Ben Gazzara
Broadway: Beyond the Golden Age explores the world of Broadway from 1959 through the early 1980s as recounted by a diverse cast of Broadway stars who lived through it, creating a first-hand archive of personal backstage stories and memories. The new documentary is the long-awaited sequel to late filmmaker Rick McKay’s award-winning 2003 film Broadway: The Golden Age, continuing the saga into the '60s and '70s and spotlighting beloved classic Broadway shows including Once Upon a Mattress, Bye Bye Birdie, Barefoot in the Park, Pippin, A Chorus Line, Ain’t Misbehavin’, Chicago, and 42nd Street. Featuring a galaxy of stars including Alec Baldwin, Carol Burnett, Glenn Close, André De Shields, Jane Fonda, Robert Goulet, Liza Minnelli, Chita Rivera, Dick Van Dyke, Ben Vereen, and many more, the film also includes rare archival photos and never-before-seen footage both onstage and off.
The grim woes that surrounded famed director Peter Bogdanovich and his film, "They All Laughed."
A horror novelist begins to fear his stories may have a life of their own.
Anthony's family runs a small Italian restaurant in London. When his childhood friend, Dario, dies in a suspicious accident, Anthony inherits a vineyard in Sant'Angelo, the village his parents came from in Italy. Surprised by the large sum of money offered to him by a curious Italian "Master of Wine" for the land he just inherited, and considering the mysterious circumstances surrounding Dario's death, Anthony decides to drive down to Sant'Angelo. Anthony soon feels he's in the middle of something he doesn't understand and wants to leave, but... He gets tangled up in "Love's" web and suddenly finds himself the target of a crazy manhunt.
Actor Ben Gazzara, cinematographer Victor J. Kemper, and producer Al Ruban share their fond memories of director-actor John Cassavetes and of his filming HUSBANDS (1970).
A tribute and doc-crime-drama celebrating American film noir and the icons of the Hollywood golden age. It recaptures the time and place of New York in the 30's and 40s as well as plays with the codes and references of the genre.
Brash young Hollywood talent agent Josh Ross (David Moscow) is dispatched to Guatemala, where he's assigned to locate missing star Jack Palladin (Ben Gazzara), a man Josh has never met but can't stand due to Palladin's long-ago relationship with his late mother. Despite receiving no help from the amused locals, Josh eventually finds his target hiding out as a cook at a restaurant but discovers that persuading the reluctant actor to return to Hollywood will be an uphill climb. Talia Shire costars in this independent comedy.
Documentary portrays the saga of how Italian Americans went from being outsiders who were stereotyped as gangsters in American movies to insiders in Hollywood who took control of their own stories. Interviews, film clips and home movies from Italian American filmmakers highlight personal experiences and comment on Hollywood's politics and cultural impact.
Silvia Soriani, widow of a merchant associated with the Camorra, is arrested by the police. The commissioner and the judge Puglisi Corelli accuse her of collaborating with the mobster Franco Maresco. In jail meet three dams, Anna, Giulia and Elvira, who have been victims of Maresco. From this moment the four women join forces to find and kill the brawler.
Filmmaker Wes Anderson ("The Royal Tenenbaums" ) interviews Peter Bogdanovich ("The Last Picture Show, "Paper Moon") about Bogdanovich's film "They All Laughed," the film Bogdanovich calls his personal best.
Olivier Assayas, Gus Van Sant, Wes Craven and Alfonso Cuaron are among the 20 distinguished directors who contribute to this collection of 18 stories, each exploring a different aspect of Parisian life. The colourful characters in this drama include a pair of mimes, a husband trying to chose between his wife and his lover, and a married man who turns to a prostitute for advice.
With World War I, the Bolshevik Revolution, and the Russian Civil War as backdrop, it's an old-fashioned, blood-and-guts narrative, filled with earthly humor and a wealth of colorful characters. The story concerns the fluctuating fortunes of Grigory Melekhov, a young Cossack who is both a hero and a victim of the uprising.
