Alberto Sordi, biography of the Italian actor

When he died, we all felt orphaned because Alberto Sordi, “the National Albertone”, was not just a great actor. He was a life partner, an older brother, a father who threw all defects in our faces. But he too is a connoisseur of the merits of us Italians . Romanaccio de Roma , he had nevertheless played many parts, with many accents, and each time he transformed himself masterfully. This great personality of our cinema has really traveled the whole twentieth century together with the country.

A career that began very early

Alberto Sordi was born on June 20, 1920 in Rome , the son of two teachers (his father was also a musician). Growing up in the province, he had not yet graduated when I began my first experiences in radio and with the money I earned I try the Academy of Dramatic Art in Milan, where he was not admitted, however. Back in Rome, he supported himself by working on the radio, as a voice actor (his was the Italian voice of Ollio) and as an extra in silent films.

He was hired by a magazine company and began his theatrical career, which also saved him from World War II. He was drafted, but I participate as a member of the Band of the Royal Army and therefore I never arrive to leave for the front. At the end of the war, the most important participations in the films of the reborn Italy began.

The great success of “Albertone”

In 1953 he became the protagonist of the film Lo Sceicco Bianco (by Federico Fellini) and his skills pave the way for a sensational success. With the same director I play a small role in I Vitelloni, which paradoxically made him emerge even more than the first leading role. From here followed the films of Steno ( A Day in the Magistrate’s Court, An American in Rome, Little Post …) which launched him as the only true film star of the time.

For ten years he had to share the primacy with Toto, but from the 1960s onwards and until his death, Alberto Sordi starred in hundreds of character films, impersonating the “average Italian” in his beauty and ugliness. The dramatic interpretations of him are timeless – as Un Borghese Piccolo Piccolo, in the ferocious years of political terrorism, or as Lo Scopone Scientifico – which confirmed his immense skill.

The last years

A true actor is not afraid to reinvent himself and is not afraid of the passing of time. Alberto Sordi grew up and aged with cinema. He never looked for roles other than who he really was. As an elderly man, between the nineties and the 2000s, he played parts of old Italians with the same determination and wisdom with which he had given a face to the young people of the seventies. Moving, despite the bitter irony, his latest films: Nestore, ultima corsa and Marry me papa .

Deaf and died in his sleep on the evening of February 24, 2003 at the age of 82. A few days earlier he had still appeared on TV, in shape despite his age. He left a huge legacy, not just material, which made everyone discover his long dedication to charity and his generosity of him. He never married, and everyone believed he was a selfish and stingy bachelor … instead he had given, all his life, money and hope to many entities in support of causes against poverty.

Alberto Sordi films

Here it is, to end our story about Alberto, the filmography of the Roman actor, considering only the films in which he participated:

