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Rossano Brazzi 1916 - 1994

Rossano Brazzi was born on September 18, 1916 in Bologna Italy, and died at age 78 years old on December 24, 1994 in Rome, Metropolitan City of Rome County, Lazio.

Rossano Brazzi

September 18, 1916

Bologna, Italy

December 24, 1994

Rome, Metropolitan City of Rome County, Lazio, Italy

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Rossano Brazzi Rossano Brazzi (1916 - 1994)

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Rossano Brazzi's History: 1916 - 1994

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Introduction

Movie Star "Summertime" and "South Pacific" Three Coins in the Fountain (1954) as Georgio Bianchi The Barefoot Contessa (1954) as Count Vincenzo Torlato-Favrini Summertime (1955) as Renato de Rossi Loser Takes All (1956) as Bertrand The Story of Esther Costello (1957) as Carlo Landi Interlude (1957) as Tonio Fischer Legend of the Lost (1957) as Paul Bonnard South Pacific (1958) as Emile De Becque A Certain Smile (1958) as Luc Ferrand Count Your Blessings (1959) as Charles Edouard de Valhubert Siege of Syracuse (1960) as Archimede Austerlitz (1960) as Lucien Bonaparte Mondo Cane (1962) as Himself The Light in the Piazza (1962) as Signor Naccarelli Rome Adventure (1962) as Roberto Orlandi Redhead (1962) as Fabio Three Fables of Love (1962) as Leo (segment "Le lièvre et le tortue") Dark Purpose (1964) as Count Paolo Barbarelli Instant Love (1964) - Claudio DeSantis The Battle of the Villa Fiorita (1965) as Lorenzo The Christmas That Almost Wasn't (1966) as Phineas T. Prune The Bobo (1967) as Carlos Matabosch Woman Times Seven (1967) as Giorgio (segment "Amateur Night") King of Africa (1968) as Dr. Hamilton Criminal Affair (1968) as Ross Simpson Krakatoa, East of Java (1969) as Giovanni Borghese The Italian Job (1969) as Beckerman The Adventurers (1970) as Baron de Coyne Mister Kingstreet's War (1971) as Major Bernadelli Drummer of Vengeance (1971) as The Sheriff The Great Waltz (1972) as Tedesco Frankenstein's Castle of Freaks (1974) as Count Frankenstein Dracula in the Provinces (1975) as Dr. Paluzzi Season for Assassins (1975) as Father Eugenio Political Asylum (1975) as Ambassador Lara Caribia (1978) Mr. Too Little (1978) as Zabo The Great Catherine and I (1980) as Arthur Omen III: The Final Conflict (1981) as DeCarlo The Far Pavilions (1982) Fear City (1984) as Carmine Final Justice (1985) as Don Lamanna Formula for a Murder (1985) as Dr. Sernich The Third Solution (1988) as Marini Fatal Frames - Fotogrammi mortali (1996) as Dr. Lucidi (final film role)
09/18

1916

Birthday

September 18, 1916

Birthdate

Bologna Italy

Birthplace

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Nationality & Locations

Italy.
Early Life & Education

In 1937, in his twenties, he earned his law degree, and was sent by his father to practice law in Rome with an established lawyer who was a friend of the family. While there he was approached by a theatrical company. As a young man, Rossano was quite athletic -- soccer, swimming, tennis, golf, fencing and boxing. He was particularly good at soccer, and assumed the role of goalkeeper for the Florentine college team, where he stayed for two years. During his university years he was also an amateur boxer. He quit boxing when he unintentionally but seriously hurt an opponent.
Religious Beliefs