The devastating disappearance of a young girl haunts her grieving family in this fact-based tale feature debut from filmmaker Dionysius Zervos. Hungering for some quality alone time with her new boyfriend, Ray (Costas Mandylor), single mother Kaliope Harris (Izabella Miko) leaves her young daughter, Anna (Erika Shasho), in the care of loving grandmother Mrs. Harris (Lesley Ann Warren). An idyllic day at the beach turns to tragedy for the Harris family, however, when in the blink of an eye the precious young Anna seemingly disappears into the vast sand. While Mrs. Harris struggles to accept the startling disappearance, her enraged husband (Ben Gazzara) hounds the authorities to step up their search and Kaliope and Ray comb the beach in a desperate bid to retrace Anna's every step on that fateful and tragic day.
The life of the remarkable man who passed away after an extraordinary 26 year reign, and whose papal odyssey encompassed more than 120 countries and earned him the reputation of an international fighter for freedom.
This film depicts the intense drama that takes place during the making of Dogville. Lars von Trier and Nicole Kidman work through this creative process under very extreme conditions.
A barren soundstage is stylishly utilized to create a minimalist small-town setting in which a mysterious woman named Grace hides from the criminals who pursue her. The town is two-faced and offers to harbor Grace as long as she can make it worth their effort, so Grace works hard under the employ of various townspeople to win their favor. Tensions flare, however, and Grace's status as a helpless outsider provokes vicious contempt and abuse from the citizens of Dogville.
Broadway: The Golden Age is the most important, ambitious and comprehensive film ever made about America's most celebrated indigenous art form. Award-winning filmmaker Rick McKay filmed over 100 of the greatest stars ever to work on Broadway or in Hollywood. He soon learned that great films can be restored, fine literature can be kept in print - but historic Broadway performances of the past are the most endangered. They leave only memories that, while more vivid, are more difficult to preserve. In their own words — and not a moment too soon — Broadway: The Golden Age tells the stories of our theatrical legends, how they came to New York, and how they created this legendary century in American theatre. This is the largest cast of legends ever in one film.
A waitress discovers a ring she thought was worthless is actually worth $10 million.
The story of professional football players Gale Sayes and Brian Piccolo, and how their friendship on and off the field was affected when Piccolo contracted a fatal disease
A bartender wants rid of an obnoxious drunk but not until the drunk has left a decent tip. So the bartender tells the story of two mobster families, the Minetti's who work out of an Italian restaurant in the East San Fernando Valley, and the Mulroney's who work out of an Irish pub in the West San Fernando Valley. Mob war breaks out when one of the Minetti "boys" stiffs Big Paddy's daughter on her tip. We soon see why these hoods are called very mean men
Guy Normal (probably not his real name) is clumsy, has amnesia, and has fallen into the hands of an unscrupulous man who arranges killings for hire. The Arranger trains Guy to be a killer (and there's evidence that Guy perpetrated a mass murder in an Arizona post office), then sends him to do various jobs. Although Guy bumbles, the jobs get done. But Guy rebels against this life, tries to reconstruct his past, and falls in love with the Arranger's mistress (who also has no place else to go). When Guy becomes expendable, his days seem numbered. Can Guy outsmart the mastermind and the highly skilled assassins sent to kill him?
One of the great mavericks of cinema, John Cassavetes has earned a reputation as the godfather of American independent movies. The actor-turned-filmmaker invented a realist style of unadorned narrative films heavily influenced by documentaries. This in-depth analysis of Cassavetes' life and work features interviews with key collaborators and ensemble regulars, and explores the making of classics like "The Killing of a Chinese Bookie," "Opening Night" and "A Woman Under the Influence."
A very rich and successful playboy amuses himself by stealing artwork, but may have met his match in a seductive detective.
Spike Lee's take on the "Son of Sam" murders in New York City during the summer of 1977 centering on the residents of an Italian-American South Bronx neighborhood who live in fear and distrust of one another.
Keith is a Japanese twenty-something who is followed by Death in various disguises. When he finally faces her, Death tells him that he has only 12 hours to live and he needs to make the most of it
An inventor of a secret process suddenly finds himself alone as both his friends and the corporation he works for turn against him. Can he trust the FBI? Can he trust his girl? There's no telling; he's just become the victim of the oldest con game in the book: the 'Spanish Prisoner'!
Jeffrey "The Dude" Lebowski, a Los Angeles slacker who only wants to bowl and drink White Russians, is mistaken for another Jeffrey Lebowski, a wheelchair-bound millionaire, and finds himself dragged into a strange series of events involving nihilists, adult film producers, ferrets, errant toes, and large sums of money.
Billy is released after five years in prison. In the next moment, he kidnaps teenage student Layla and visits his parents with her, pretending she is his girlfriend and they will soon marry.
