Volonte, Gian Maria

Volonte, Gian Maria
▪ 1995

      Italian actor (b. April 9, 1933, Milan, Italy—d. Dec. 6, 1994, Florina, Greece), epitomized, with his chiseled features, hooded eyes, and scowling demeanour, the classic tough guy in such films as Sergio Leone's A Fistful of Dollars (1964; under the stage name John Wells), Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion (1970), and Lucky Luciano (1973). Noted for his charisma and intensity, Volonté was called the Italian Laurence Olivier, although admittedly more for his bearing than for his dramatic skills. He was most popular as a heavy, but it was his role as a diligent journalist in the 1983 Swiss film Death of Mario Ricci that earned him his highest artistic honour—the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. Other more sympathetic roles included Volonté's portrayal of antifascist Italian writer Carlo Levi in Christ Stopped at Eboli (1979), a good-hearted physician investigating a mysterious murder in Chronicle of a Death Foretold (1987), and an upstanding Sicilian judge in Open Doors (1990). Volonté's outspoken defense of militant leftist politics prompted him to refuse a lucrative Hollywood offer, declaring that his conscience would not allow him to accept such a large sum for work as an actor. Volonté began acting at the age of 17 with traveling theatre groups, and during the 1950s he appeared on television in adaptations of Dostoyevsky's The Idiot, Chekhov's Uncle Vanya, and Vittorio Alfieri's Saul. The actor was little known outside Europe. Volonté was on film location when he died in his hotel room after suffering a heart attack.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Volonte, Gian Maria — (1933 1994)    Actor. One of the most accomplished and distinctive actors in Italy in the postwar period, Volonte was also the foremost representative of a cinema of political commitment and social denunciation. Having graduated from the National …   Guide to cinema

  • Volonte, Gian Maria — (1933 1994)    Actor. One of the most accomplished and distinctive actors in Italy in the postwar period, Volonte was also the foremost representative of a cinema of political commitment and social denunciation. Having graduated from the National …   Historical dictionary of Italian cinema

  • Gian Maria Volonte — Gian Maria Volontè Gian Maria Volontè (* 9. April 1933 in Mailand, Italien; † 6. Dezember 1994 in Florina, Griechenland) war ein italienischer Schauspieler. Bekannt wurde er durch die Rolle des Gegenspielers von Clint Eastwood in …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Gian Maria Volonté — Gian Maria Volontè Gian Maria Volontè (* 9. April 1933 in Mailand, Italien; † 6. Dezember 1994 in Florina, Griechenland) war ein italienischer Schauspieler. Bekannt wurde er durch die Rolle des Gegenspielers von Clint Eastwood in …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Gian-Maria Volontè — Gian Maria Volontè Naissance 9 avril 1933 Milan, Italie …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Gian Maria Volonte — Gian Maria Volontè Gian Maria Volontè Gian Maria Volontè Naissance 9 avril 1933 Milan, Italie …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Gian Maria Volonté — Nombre real Gian Maria Volonté Nacimiento 9 de abril de 1933 …   Wikipedia Español

  • Gian Maria Volontè — (* 9. April 1933 in Mailand, Italien; † 6. Dezember 1994 in Florina, Griechenland) war ein italienischer Schauspieler. Leben Volontè absolvierte ein …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Gian Maria Volontè — Données clés Naissance 9 avri …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Gian Maria Volontè — Infobox actor bgcolour = silver name = Gian Maria Volontè imagesize = caption = Gian Maria Volontè in his later years birthdate = April 9 1933 location = Italy height = deathdate = December 6 1994 deathplace = birthname = othername = homepage =… …   Wikipedia

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