Tony Franciosa
Italian postcard. Rotalfoto No. 673.
Anthony Franciosa, pseudonym of Anthony George Papaleo Jr. (New York, 25 October 1928 - Los Angeles, 19 January 2006) was an American actor also known as Tony Franciosa.
Anthony George Papaleo was born in New York in 1928 into a family of Italian descent (his grandparents emigrated from Melfi, in the province of Potenza, Italy, in 1890). When his career was already underway, he adopted the surname Franciosa, which was his mother's maiden name, with whom he lived most of his childhood and adolescence, since his parents divorced shortly after his birth and his father left without Anthony jr. He began studying acting when he was only 18 years old, thanks to a scholarship that allowed him to attend the prestigious Actor's Studio in New York and to meet talented young actors such as Marlon Brando, Rod Steiger, James Dean and Paul Newman, the latter of whom would become a great friend. After graduating, his breakthrough to success came almost by chance: while visiting the YMCA for a dance class, he was intrigued by a theatre rehearsal and decided to audition for a part. He made his debut in 1955 in End as a Man, written by Calder Willingham and directed by Jack Garfein, opposite Ben Gazzara, who won a Theatre World Award for his performance and, after appearing in the film version, was associated with the Actor's Studio, as Franciosa had been. The same year, he played the role that would establish his reputation: the character of Polo Pope, the brother of a drug addict veteran of the Korean War, in the play A Hat Full of Rain, which won him a Tony Award nomination and brought him to the attention of Hollywood.
His film debut was in Robert Wise's comedy This Could Be the Night (1957), with Paul Douglas and Jean Simmons. The same year he took part in the film adaptation of A Hat Full of Rain, directed by Fred Zinnemann, which earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Actor in a Leading Role in 1958, the Coppa Volpi and the Special Jury Prize at the Venice International Film Festival. Then he was chosen by Elia Kazan for the role of Joey DePalma in the film A Face in the Crowd (1957), an interpretation that would definitively consecrate him as a star of the big screen. In this period he appeared in films such as Wild is the Wind (1958) by George Cukor, opposite Anna Magnani, The Long Hot Summer (1959) by Martin Ritt and The Naked Maja (1959) by Henry Koster, based on the life of Spanish painter Francisco Goya. In the 1960s and 1970s Franciosa's popularity began to wane, mainly due to her psychological difficulties in coping with an existence constantly in the spotlight and, to a large extent, his difficult character. He began to appear in less successful productions, such as the romantic film Go Naked in the World (1961), opposite Gina Lollobrigida, the comedies Period of Adjustment (1962) and The Pleasure Seekers (1964), and began to frequent television sets more frequently, In the following decades, he starred in series such as Valentine's Day (1964), The Name of the Game (1966--1968), Search (1972-1973), Matt Helm (1975-1976), and Finder of Lost Loves (1984-1985).
Franciosa's experience in Italian cinema was also important, including appearances in films such as Mauro Bolognini's Senilità/ careless (1962), based on Italo Svevo's novel of the same name, Antonio Margheriti's horror film Nella stretta morsa del ragno/ The Web of the Spider (1971), Alberto Lattuada's La cicala/ The Cricket (1980), Pupi Avati's romantic Aiutami a sognare/ help Me Dream (1981), and Dario Argento's Tenebre/ Shadows (1982). Franciosa's last screen appearance was in 1995 in Harold Becker's City Hall, opposite Al Pacino. The actor died in 2006, at the age of 77, as a result of a stroke, at the UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles.
Sources: IMDb, English and Italian Wikipedia.
Tony Franciosa
Italian postcard. Rotalfoto No. 673.
Anthony Franciosa, pseudonym of Anthony George Papaleo Jr. (New York, 25 October 1928 - Los Angeles, 19 January 2006) was an American actor also known as Tony Franciosa.
Anthony George Papaleo was born in New York in 1928 into a family of Italian descent (his grandparents emigrated from Melfi, in the province of Potenza, Italy, in 1890). When his career was already underway, he adopted the surname Franciosa, which was his mother's maiden name, with whom he lived most of his childhood and adolescence, since his parents divorced shortly after his birth and his father left without Anthony jr. He began studying acting when he was only 18 years old, thanks to a scholarship that allowed him to attend the prestigious Actor's Studio in New York and to meet talented young actors such as Marlon Brando, Rod Steiger, James Dean and Paul Newman, the latter of whom would become a great friend. After graduating, his breakthrough to success came almost by chance: while visiting the YMCA for a dance class, he was intrigued by a theatre rehearsal and decided to audition for a part. He made his debut in 1955 in End as a Man, written by Calder Willingham and directed by Jack Garfein, opposite Ben Gazzara, who won a Theatre World Award for his performance and, after appearing in the film version, was associated with the Actor's Studio, as Franciosa had been. The same year, he played the role that would establish his reputation: the character of Polo Pope, the brother of a drug addict veteran of the Korean War, in the play A Hat Full of Rain, which won him a Tony Award nomination and brought him to the attention of Hollywood.
His film debut was in Robert Wise's comedy This Could Be the Night (1957), with Paul Douglas and Jean Simmons. The same year he took part in the film adaptation of A Hat Full of Rain, directed by Fred Zinnemann, which earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Actor in a Leading Role in 1958, the Coppa Volpi and the Special Jury Prize at the Venice International Film Festival. Then he was chosen by Elia Kazan for the role of Joey DePalma in the film A Face in the Crowd (1957), an interpretation that would definitively consecrate him as a star of the big screen. In this period he appeared in films such as Wild is the Wind (1958) by George Cukor, opposite Anna Magnani, The Long Hot Summer (1959) by Martin Ritt and The Naked Maja (1959) by Henry Koster, based on the life of Spanish painter Francisco Goya. In the 1960s and 1970s Franciosa's popularity began to wane, mainly due to her psychological difficulties in coping with an existence constantly in the spotlight and, to a large extent, his difficult character. He began to appear in less successful productions, such as the romantic film Go Naked in the World (1961), opposite Gina Lollobrigida, the comedies Period of Adjustment (1962) and The Pleasure Seekers (1964), and began to frequent television sets more frequently, In the following decades, he starred in series such as Valentine's Day (1964), The Name of the Game (1966--1968), Search (1972-1973), Matt Helm (1975-1976), and Finder of Lost Loves (1984-1985).
Franciosa's experience in Italian cinema was also important, including appearances in films such as Mauro Bolognini's Senilità/ careless (1962), based on Italo Svevo's novel of the same name, Antonio Margheriti's horror film Nella stretta morsa del ragno/ The Web of the Spider (1971), Alberto Lattuada's La cicala/ The Cricket (1980), Pupi Avati's romantic Aiutami a sognare/ help Me Dream (1981), and Dario Argento's Tenebre/ Shadows (1982). Franciosa's last screen appearance was in 1995 in Harold Becker's City Hall, opposite Al Pacino. The actor died in 2006, at the age of 77, as a result of a stroke, at the UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles.
Sources: IMDb, English and Italian Wikipedia.