Detective Jack Valentine is reinstated from his desk job to go back onto the streets. His first assignment ends with the death of a mobster who was about to turn states evidence. The killing came as the mobster was with his girlfriend Alma. Jack suspects Alma of being involved - even more so when he finds her involved with one of the mob family, Michael. However he begins to fall for her himself and finds himself involved in the deadly game where not everything is what it seems.
Jack Altieri, a young Italian-American restaurant owner, arrives at Vesta awaits him a painting of the sixteenth century that depicts the veiled face of Medea of Carpi, noble woman processed to witchcraft. Shortly after the arrival of Jack, a country girl is killed in a mysterious way, dropping the suspicions of the Commissioner Gianzi on the young restorer, who is soon advised to not complete the work on the opera, because it would hide an ancient curse.
It's the start of the 20th century, and Tuccio, resident playwright of a theatre repertory company offers the owners of the company his new play, "Illuminata". They reject it, saying it's not finished, and intrigue starts that involves influential critic Bevalaqua, theatre star Celimene, young lead actors and other theatre residents
A mysterious black marble tablet is found in Syrian desert by an Arab terrorist after an attack on a UN scientific expedition.
Bobby Bishop is a special assistant to the President of the United States. Accidentally, he meets his friend professor Pochenko on the street. Pochenko has time to tell Bishop about some conspiracy in the White House but then immediately gets killed by an assassin. Now bad guys are after Bobby as the only man who knows about a plot. Bishop must now not only survive, but to stop the conspirators from achieving their goal. And he doesn't know whom to trust.
When a young man is arrested for dealing drugs, his girlfriend tries to help him out by making some big money as a member of an exclusive group of prostitutes.
Victor Mallick returned to his home and found out that all of his friends have arranged a surprise bachelor/stag party for him. Two strippers were hired to cheer up the party. However, when some of the men accidentally killed one of the strippers, they are left to face the consequences of their action.
A string of murders begin occurring on a campus by an embittered husband betrayed by his wife, who now punishes those he sees as being guilty of sins of the flesh.
It’s tempting, when praising Cassavetes’s films, to resort to generalizations about the director’s admirable intentions; descriptions like “original,” “raw,” and “human,” while certainly true, need to be expanded upon in order to get at what makes Cassavetes’s work special, and the film’s interview subjects sometimes fall into the trap of leaving things at the level of simplification. But for those new to the director’s films, there’s still some good material here: the commentary from Cassavetes mainstays Ben Gazzara, Gena Rowlands, Al Ruban, Seymour Cassel, and (especially) Peter Falk is predictably engaging, and the selected footage from formative early works like Shadows and Faces is revealing of a filmmaker in the process of discovering his voice.
Rodeo-cum-prison movie about an ageing rodeo star bonding with a young rookie while they both serve time.
Both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict are sensitively explored in the Tunisian-French drama. Richard, a French TV journalist has been assigned to do a political story in Jerusalem the night before Yitzhak Rabin and Yasir Arafat sign their peace accord. Richard is glad to go as it gives him a chance to see his girlfriend Esther, a psychologist. Esther's father Moshe is continually tormented by his Holocaust memories. Hammoudi, nicknamed "Local Radio," is Richard's taxi driver and guide. He tells Richard the story of his family which was uprooted in 1948 resulting in the disappearance of his grandmother. Mysteriously, her picture appeared in a recent Arabic newspaper. Richard, intrigued, decides to center his investigations upon "Local Radio's" story. As he delves deeper into their lives he discovers that the ancient rivalries between the Israeli's and Palestinians is far too deep and complex to be easily explained away.
Tadushepa grows from a young princess from the Mitanni kingdom to the legendary Queen Nefertiti of Egypt. The film starts with the discovery of her bust by a German archaeologist in 1912 and then turns the time back to the moment just before she is married to the old Pharaoh Amanophis III. She must say goodbye to her lover, the sculptor Yame. But in Egypt she appears to have a great talent for power. After the death of Amanophis she collapses on the heir to the throne Akhematon.
A college reunion turns into a tangled web of passion, romance and intrigue as old friends and enemies catch up with each other's lives. Includes a long list of stars.