• Scipione l’Africano, directed by Carmine Gallone (1937) as an extra
• The Fierce Saladin, directed by Mario Bonnard (1937) as an extra
• Princess Tarakanova, by Mario Soldati (1938)
• The night of mockery, by Carlo Campogalliani (1939)
• Hearts in the Storm, by Carlo Campogalliani (1940)
• The Bravo of Venice, by Carlo Campogalliani (1941)
• The ladies of the villa next door, by Gian Paolo Rosmino (1942)
• Giarabub, directed by Goffredo Alessandrini (1942)
• I 3 Eaglets, by Mario Mattoli (1942)
• Miss, by Laszlo Kish (1942)
• Casanova Would Do That !, directed by Carlo Ludovico Bragaglia (1942)
• Sant’Elena, a small island, directed by Renato Simoni and Umberto Scarpelli (1943)
• Three Girls Seeking a Husband, by Duilio Coletti (1944)
• Equestrian Circus Za-bum (episode Final Gallop from the circus), directed by Mario Mattoli (1944)
• Who Saw Him?, By Goffredo Alessandrini (1945)
• The Innocent Casimiro, by Carlo Campogalliani (1945)
• The miseries of Mr. Travet, by Mario Soldati (1945)
• The wind sang me a song, directed by Camillo Mastrocinque (1947)
• The Crime of Giovanni Episcopo, directed by Alberto Lattuada (1947)
• Il Passatore, directed by Duilio Coletti (1947)
• What Times !, by Giorgio Bianchi (1948)
• Under the sun of Rome, by Renato Castellani (1948)
• Mamma mia, what an impression !, directed by Roberto Savarese (1951)
• Waitress beautiful presence …, directed by Giorgio Pastina (1951)
• The Tuner Has Arrived, directed by Duilio Coletti (1951)
• Toto and the Kings of Rome, by Steno and Mario Monicelli (1951)
• The White Sheikh, by Federico Fellini (1952)
• I vitelloni, directed by Federico Fellini (1953)
• Songs, songs, songs, directed by Domenico Paolella episode Io cerco la Titina (1953)
• We are in the gallery, directed by Mauro Bolognini (1953)
• Two Nights with Cleopatra, by Mario Mattoli (1954)
• Amori di half a century (postwar episode 1920), directed by Mario Chiari (1954)
• A Day in the District Court, by Steno (1953)
• Our times – Zibaldone n. 2, directed by Alessandro Blasetti episode Excuse me, but …, (1954)
• Marriage, directed by Antonio Petrucci (1954)
• The bother (Via Padova 46), directed by Giorgio Bianchi (1954)
• Tripoli, beautiful soil of love, by Ferruccio Cerio (1954)
• Gran Varieta (Fregoli episode), directed by Domenico Paolella (1954)
• Merry squadron, by Paolo Moffa (1954)
• The Seducer, by Franco Rossi (1954)
• It Happened at the Police Station, directed by Giorgio Simonelli (1954)
• A Parisian in Rome, by Erich Kobler (1954)
• An American in Rome, by Steno (1954)
• The art of getting by, directed by Luigi Zampa (1954)
• The Sign of Venus, by Dino Risi (1955)
• Goodnight… Lawyer!, Directed by Giorgio Bianchi (1955)
• A Hero of Our Times, by Mario Monicelli (1955)
• The Beauty of Rome, by Luigi Comencini (1955)
• It Happened in the Penitentiary, directed by Giorgio Bianchi (1955)
• Bravissimo, directed by Luigi Filippo D’Amico (1955)
• Little Mail, by Steno (1955)
• The Bachelor, by Antonio Pietrangeli (1956)
• The Parrots, directed by Bruno Paolinelli (1956)
• Guard, elected guard, sergeant and marshal, directed by Mauro Bolognini (1956)
• My Son Nero, directed by Steno (1956)
• Permit Me, Father !, by Mario Bonnard (1956)
• Era di Friday 17, by Mario Soldati (1956)
• The Dollars Are Coming !, directed by Mario Costa (1957)
• Souvenir d’Italie, directed by Antonio Pietrangeli (1957)
• The Count Max, directed by Giorgio Bianchi (1957)
• A Farewell to Arms, by Charles Vidor (1957)
• The Doctor and the Sorcerer, by Mario Monicelli (1957)
• Thief He, Thief She, by Luigi Zampa (1958)
• The Husband, by Nanni Loy and Gianni Puccini (1957)
• Fortunella, directed by Eduardo De Filippo (1958)
• Sunday and always Sunday, by Camillo Mastrocinque (1958)
• The Electric Widow (The Seventh Heaven), directed by Raymond Bernard (1958)
• Venice, the Moon and You, by Dino Risi (1958)
• Summer Tales, by Gianni Franciolini (1958)
• Hell in the City, by Renato Castellani (1959)
• The Young Lion (Oh, que Mambo!), By John Berry (1959)
• Policarpo, Writing Officer, Directed by Mario Soldati (1959)
• The Moralist, by Giorgio Bianchi (1959)
• I Magliari, directed by Francesco Rosi (1959)
• Winter Holidays, by Camillo Mastrocinque (1959)
• French Riviera, directed by Vittorio Sala (1959)
• The Great War, by Mario Monicelli (1959)
• The Widower, by Dino Risi (1959)
• Short Loves in Palma de Majorca, directed by Giorgio Bianchi (1959)
• Gastone, directed by Mario Bonnard (1960)
• Everyone at home, by Luigi Comencini (1960)
• The Vigilant, by Luigi Zampa (1960)
