Acting
Totò
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.
Filmography
Browse movies and TV shows featuring Totò
Lo smemorato di Collegno
A man is hospitalized in a neurological clinic, suffering from amnesia. After seeing his photo in the newspaper...
The Witches
Five short stories loosely dealing with the roles of women in society. A superstar actress travels to a mountai...
Latin Lovers
The film is composed of five episodes which depict Italians' love lives in the 1960s.
The Shortest Day
Two jerks are enlisted in the Italian army during W.W.1 and by pure luck manage to help win an important battle.
Big Deal on Madonna Street
Best friends Peppe and Mario are thieves, but they're not very good at it. Still, Peppe thinks that he's finall...
We Are Cinema
An Italian documentary about Italian cinema.
Le motorizzate
Five episodes about women drivers during the economic boom.
Totò, Peppino and... the Sweet Life
Antonio goes to Rome to represent his fellow peasants, to request a highway that will be built in their region....
The Hawks and the Sparrows
A man and his son take an allegorical stroll through life with a talking bird that spouts social and political...
Gli onorevoli
Some political candidates are determined to win the electors' preference during an election campaign in Italy.
The Monk of Monza
Pasquale takes all of his 12 children and runs away from Monza, looking for a house of a wealthy and generous a...
The Gold of Naples
A tribute to Naples, this film presents six episodes: a clown exploited by a gangster, a pizza seller losing he...
Toto and the Women
Antonio Scaparro (Toto) is obsessed for women. He invents his own way to hide from them - in the attic of his h...
The Band of Honest Men
Italy, mid '60s. Three guys from a poor neighbourhood try to get rich by printing fake money using the fact tha...
La cambiale
The Posalaquaglia cousins are two small scammers and make a living of expedients: Dante receives as recognition...
Cinecittà, de Mussolini à la Dolce Vita
Cinecitta is today known as the center of the Italian film industry. But there is a dark past. The film city wa...
The Law Is the Law
Assola is an imaginary village on the border between Italy and France and the borderline crosses the village it...
Toto the Third Man
In a small village two twin brothers are of opposite characters. One is mayor of the town, gruff and precise. T...
Totò, Vittorio and the Doctor
The fake private detective Mike Spillone is hired by two old ladies to find out if Brigitte, the wife of their...
The Overtaxed
Mr. Pezzella owns and operates a well-established luxury-clothing store. He does not like and does not consider...
You're on Your Own
In post war Italy during the fifties it is very difficult to find a house to rent and a family ends up living i...
Roman Tales
Alvaro is been in jail and so he consider himself the most fit to lead his three friends Mario, Otello and Spar...
47 Talking Corpses
Greedy Baron Antonio Peletti refuses to give to his town the heredity left by his father, a box full of preciou...
The Treasure of San Gennaro
A pair of Americans want to perform the greatest robbery: the treasure of San Gennaro, in Napoli.
Rita the American Girl
Professor Serafino Benvenuti is a master of classical music who has the passion of the orchestra director. Howe...
Neapolitan Turk
Naples/Sorrento, mid 20s. A couple of small thieves conceive a scam whereby one of them dresses up as a eunuch...
Slave Girl
Tongue-in-cheek adventure tale of an American attempting to free sailors held as hostages and becoming involved...
Seven Hours of Troubles
Totò is a tailor but not a great tailor. He is married and his son is to be baptized and Totò hopes that his gr...
The Two Marshals
September 1943: in the general confusion a thief dressed as a priest and a sergeant exchange clothes and roles.
Toto and the Kings of Rome
An aging, down-and-out public employee must face the primary school examination.
Yvonne of the Night
Carlo Rutelli falls in love with the beautiful variety singer Yvonne la Nuit, but his father opposes the weddin...
Totó in color
In the first Italian film to be shot in color, Totò portrays a musician named Antonio Scannagatti who strongly...
What Ever Happened to Baby Toto?
A pair of brothers, Baby Toto and Pietro, sons of different mothers, live stealing suitcases at the Termini Sta...
Toto, Peppino, and the Hussy
Antonio, Peppino and Lucia are three brothers who live in the country near Naples. Lucia's son, Gianni, goes to...
Sua Eccellenza si fermò a mangiare
A petty thief pretends he is Mussolini's personal physician, wins the confidence of a family, and succeeds in s...