An intimate portrait of actor-writer-director John Cassavetes and a loving tribute to his genius for studying and depicting the human character. In-depth, candid interviews with his wife and muse Gena Rowlands as well as his most trusted friends and co-workers like Peter Falk, Ben Gazzara, Seymour Cassel, etc. Clips from Cassavetes' greatest films, and many rare photos illustrate this touching documentary.
The story of Rosalie Bonnano, the daughter of a powerful New York Mafia boss who married the son of her father's rival, another powerful New York Mafia boss.
An ex-cop is temporarily blinded when he steals cash from a money laundering operations. While recuperating in Mexico, the thief falls in love with a beautiful woman who has underworld connections. When the girl disappears, he returns to the United States to find her, risking death from the gangster
A wealthy publisher is accused of murdering a prostitute he had once spent the night with. The accusations appear false until his own son testifies against him. Desperate to discredit her stepson, the publisher's wife tries to clear her husband's name, but is drawn deep into a tangled web.
When a wealthy scriptwriter and socialite's daughter is murdered, he feels let down by the courts, and so decides to use his powerful position to enable his own form of justice.
As nearly as anyone can figure, this first-time directorial effort by the American actor Ben Gazzara was never released in the United States. It was produced in Italy, shot in England, and uses a large cast of big-name American actors. However, reviewers have said that its style owed a bit too much to the meditative, home-video style of the director's friend John Cassavetes. In the story, a big-time businessman (Gazzara) throws in the towel on his company and high-tails it out to Bali just as its stock is about to be publicly offered. There, he tries to avoid the insistent phone calls coming from Manhattan and records his philosophical ponderings about this mid-life crisis on videotape. Before long, he is partying with another burnt-out businessman (Treat Williams) and avidly avoiding the attentions of colleagues (including Jill Clayburgh who have come to Bali to try and get him to come back to Manhattan.
Tribute to actor and director John Cassavetes who died in February 1989. Friends, associates and fellow directors remember the man and his work.
The Double Deuce is the meanest, loudest and rowdiest bar south of the Mason-Dixon Line, and Dalton has been hired to clean it up. He might not look like much, but the Ph.D.-educated bouncer proves he's more than capable -- busting the heads of troublemakers and turning the roadhouse into a jumping hot-spot. But Dalton's romance with the gorgeous Dr. Clay puts him on the bad side of cutthroat local big shot Brad Wesley.
Documentary about James Stewart's long career as an actor and positive personal life.
Thriller/Drama about LAPD detectives tracking down two serial killers who are murdering hookers.
In North Africa, a father and his illegitimate son are in love with the same woman.
Vaguely inspired to the real story of boss of the Camorra's bosses Raffaele Cutolo, this is the story of the criminal career of "Il professore" (the professor). He is in prison, and by there he is able to build, step by step, an empire founded on murders and drugs. He starts a war to destroy all the old Camorra bosses and becoming the new "boss of the bosses". With his sister's help he manages to evade from prison and escape in New York. Here he starts immediately a new relationship with "Cosa Nostra" (Italian American Mafia). He is going to seat on the peak of the most powerful criminal organization, and the Italian authorities are almost impotent.
Set in the mid-eighties Michael Pierson, a young gay man, is struck with AIDS in the prime of his life. He's forced to be open about the disease and his homosexuality for the first time with his co-workers (he's a successful lawyer) and family. He, and the people around him, must face up to the inevitablity of his death and the disease that's killing him. "An Early Frost" was many people's first look at an AIDS victim as a human being instead of a statistic.
Three women are going on a trip that leaves incommunicado with the rest of the world and before they leave; a woman who either has a history or relationship with each of their husbands leaves them a letter that says that she is leaving with one of their husbands. As they wait to return so they could find out who it is, they each remember an important moment in their lives that involves them and their husbands...and the woman.
In a straightforward yet unexceptional rendering of the life and loves of Alberto (Ben Gazzara), a writer/director approaching the hill though not yet over it, director Alberto Bevilacqua has used his own experiences to fashion a conventional tale about a search for the "perfect woman." His mettlesome neighbor Luisa (Lina Sastri) just will not leave him alone; she was the reason why he ended his marriage to Maura (Claudia Cardinale), but Alberto considers their affair dead and buried. Recently, an anonymous "dream woman" has been calling him for some seductive phone exchanges. As he searches out the identity of the mystery caller he is also distracted by Luisa who starts to insinuate herself back into his affections. Sooner or later, Alberto will just have to decide how to handle his love life, which in the end may only be mesmerizing to himself alone.
