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Totò

Totò

Actor · 1898 – 1967 · Naples, Campania, Italy

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.

Movies24

  • Movie7.2

    Totò, Fabrizi e i giovani d'oggi

    Toto, Fabrizi and the Young People Today

    1960 · 75 votes

  • Movie8.1

    I soliti ignoti

    Big Deal on Madonna Street

    1958 · 805 votes

  • Movie7.3

    L'oro di Napoli

    The Gold of Naples

    1954 · 137 votes

  • Movie7.6

    Totòtruffa '62

    1961 · 129 votes

  • Movie6.2

    Racconti romani

    Roman Tales

    1955 · 21 votes

  • Movie6.0

    Le streghe

    The Witches

    1967 · 79 votes

  • Movie7.4

    Operazione San Gennaro

    The Treasure of San Gennaro

    1966 · 194 votes

  • Movie6.8

    Totò sceicco

    Toto the Sheik

    1950 · 59 votes

  • Movie6.5

    Dov'è la libertà...?

    Where Is Freedom?

    1954 · 23 votes

  • Movie6.7
  • Movie6.2

    Figaro qua... Figaro là

    1950 · 17 votes

  • Movie7.5

    Slave Girl

    1947 · 2 votes

  • Movie7.2

    La loi c'est la loi

    The Law Is the Law

    1958 · 74 votes

  • Movie7.1

    I tartassati

    The Overtaxed

    1959 · 114 votes

  • Movie6.4

    Totò Story

    1968 · 24 votes

  • Movie6.9

    Risate di gioia

    The Passionate Thief

    1960 · 54 votes

  • Movie6.4

    Totò e Marcellino

    Toto and Marcellino

    1958 · 19 votes

  • Movie5.8

    La mandragola

    The Mandrake

    1965 · 31 votes

  • Movie7.2

    Uccellacci e uccellini

    The Hawks and the Sparrows

    1966 · 376 votes

  • Movie5.2

    Animali pazzi

    Animal Crackers

    1939 · 21 votes

  • Movie8.0

    Forza Italia!

    1977 · 3 votes

  • Movie6.6
  • Movie8.0

    Miseria e nobiltà

    Poverty and Nobility

    1954 · 302 votes

  • Movie6.6

    Il coraggio

    1955 · 22 votes

Series1