Ricky Memphis is an Italian television and film actor. He is best known for his interpretation of Inspector Mauro Belli, in the police drama series, Distretto di Polizia

Distretto di Polizia

Distretto di Polizia is an Italian television series....

('Police District'), which was broadcast weekly for eight seasons by Italian network Canale 5

Canale 5

Canale 5 is an Italian private television network of Mediaset, the media branch of Fininvest. Canale 5 was the first private television network to have a national coverage in Italy in 1980, based on a local channel, TeleMilano 58, founded in 1978....

 from 2000 to 2009.

Career

Ricky Memphis was born 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...

. His career in the entertainment business began at the end of the 1980s with his first television appearance as an urban poet on the Maurizio Costanzo

Maurizio Costanzo

Maurizio Costanzo is an Italian television host and journalist. He is married to Maria De Filippi, an Italian television host.-Biography:Costanzo was born in Rome....

 talk show. He chose his stage name "Memphis" in honour of American singer Elvis Presley

Elvis Presley

Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....

.

His first role in a major picture was in the 1990 film Ultrà

Ultra

Ultra was the designation adopted by British military intelligence in June 1941 for wartime signals intelligence obtained by "breaking" high-level encrypted enemy radio and teleprinter communications at the Government Code and Cypher School at Bletchley Park. "Ultra" eventually became the standard...

, directed by Ricky Tognazzi

Ricky Tognazzi

Riccardo Tognazzi is an Italian actor and film director. He has appeared in 50 films and television shows since 1963. His film The Escort was entered into the 1993 Cannes Film Festival...

. Memphis won the award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Red at the European Film Awards.

He followed with roles in Pugni di rabbia, La scorta and Il branco. Memphis received national popularity with his interpretation of the compassionate Inspector Mauro Belli in Mediaset's Canale 5 television police drama series Distretto di Polizia ('Police District'), which aired for eight seasons from 26 September 2000 to November 2009. His character left the series in the sixth season of the series. There was talk of Memphis returning to the series in his former role of Inspector Mauro Belli.
Memphis's television work also includes the Canale 5/Italia 1

Italia 1

Italia 1 is an Italian commercial television channel on the Mediaset network. It is oriented especially at young people.Italia 1 was launched in January 1982 and, originally, was owned by Rusconi; after a few months, however, due to the aggressive dumping practices of Silvio Berlusconi's rival...

 production of Crimini bianchi ('White Crimes'), in which he played the role of lawyer Claudio Bruni, and Rai Uno

Rai Uno

Rai 1 is the primary television station of RAI, the national public service broadcaster, and the most watched television channel in Italy. It was born as Rai Tv from 1954 to 1961, called Programma Nazionale from 1961 to 1979, after called Rete 1 from 1979 to 1982, then called Rai Uno from 1982 to...

's Caccia al re - La Narcotici in 2011.

Cinema

• 1991 – Ultrà
  Ultra (film)
  Ultra is a 1991 Italian drama film directed by Ricky Tognazzi. It was entered into the 41st Berlin International Film Festival where Tognazzi won the Silver Bear for Best Director.-Cast:* Claudio Amendola as Principe* Ricky Memphis as Red...
  
  ('Ultra')
• 1993 – La scorta
  The Escort
  The Escort is a 1993 Italian crime film directed by Ricky Tognazzi. It was an entry at the 1993 Cannes Film Festival.-Plot:The film shows the difficulties of an honest, imperiled judge and his bodyguard of four men, trying to clean up a Sicilian town...
  
  ('The Escort')
• 1994 – I Mitici - Colpo gobbo a Milano
• 1995 – Vite strozzate ('Strangled Lives')
• 1997 – Altri uomini ('Other Men')
• 1998 – Ultimo capodanno dell'umanità ('Humanity's Last New Year's Eve')
• 2002 – Paz!
• 2007 – Milano-Palermo: Il ritorno ('Milano-Palermo: The Return')
• 2010 - La bella società
• 2011 - Immaturi

Television

• 1991 – Pugni di rabbia ('Fists of Rage')
• 1993 – Briganti - Amore e libertà ('Bandits - Love and Liberty')
• 1994 – Il branco ('The Pack')
• 1995 – L'anno prossimo... Vado a letto alle dieci ('Next Year... I'll Be In Bed By Ten')
• 1995 – Palermo-Milano, solo andata ('Palermo-Milano, One Way')
• 1998 – Ultimo
• 1998 – Le faremo tanto male ('We're Going To Hurt Her')
• 1999 – Il morso del serpente
• 1999 – Ultimo II - La sfida
• 1999 – Cadaveri eccellenti
  Excellent Cadavers
  Excellent Cadavers is a 1995 non-fiction book by American author Alexander Stille about the Sicilian Mafia, concentrating on magistrate Giovanni Falcone's fight against the Mafia and his 1992 assassination....
  
  ('Excellent Cadavers')
• 1999 – S.O.S
• 2000-2006 – Distretto di Polizia
  Distretto di Polizia
  Distretto di Polizia is an Italian television series....
  
  1-6 ('Police District'), series
• 2001 – Sindone - 24 ore, 14 ostaggi
• 2008 – Crimini bianchi ('White Crime'), series
• 2010 - Un paradiso per due (A Paradise For Two)
• 2011 - Caccia al re - La Narcotici, miniseries
• 2011 - Come un delfino, miniseries