Based on a real-life mystery in the newspapers after World War I, this conventional, straightforward story is about a poorly-dressed man who is brought into the police station in Turin for stealing flower pots from the cemetery. He is rather brutally interrogated, and then because he has no idea who he is or where he belongs, he is put into an asylum for the mentally disturbed. After his photograph is published in the newspapers, a woman shows up at the institution claiming that he is Professor Canella, her missing and wealthy husband. The news obtains the release of the amnesiac, but his claim is quickly and hotly contested by another family, arguing that the man is an imposter. As a result, his case goes back to court and in the meantime, the "professor" is put in jail. As the courtroom drama continues, there are various clues that suggest whether or not the amnesiac has been accurately identified and by whom.
A middle-aged artist (Ben Gazarra) sketching on the beach witnesses a young woman (Ornella Muti) being rescued from drowning. He loans her a blanket. Later she returns the blanket and they have sex several times, but she always leaves right afterward, leaving the man to wonder who she is and where she goes. Things become more complicated as he begins to fall in love with her, and after his regular girlfriend (Mimsy Farmer), with whom he has a curiously open relationship, returns. He eventually begins to realize his mysterious new lover may be very much insane.
Television account of an honest New York narcotics cop who becomes unwillingly involved in a plan to uncover corruption in his department.
A collection of bloopers and outtakes from an enormous selection of Hollywood classic productions spanning from the 1930s through the 1980s.
Poet/lecturer Charles Serking awakens from his alcoholic haze long enough to take a bus back to L.A. and plunge into an orgy of drink and sexual depravity.
A mad cap private-eye caper about a team of detectives who are following, and are being followed by, a group of beautiful women.
Jack Flowers is an American hustler trying to make his fortune in 1970s Singapore in small time pimping. His dreams of building a fortune by running a brothel himself and returning to the States is materialized when he is offered the opportunity by the CIA to run a brothel for the R&R activities of U.S. soldiers on leave in Singapore.
The bizarre story behind the man accused of assassinating John F. Kennedy and what might have happened had he been brought to trial.
A sensitive but confused teenager feels pressure from all directions and turns to drugs, which causes problems for him in school and at home.
Actress Myrtle Gordon is a functioning alcoholic actress who is a few days from the opening night of her latest play, concerning a woman distraught about aging. One night a car kills one of Myrtle's fans who is chasing her limousine in an attempt to get the star's attention. Myrtle internalizes the accident and goes on a spiritual quest, but fails to finds the answers she is after. As opening night inches closer and closer, fragile Myrtle must find a way to make the show go on.
Cosmo Vittelli, the proprietor of a sleazy, low-rent Hollywood cabaret, has a real affection for the women who strip in his peepshows and the staff who keep up his dingy establishment. He also has a major gambling problem that has gotten him in trouble before. When Cosmo loses big-time at an underground casino run by mobster Mort, he isn't able to pay up. Mort then offers Cosmo the chance to pay back his debt by knocking off a pesky, Mafia-protected bookie.
A luxury liner carries Jewish refugees from Hitler's Germany in a desperate fight for survival.
Ben Gazzara and Paul Winfield play Vietnam veterans turned mercenaries who are hired to rescue a kidnapped executive.
When an underwater ocean lab is lost in a earthquake, an advanced submarine is sent down to find it and encounters terrible danger.
What begins as a routine investigation quickly escalates into a heartstopping race to save millions from certain death in this taut and gripping thriller. Michael Crichton (Jurassic Park, ER) "makes an impressive directorial debut" (The Hollywood Reporter) in this deadly cat-and-mouse game in which the stakes couldn't be higher! When government agent Steven Graves (Ben Gazzara) investigates political extremist James Wright (E.G. Marshall), he uncovers a diabolical plot to blast lethal nerve gas into San Diego during the Republican Convention. What's worse, a computer hacker (Martin Sheen) has provided Wright with a psychological profile to help him outwit Graves. As Wright ingeniously eludes Graves, can Graves find a way to stop him before the ultimate nightmare begins?
A Mafia chief is torn between his brother, who has defected from the family, and his loyalty to the organization.
Helen keeps on receiving phone calls from a child, who claims being her nephew Michael - but Michael died 15 years ago! In these calls he scolds on acquaintances, who then die in suspicious accidents. Soon Helen has to fear to be the next victim.
