orson Welles as Cesare Borgia.-Plot:...
(1949) with Orson Welles
Orson Welles
George Orson Welles , best known as Orson Welles, was an American film director, actor, theatre director, screenwriter, and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television and radio...
.
In the 1950s and throughout the 1960s, he divided his time among Italian films such as Attila
Attila (1954 film)
Attila is a 1954 Franco-Italian film co-production, directed by Pietro Francisci and produced by Dino De Laurentiis. Based on the life of Attila the Hun, it stars Anthony Quinn as Attila and Sophia Loren as Honoria, with Henri Vidal, Irene Papas, Ettore Manni and Christian Marquand. Scott Marlowe ...
(1954) with Anthony Quinn
Anthony Quinn
Antonio Rodolfo Quinn-Oaxaca , more commonly known as Anthony Quinn, was a Mexican American actor, as well as a painter and writer...
and Sophia Loren
Sophia Loren
Sophia Loren, OMRI is an Italian actress.In 1962, Loren won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in Two Women, along with 21 awards, becoming the first actress to win an Academy Award for a non-English-speaking performance...
, Helen of Troy
Helen of Troy (film)
Helen of Troy is a 1956 Warner Bros. epic film, based on Homer's Iliad. It was directed by Robert Wise, from a screenplay by Hugh Gray and John Twist, adapted by Hugh Gray and N. Richard Nash...
(1956), appearances in American TV shows such as Climax Mystery Theater
Climax! (TV series)
Climax! is an American anthology series that aired on CBS from 1954 to 1958. The series was hosted by William Lundigan and later co-hosted by Mary Costa...
, Perry Mason
Perry Mason (TV series)
Perry Mason is an American legal drama produced by Paisano Productions that ran from September 1957 to May 1966 on CBS. The title character, portrayed by Raymond Burr, is a fictional Los Angeles defense attorney who originally appeared in detective fiction by Erle Stanley Gardner...
, Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Alfred Hitchcock Presents is an American television anthology series hosted by Alfred Hitchcock. The series featured dramas, thrillers, and mysteries. By the premiere of the show on October 2, 1955, Hitchcock had been directing films for over three decades...
, Johnny Staccato
Johnny Staccato
Johnny Staccato is an American private detective series which ran for 27 episodes on NBC from September 10, 1959 through March 24, 1960.-Synopsis:...
, The Detectives Starring Robert Taylor
Robert Taylor (actor)
Robert Taylor was an American film and television actor.-Early life:Born Spangler Arlington Brugh in Filley, Nebraska, he was the son of Ruth Adaline and Spangler Andrew Brugh, who was a farmer turned doctor...
, Dr. Kildare and a few films including Houseboat
Houseboat (film)
Houseboat is a 1958 romantic comedy film starring Cary Grant, Sophia Loren, Martha Hyer, Paul Petersen, Charles Herbert and Mimi Gibson. The movie was directed by Melville Shavelson, who also directed the original 1968 version of Yours, Mine and Ours....
(1958), The Visit
The Visit (1964 film)
The Visit is a 1964 film co-production from France, Italy, Germany, and the United States, distributed by 20th Century Fox. It was directed by Bernhard Wicki and produced by Darryl F. Zanuck and Julien Derode with Ingrid Bergman and Anthony Quinn as co-producers...
(1964), The Chase
The Chase (1966 film)
The Chase is a 1966 American drama film directed by Arthur Penn, about a series of events set into motion by a prison break. Since one of the two escapees is Charlie "Bubber" Reeves , the escape causes a stir in a nearby town where Bubber is a well-known figure.The film deals with themes of racism...
(1966) with Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando, Jr. was an American movie star and political activist. "Unchallenged as the most important actor in modern American Cinema" according to the St...
, and The Secret of Santa Vittoria
The Secret of Santa Vittoria
The Secret of Santa Vittoria is a 1969 film made by Stanley Kramer Productions and distributed by United Artists. It was produced and directed by Stanley Kramer and co-produced by George Glass from a screenplay by Ben Maddow and William Rose. It was based on the novel by Robert Crichton...
(1969), with Anthony Quinn and Anna Magnani
Anna Magnani
Anna Magnani was an Italian stage and film actress. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress, along with four other international awards, for her portrayal of a Sicilian widow in The Rose Tattoo....
, which was his last film.
Personal life and death
Ciannelli was married to Alma Wolfe from 1918 until her death (1968). They had two sons, Eduardo and Lewis E. Ciannelli, who is also an actor.He died in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, and was interred in the Cimitero Flaminio.
Selected filmography
- ProibitoProibitoProibito is a 1954 Italian drama film directed by Mario Monicelli and starring Mel Ferrer.-Cast:* Mel Ferrer as Don Paolo Salinas* Amedeo Nazzari as Costantino Corraine* Lea Massari as Agnese Barras* Henri Vilbert as Niccodemo Barras...
(1954) - The Spy in the Green HatThe Spy in the Green HatThe Spy in the Green Hat is a 1966 film directed by Joseph Sargent. This feature was made up of the The Man from U.N.C.L.E. two-part episode "The Concrete Overcoat Affair."-Plot:...
(1969) - StilettoStiletto (1969 film)Stiletto is a 1969 American crime film directed by Bernard L. Kowalski and starring Alex Cord, Britt Ekland and Patrick O'Neal. A playboy works as a hitman for an international crime syndicate, but wishes to retire after one final job.-Cast:...
(1969)