Totò

Biography

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.

Most Known For

Cinépanorama

as Self

Roman Tales

as Professor Semprini

The Overtaxed

as Torquato Pezzella

Totòtruffa '62

as Antonio LoRuffo

Toto the Sheik

as Antonio Sapone

Forza Italia!

as Self (archive footage)

Slave Girl

as Gobbone il cammello (narratore)

Totò Looking for a House

as Beniamino Lomacchio

Figaro qua... Figaro là

as Figaro

Totò sexy

as Nini Cantachiaro

The Witches

as Ciancicato Miao (segment "La Terra vista dalla Luna")

Big Deal on Madonna Street

as Dante Cruciani

Il coraggio

as Gennaro Vaccariello

Toto, Peppino, and the Hussy

as Antonio Caponi

The Hawks and the Sparrows

as Totò Innocenti / Frate Cicillo

Totò, Peppino e i fuorilegge

as Antonio

Cops and Robbers

as Ferdinando Esposito

Totò Seeks Peace

as Gennaro Piselli

The Shortest Day

as frate bersagliere

The Gold of Naples

as Don Saverio Petrillo (segment "Il guappo")