Totò
Acting
Totò was born Antonio Clemente in a poor district of Naples, the illegitimate son of Anna Clemente from Sicily and Marquis Giuseppe De Curtis from Naples. Nicknamed “il principe della risata’ (the prince of laughter), he was an Italian comedian, film and theatre actor, writer, singer and songwriter, and widely considered one of the greatest Italian artists of the 20th century. While he first gained his popularity as a comic actor, his dramatic roles, poetry, and songs are all of cultural import; his style and a number of his recurring jokes and gestures have become universally known memes in Italy.
As a comic actor, Totò is classified as an heir of the Commedia dell'Arte tradition, and has been compared to such figures as Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin. At the age of 15, he was already acting as a comedian in small theatres, under the pseudonym "Clerment". His early repertoire mostly consisted in imitations of Gustavo De Marco's characters. He served in the army during World War I and then went back to acting to develop the trademarks of his style.
In 1937, he appeared in his first movie "Fermo con le mani", and later starred in 96 more films, many of which are still frequently broadcast on Italian television. In his vast cinematographic career, Totò had the opportunity to act side by side with virtually all major Italian actors of the time. Totò's unmistakable figure, with his peculiarly irregular face (due to an accident in his teen years), and his unique trademark ability to disarticulate his body like a marionette, soon became very popular and his comic gags became part of the Italian culture. Totò died at the age of 69 in Rome after a series of heart attacks. Due to overwhelming popularity there were three funeral services: the first in Rome, and the second and third in Naples. Totò's birth home has been recently opened to the public as a museum.
Media of
Totò
Photos (21)
Filmography of
Totò
... 2023
Self (archive footage)
... 2021
Self (archive footage)
... 2021
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
... 2020
Self (archive footage)
... 2016
Self (archive footage)
... 2004
... 1980
Totò (se stesso)
... 1978
(archive footage)
... 1975
Anziano Signore / Iago
... 1968
Iago
... 1968
... 1968
... 1967
Totò, la guida non autorizzata
... 1967
Totò l'agente segreto
... 1967
musicista capellone
... 1967
Gennaro La Pezza
... 1967
Mardoccheo Stonatelli
... 1967
Ciancicato Miao (segment "La Terra vista dalla Luna")
... 1967
Ciancicato Miao
... 1967
Oberdan Lo Cascio
... 1967
Barnaba Parmiggiani aka 'Babà'
... 1967
il professor Serafino Bolletta
... 1967
Don Vincenzo
... 1966
Totò Innocenti / Frate Cicillo
... 1966
Serafino Benvenuti
... 1965
il frate
... 1965
Rag. Antonio Gargiulo (ep. Amore e morte)
... 1965
Totò
... 1965
Filiberto Comanducci
... 1964
Totò Baby / il Padre
... 1964
... 1964
... 1964
Col. Antonio Cavalli
... 1963
Antonio La Trippa
... 1963
Marc'Antonio / Totonno
... 1963
Nini Cantachiaro
... 1963
Urbano Cacace (segment "Il Vigile Ignoto")
... 1963
Pasquale Cicciacalda / Don Manuel
... 1963
commissario Antonio Saracino
... 1963
frate bersagliere
... 1963
Colonnello Di Maggio
... 1963
Nini
... 1962
Antonio La Puzza / Amministratore di Canarinis
... 1962
lo smemorato
... 1962
Galeazzo / Carlo / Scipione / Antonio / Laudomia / Pasquale
... 1962
Totokamen
... 1962
Antonio Capurro
... 1961
Antonio LoRuffo
... 1961
Dott. Biagio Tanzarella
... 1961
Antonio Barbacane
... 1961
Antonio Guardalavecchia
... 1960
Umberto 'Infortunio' Pennazzuto
... 1960
Antonio Di Cosimo
... 1960
Cavalier Antonio Cocozza
... 1960
Ottone Degli Ulivi, detto Zazà
... 1960
L'Algerino
... 1960
Cesare Posalaquaglia
... 1959
Il nonno illuminato
... 1959
Commissario Di Savio
... 1959
Torquato Pezzella
... 1959
Totò Scorceletti
... 1959
Pasquale Belafronte
... 1958
Marchese Gastone de Chemantel / Chateau-Boiron / il vagabondo Totò
... 1958
Giuseppe La Paglia
... 1958
Barone Luigi Fontana
... 1958
Antonio Vignarello
... 1958
Dante Cruciani
... 1958
Il Professore
... 1958
Michele Spillone detto Mike
... 1957
Antonio
... 1956
Antonio Caponi
... 1956
Duca Gagliardo della Forcoletta
... 1956
Antonio Buonocore
... 1956
Gennaro Vaccariello
... 1955
Professor Semprini
... 1955
Antonio La Quaglia
... 1955
Totò Esposito
... 1955
Antonio Marchi
... 1955
Antonio Caccavallo
... 1955
... 1955
Gennaro Piselli
... 1954
Don Saverio Petrillo (segment "Il guappo")
... 1954
Felice Sciosciammocca
... 1954
Tapioca
... 1954
Don Felice Sciosciammocca
... 1954
Dionillo
... 1954
Salvatore Lojacono
... 1954
Rosario Chiarchiaro
... 1954
Tottons
... 1953
Rocco Bardelli
... 1953
Felice Sciosciammocca
... 1953
Prof. Paolino
... 1953
Antonio Scaparro
... 1952
Ercole Pappalardo
... 1952
Antonio Scannagatti
... 1952
Ferdinando Esposito
... 1951
Totò De Pasquale
... 1951
Piero / Paolo / Totò
... 1951
Il barone Antonio Peletti
... 1950
Antonio Sapone
... 1950
Totò Esposito
... 1950
Antonio Della Buffas
... 1950
Figaro
... 1950
Pasquale Miele
... 1950
... 1950
Antonio Lumaconi / Totò le Moko
... 1949
Antonio De Fazio
... 1949
Beniamino Lomacchio
... 1949
Nino, il fantasista
... 1949
... 1949
Prof. Totò Casamandrei
... 1948
Nicolino Capece
... 1948
Gasparre
... 1947
Gobbone il cammello (narratore)
... 1947
Aristide Tromboni
... 1945
... 1943
Nicolino & Gelsomino & Antonino
... 1941
Mastro Agostino Miciacio
... 1940
Barone Tolomeo dei Tolomei
... 1939
Conte Toto di Torretota
... 1937