A small time hood smuggles drugs from Turkey to Italy in an effort to make it into the big time, but along the way everyone has to have their cut.
A 1970 American documentary film biography of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., presented in the form of newsreel footage and segments of recordings by Dr. King, framed by celebrity narrators, including Marlon Brando, Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Ruby Dee, James Earl Jones, Clarence Williams III, Burt Lancaster, Ben Gazzara, Charlton Heston, Harry Belafonte, The movie was produced by Richard Kaplan and Ely Landau.
A group of travelers from the United States race through seven countries in 18 days.
In March of 1945, as the War in Europe is coming to a close, fighting erupts between German and American troops at the last remaining bridgehead across the Rhine.
Grace Caldwell, a young Pennsylvania newspaper heiress living with her widowed mother, has trouble restraining herself when it comes to the amorous attentions of young men. As word starts to spread about her behavior, Grace becomes a major source of heartache for her mother and a big source of concern to her brother.
Run for Your Life is an American television drama series starring Ben Gazzara as a man with only a short time to live. It ran on NBC from 1965 to 1968. The series was created by Roy Huggins, who had previously explored the "man on the move" concept with The Fugitive.
Director Joseph Mankiewicz's first work for television, the 90-minute ABC drama was publicized as having an all-star cast (which meant that names of some supporting cast members were not officially released). In Rod Serling's update of Charles Dickens, industrial tycoon Daniel Grudge has never recovered from the loss of his 22-year-old son Marley, killed in action during Christmas Eve of 1944. The embittered Grudge has only scorn for any American involvement in international affairs. But then the Ghost of Christmas Past takes him back through time to a World War I troopship. Grudge also is visited by the Ghost of Christmas Present, and the Ghost of Christmas Future gives him a tour across a desolate landscape where he sees the ruins of a once-great civilization.
Filmed in 1962 but not released in the US until 1966 (with 20 of its 108 minutes removed), Conquered City is an all-star World War II drama financed in Italy and filmed in Greece. An Athens hotel, full of refugees and expatriates of all nationalities, is captured by Allied troops in the closing days of the War. British Major David Niven has been ordered to prevent a cache of weapons hidden in the hotel from falling into the hands of renegade troops. He cannot allow himself to trust anyone--not even the most innocent-looking (or attractive) of guests. Originally titled La Citta Prigioniera. Conquered City was released in English-speaking countries outside the U.S. as Captive City.
This movie is about the progression of John Resko's (Ben Gazzara) character as he is commuted from the death sentence for killing a man to life in prison. Not only is he transferred to a new facility, but his guard (Stuart Whitman), who believes that man can be rehabilitated, has requested a transfer from death row
An aging doctor's resentment of his young assistant could lead to tragedy.
On New Year's Eve, an insecure, struggling actress (Anna Magnani) has nothing to do. When a colleague invites her to a New Year's party, she jumps at the opportunity. Accidentally she runs into an old acting acquaintance (Toto), who is helping a professional pickpocket (Ben Gazzara) steal from people during the hustle-bustle of New Year's Eve festivities. During the course of the evening, they have numerous crazy, humorous adventures all over Rome at different parties, restaurants, and even the Trevi fountain. Magnani's character (Tortorella) falls for Gazzara's character (Lello) without knowing what he's up to, while Toto tries to placate them both.
Semi-retired Michigan lawyer Paul Biegler takes the case of Army Lt. Manion, who murdered a local innkeeper after his wife claimed that he raped her. Over the course of an extensive trial, Biegler parries with District Attorney Lodwick and out-of-town prosecutor Claude Dancer to set his client free, but his case rests on the victim's mysterious business partner, who's hiding a dark secret.
A presentation of three one-act plays: "Moony's Kid Don't Cry", "The Last of My Solid Gold Watches", and "This Property Is Condemned".
A military school student develops a destructive power over his fellow cadets.
Totò, the mythical comedian of Italian stage and screen, was the illegitimate child of a noble man in one of Naples's poorest neighborhoods. As a child, he enlisted in the army simply to eat three square meals a day. Later, his dizzying success in show business brought him riches he had never dreamed of, plus stories of love and jealousy, the most important being with 16 year old Diana who eventually became his wife, only to leave him and inspire the Italian classic torch song Malafemmina, meaning bad woman.
