Historical Figures Codexery

Vittorio Gassman

Italian actor and director, known as Il Mattatore.

Vittorio Gassman was an Italian actor, director, and screenwriter born on 1 September 1922 in Genoa and died on 29 June 2000 in Rome.[1][2] The Treccani encyclopedia describes him as an actor and director of theatre and cinema, as well as a writer.[2] The nickname "Il Mattatore" originated from his performance in a television series.[3]

Quick Facts

Birth name
Vittorio Gassmann
Born
1 September 1922
Birthplace
Genoa, Italy
Died
29 June 2000
Place of death
Rome, Italy
Years active
1942–1999
Occupation
  • Actor
  • film director
  • writer
  • screenwriter
Partner
Juliette Mayniel (1964–1968)

Facts from the source article.

Life and work

Gassman was born to a German engineer father and an Italian Jewish mother, and he moved to Rome as a child to study at the National Academy of Dramatic Arts.[4][2] He played Stanley Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire, as well as roles in As You Like It and Oreste.[5][2] In 1952 he co-founded and co-directed the Teatro d'Arte Italiano with Luigi Squarzina, producing the first complete Hamlet in Italy.[5][2] The film Bitter Rice featured him in 1948.[6]

What the cited sources add

The Treccani encyclopedia notes that Gassman's mother was an actress in her youth and performed alongside him in Luigi Squarzina's Tre quarti di luna in the 1952-53 season.[2] A 2024 article states that as a child Gassman was uninterested in theatre, preferring to go to the stadium with his father while his mother and sister attended plays.[7] The same article reports that Gassman recalled his father as "a kind of giant, strong and cheerful".[7] According to the Rai Cultura account, the television program "Il mattatore" was a 10-episode show broadcast in 1959 on the Programma Nazionale, described as a "mixed spectacle".[8]

The Rai Cultura source adds that in the first episode Gassman staged a bullfight without bulls, playing the matador Don Giovanni Tenorio.[8] The Biografieonline account states that Gassman died at age 78 due to a cardiac crisis.[9]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Vittorio Gassman" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Born: 1 September 1922, Struppa (Genoa)Died: 29 June 2000, Rome, "Vittorio Gassman | BFI | BFI", Explore.bfi.org.uk; "Biografia di Vittorio Gassman", Biografieonline.it, 2004-01-13 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  2. "GASSMAN, Vittorio - Enciclopedia", Treccani. facts only, no text reused. treccani.it
  3. Wikipedia, "Vittorio Gassman" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Fenocchio, "Otello (1956) Vittorio Gassman - Salvo Randone - Anna Maria Ferrero", Teatro del Novecento, Programmi di sala, Riviste e Locandine, 2022-08-08; ""Il mattatore", 4 febbraio 1959 - Cinema", Rai Cultura (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Vittorio Gassman" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Vittorio Gassman Video | Celebrity Interview and Paparazzi", Ovguide.com; Markon.net srl, "Vittorio Gassman - Sito ufficiale", Vittoriogassman.it (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Vittorio Gassman" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "GASSMAN, Vittorio - Enciclopedia", Treccani; "Vittorio Gassman da giovane attore a il Mattatore", 2024-12-27 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Vittorio Gassman" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "GASSMAN, Vittorio - Enciclopedia", Treccani (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  7. "Vittorio Gassman da giovane attore a il Mattatore", 2024-12-27. facts only, no text reused. teatropertutti.it
  8. ""Il mattatore", 4 febbraio 1959 - Cinema", Rai Cultura. facts only, no text reused. raicultura.it
  9. "Biografia di Vittorio Gassman", Biografieonline.it, 2004-01-13. facts only, no text reused. biografieonline.it

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Vittorio Gassman (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

More in Writers & Journalists

Elsewhere in Historical Figures

Spotted an error? Know more?

Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced

Comments

Loading…
Open in the interactive codex →