• Crimen, directed by Mario Camerini (1960)
• The Two Enemies, by Guy Hamilton (1961)
• The Last Judgment, directed by Vittorio De Sica (1961)
• A Difficult Life, by Dino Risi (1961)
• The Commissioner, by Luigi Comencini (1962)
• Mafioso, directed by Alberto Lattuada (1962)
• The Devil, by Gian Luigi Polidoro (1963)
• The boom, directed by Vittorio De Sica (1963)
• The master of Vigevano, directed by Elio Petri (1963)
• Forbidden Temptations, by Osvaldo Civirani (1963)
• My Lady, directed by Tinto Brass, Luigi Comencini and Mauro Bolognini (1964)
• The Flying Saucer, by Tinto Brass (1964)
• Italian laughter, various directors (1964)
• The three faces, episode Latin lover, directed by Franco Indovina (1965)
• Quei temerari sulle macchine volanti (Those magnificent men in their flying machines, or: how I flew from London to Paris in 25 hours and 11 minutes), regia di Ken Annakin (1965)
• The complexes episode Guglielmo il dentone, directed by Luigi Filippo D’Amico (1965)
• Thrilling episode L’autostrada del sole, directed by Carlo Lizzani (1965)
• Made in Italy, regied by Nanni Loy (1965)
• London Smoke, by Alberto Sordi (1966)
• Our husbands, directed by Luigi Filippo D’Amico episode Roberta’s husband (1966)
• The fairies, episode Fata Marta directed by Antonio Pietrangeli (1966)
• Excuse me, are you for or against ?, directed by Alberto Sordi (1966)
• The witches, episode Senso civico directed by Mauro Bolognini (1967)
• An Italian in America, by Alberto Sordi (1967)
• The Healthcare Doctor, directed by Luigi Zampa (1968)
• Will our heroes be able to find their friend who has mysteriously disappeared in Africa ?, directed by Ettore Scola (1968)
• My Love Help Me, by Alberto Sordi (1969)
• In the year of the Lord, by Luigi Magni (1969)
• The professor. dr. Guido Tersilli, head of the Villa Celeste clinic with an agreement with the mutuals, directed by Luciano Salce (1969)
• General contestation, episode Il prete directed by Luigi Zampa (1970)
• The President of Borgorosso Football Club, directed by Luigi Filippo D’Amico (1970)
• The couples (episodes La camera, directed by Alberto Sordi, and The Lion, directed by Vittorio De Sica) (1970)
• Inmate awaiting trial, by Nanni Loy (1971)
• Handsome, honest, emigrant from Australia, he would marry fellow villager illibata, directed by Luigi Zampa (1971)
• The scientific scopone, directed by Luigi Comencini (1972)
• The most beautiful evening of my life, directed by Ettore Scola (1972)
• Rome, directed by Federico Fellini (1972) (uncredited)
• Anastasia my brother, directed by Steno (1973)
• Stardust, directed by Alberto Sordi (1973)
• While there is war there is hope, directed by Alberto Sordi (1974)
• What Sign Are You?, Episode Il fuoco directed by Sergio Corbucci (1975)
• A Smile, a Slap, a Kiss on the Mouth, directed by Mario Morra (1975)
• And Fellini’s Casanova?, Directed by Gianfranco Angelucci and Liliana Betti (1975)
• The common sense of modesty (first episode), directed by Alberto Sordi (1976)
• Those strange occasions (episode The Elevator), directed by Luigi Comencini (1976)
• A Little Bourgeois, by Mario Monicelli (1977)
• The new monsters, directed by Mario Monicelli, Dino Risi and Ettore Scola (1977)
• Where are you going on vacation ?, episode 3 Smart holidays, directed by Alberto Sordi (1978)
• The traffic jam, directed by Luigi Comencini (1978)
• Il testimone (The witness), directed by Jean-Pierre Mocky (1978)
• The imaginary patient, directed by Tonino Cervi (1979)
• Me and Catherine, directed by Alberto Sordi (1980)
• The Marquis del Grillo, by Mario Monicelli (1981)
• I Know That You Know That I Know, directed by Alberto Sordi (1982)
• Traveling with Pope, by Alberto Sordi (1982)
• Il tassinaro, directed by Alberto Sordi (1983)
• Life begins at…, directed by Ettore Scola – short film (1983)
• All Inside, directed by Alberto Sordi (1984)
• Bertoldo, Bertoldino and Cacasenno, directed by Mario Monicelli (1984)
• I’m a Paranormal Phenomenon, directed by Sergio Corbucci (1985)
• Too Strong, by Carlo Verdone (1986)
• A Taxinaro in New York, by Alberto Sordi (1987)
• A Shot of Life, by Enrico Oldoini (1988)
• L’avaro, directed by Tonino Cervi (1990)
• In the name of the sovereign people, directed by Luigi Magni (1990)
• Christmas Holidays ’91, directed by Enrico Oldoini (1991)
• Acquitted for Committing the Crime, directed by Alberto Sordi (1992)
• Nestore, the last race, directed by Alberto Sordi (1994)
• Novel of a poor young man, directed by Ettore Scola (1995)
• Forbidden Encounters, directed by Alberto Sordi (1998)