Eduardo Ciannelli(1889-1969)
- Actor
Eduardo Ciannelli was born on the beautiful island of Ischia in the Bay
of Naples, which is renowned for its thermal baths. His father, a
physician, owned a health spa there and Eduardo briefly followed the
same career path and studied medicine at the University of Naples,
graduating as a fully qualified doctor. His calling, however, lay
elsewhere. He first came to prominence as a leading baritone opera
star, performing at La Scala and touring internationally. Then he
reinvented himself as a dramatic actor of stage and screen, first in
Europe, and, from 1919, in America.
He first performed on Broadway in the short-lived play 'Always You'
(1920), then had better roles in 'Rose-Marie' (1924-1926), 'The Front
Page' (1928-29, as Diamond Louis, establishing his stereotypical later
screen persona) and 'Uncle Vanya' (1930,as Telegin). He reprised his
stage role from 'Reunion in Vienna' (1931-32) in the MGM movie of 1933.
With his heavily-lined face, piercing eyes and erudite Italian-accented
manners, Ciannelli was soon cast as Italian gangsters (apparently,
there was also some alleged resemblance to the infamous Lucky Luciano).
One of his most celebrated roles was as Trock Estrella in
Winterset (1936) (re-creating another
previous stage performance), which the New York Times review of
December 4 described as the film's 'most compelling characterization'.
This set the pattern for many of Ciannelli's later efforts, such as the
smooth, elegant racketeer Johnny Vanning in
Marked Woman (1937) or Rockey in
Law of the Underworld (1938).
Other notable villains in his repertoire include the maniacal leader of
the Kali sect in Gunga Din (1939) and
the suave evil genius, titular villain in the Republic serial
Mysterious Doctor Satan (1940).
Attempting to shake-off his typecast 'bad guy' image, Eduardo appeared
as the jovial speakeasy proprietor Giono in
Kitty Foyle (1940). Following that, his
screen roles began to diminish. Changing his name to Edward Ciannelli
failed to re-ignite his career. In 1952, he returned to Italy to appear
in continental co-productions, occasionally re-surfacing in Hollywood
sword-and-sandal epics
(Attila (1954),Helen of Troy (1956),
Love Slaves of the Amazons (1957)).
He also continued to portray Godfather-types in film
(The Brotherhood (1968),Stiletto (1969))
and on television (Naked City,The Untouchables,I Spy). Among his last
roles of note, one must include
Houseboat (1958), as Arturo Zaccardi,
and a recurring character part, jazz club owner Waldo, in the
television series
Johnny Staccato (1959).
Eduardo died in Rome in October 1969 and is interred at the Cimitero
Flaminio in Lazio.
of Naples, which is renowned for its thermal baths. His father, a
physician, owned a health spa there and Eduardo briefly followed the
same career path and studied medicine at the University of Naples,
graduating as a fully qualified doctor. His calling, however, lay
elsewhere. He first came to prominence as a leading baritone opera
star, performing at La Scala and touring internationally. Then he
reinvented himself as a dramatic actor of stage and screen, first in
Europe, and, from 1919, in America.
He first performed on Broadway in the short-lived play 'Always You'
(1920), then had better roles in 'Rose-Marie' (1924-1926), 'The Front
Page' (1928-29, as Diamond Louis, establishing his stereotypical later
screen persona) and 'Uncle Vanya' (1930,as Telegin). He reprised his
stage role from 'Reunion in Vienna' (1931-32) in the MGM movie of 1933.
With his heavily-lined face, piercing eyes and erudite Italian-accented
manners, Ciannelli was soon cast as Italian gangsters (apparently,
there was also some alleged resemblance to the infamous Lucky Luciano).
One of his most celebrated roles was as Trock Estrella in
Winterset (1936) (re-creating another
previous stage performance), which the New York Times review of
December 4 described as the film's 'most compelling characterization'.
This set the pattern for many of Ciannelli's later efforts, such as the
smooth, elegant racketeer Johnny Vanning in
Marked Woman (1937) or Rockey in
Law of the Underworld (1938).
Other notable villains in his repertoire include the maniacal leader of
the Kali sect in Gunga Din (1939) and
the suave evil genius, titular villain in the Republic serial
Mysterious Doctor Satan (1940).
Attempting to shake-off his typecast 'bad guy' image, Eduardo appeared
as the jovial speakeasy proprietor Giono in
Kitty Foyle (1940). Following that, his
screen roles began to diminish. Changing his name to Edward Ciannelli
failed to re-ignite his career. In 1952, he returned to Italy to appear
in continental co-productions, occasionally re-surfacing in Hollywood
sword-and-sandal epics
(Attila (1954),Helen of Troy (1956),
Love Slaves of the Amazons (1957)).
He also continued to portray Godfather-types in film
(The Brotherhood (1968),Stiletto (1969))
and on television (Naked City,The Untouchables,I Spy). Among his last
roles of note, one must include
Houseboat (1958), as Arturo Zaccardi,
and a recurring character part, jazz club owner Waldo, in the
television series
Johnny Staccato (1959).
Eduardo died in Rome in October 1969 and is interred at the Cimitero
Flaminio in Lazio.