Victor Spinetti
Known For
Acting
Born
1933-09-02 in Cwm, Ebbw Vale, Monmouthshire, Wales
Died
2012-06-19
Biography
Victor Sinetti (born Vittorio Giorgio Andre Spinetti) was a Welsh comedy actor, author and poet. He appeared in dozens of films and stage plays throughout his 50-year career, including the three 1960s Beatles films "A Hard Day's Night", "Help!" and "Magical Mystery Tour". Born in Cwm, Ebbw Vale, Wales, Spinetti was educated at Monmouth School and the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in Cardiff, of which he became a Fellow. After various menial jobs, Spinetti pursued a stage career and was closely associated with Joan Littlewood's Theatre Workshop in London, England. Among the productions were "Fings Ain't Wot They Used T'Be" and "Oh! What a Lovely War" (1963), which transferred to New York City and for which he won a Tony Award. Spinetti's film career developed simultaneously; his dozens of film appearances would include Zeffirelli's "The Taming of the Shrew", "Under Milk Wood", "The Return of the Pink Panther" and "Under the Cherry Moon". During his later career, Spinetti acted with the Royal Shakespeare Company, in such roles as Lord Foppington in "The Relapse" and the Archbishop in "Richard III", at Stratford-upon-Avon; and, in 1990, he appeared in "The Krays". In 2008 he appeared in a one-man show, "A Very Private Diary", which toured the UK as "A Very Private Diary ... Revisited!", recounting his life story. Spinetti was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2011 and died of the disease in June 2012.
Most Known For
The Saint
as Commissionaire
The Merv Griffin Show
as Self
BBC Play of the Month
as Hatch
BBC Play of the Month
as Trivelin
New Tricks
Omnibus
as Self
The Beatles Anthology
as Foot (archive footage)
The Paradise Club
as Elliott Rossini
Mistral's Daughter
as Bianchi
Hardcore
as Duncan
Romeo.Juliet
as Tybalt (voice)
Richard the Lionheart
as Pierre
Emily
as Richard Walker
The Return of the Pink Panther
as Hotel Concierge
3-2-1
SuperTed
as Texas Pete
The Taming of the Shrew
as Hortensio
Help!
as Prof. Foot
A Hard Day's Night
as T.V. Director