Probably Catholic because he stayed married for 41 years.
Professional Career

Rossano Brazzi Biography Born September 18, 1916 in Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy Died December 24, 1994 in Rome, Lazio, Italy (neural virus) Height 6' (1.83 m) Rossano Brazzi was an Italian stage and film actor. He was married to Lydia Brazzi until her death, and to Ilse Fischer, his second wife, until his death. His first break into films came in 1942, when Zarah Leander's film studio was casting for a leading man to play opposite Leander in the film Damals (1943) (At That Time, Le Foyer Perdu). He's most familiar to English-speaking audiences for his role as Emile De Becque in South Pacific (1958), playing opposite Mitzi Gaynor. But "Summertime" made him a star. He died in Rome of complications following a neural virus, on December 24, 1994. Spouse (2) Ilse Fischer (1984 - 24 December 1994) Lydia Brazzi (25 January 1940 - 21 April 1981) ( her death) Trivia Was a Freemason. Claimed he could see the future in his dreams. He foretold his first girlfriend's illness/death, as well as wife Lydia's illness/death before their illnesses were even diagnosed. Brother of Oscar Brazzi. Uncle of Fabrizio Brazzi. In 1937, in his twenties, he earned his law degree, and was sent by his father to practice law in Rome with an established lawyer who was a friend of the family. While there he was approached by a theatrical company. As a young man, Rossano was quite athletic -- soccer, swimming, tennis, golf, fencing and boxing. He was particularly good at soccer, and assumed the role of goalkeeper for the Florentine college team, where he stayed for two years. During his university years he was also an amateur boxer. He quit boxing when he unintentionally but seriously hurt an opponent. The son of Adelmo, a shoemaker who later owned a leather factory, and Maria Ghedini Brazzi. His baptismal name stems from the fact that his father, when Rossano was conceived, was in military service and stationed in Rossano Veneto. Rossano as well as his siblings, Oscar and Franca, often worked for their father. A respected stage director in Italy. Made films in France, Germany, Brazil, Argentina, Spain and Great Britain. He starred in several popular telenovelas and TV movies in Italy and at least two European (and one American) television series. In 1940, Brazzi married Florentine Baroness Lidia Bertolini (1921-1981). She developed a serious endocrine dysfunction and the couple were unable to have children. She died of pancreatic cancer in 1981. Four years after his wife's death he married a German woman, Ilse Fischer. She survived him. Attended San Marco University in Florence, Italy, a city in which he lived since the age of four. Lost both parents to the Fascist Italian government and, according to some sources, was active in the Resistance during the war. Was a native of Bologna and studied law in Florence before World War II. He has starred in and produced a series of Italian films. Personal Quotes (2) Sometimes my face is more beautiful than the leading lady's. "Many producers think that actors are idiots. I'm not an idiot. I was a lawyer before beginning to act". See also
12/24

1994

Death

December 24, 1994

Death date

Virus.

Cause of death

Rome, Metropolitan City of Rome County, Lazio Italy
Death location

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Obituary

Rossano Brazzi, who starred in the movie "South Pacific" and "Summertime" and played other romantic roles in the 1950's and 60's, died on Saturday in a Rome hospital. He was 78. The ANSA news agency, quoting people close to the actor's family, said the cause was a virus that affected his nervous system. Mr. Brazzi, who appeared in more than 200 movies, was born in Bologna, Italy, on Sept. 18, 1916. He became interested in theater while still a law student in Florence and eventually gave up the law for a career in acting, making his screen debut in 1939 in "The Trial and Death of Socrates." A series of swashbuckling roles followed, and by the early 1940's he was among Italy's screen idols. During World War II he worked with resistance groups in Rome. His popularity declined in postwar Italy, where there were few opportunities for romantic leading men in the gritty neo-realistic dramas of the time. In 1948, however, he was signed to a contract by the producer David O. Selznick and made his first Hollywood appearance in "Little Women" (1949), with June Allyson and Elizabeth Taylor. But it was his performance as an impotent Italian count in "The Barefoot Contessa" (1954), which starred Ava Gardner and Humphrey Bogart, that revived his career. That year brought him another success in "Three Coins in the Fountain," about the romantic adventures of three American girls in Rome. "Summertime" (1955), in which he played a Venetian businessman who brings romance into the life of an American tourist (Katharine Hepburn), cemented his comeback. One of his major roles was that of Emile de Becque, the South Seas planter who wins the heart and hand of Nellie Forbush, a Navy nurse played by Mitzi Gaynor, in the screen adaptation of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical "South Pacific." Among his other credits were "Count Your Blessings" (1959), "Dark Purpose" (1964), "The Battle of the Villa Fiorita" (1965), "Woman Times Seven" (1967), "Krakatoa East of Java" (1969), "The Great Waltz" (1972) and "White Telephone" (1976). Mr. Brazzi made headlines in 1984 when he was among 37 people indicted in an investigation of international arms and drug smuggling. The case against him was later dropped. He is survived by his second wife, Ilse Fischer.

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Did you know?

Rossano Brazzi lived 1 years shorter than the average family member when died at the age of 78.

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