Marcello Mastroianni

Italian actor

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Quick Facts

Born:: September 26, 1924, Fontana Liri, Italy

Died:: December 19, 1996, Paris, France (aged 72)

Married To:: Flora Carabella (married 1950)

Movies/Tv Shows (Acted In):: "Used People" (1992); "Mordi e fuggi" (1973); "Una giornata particolare" (1977); "Piazza Navona" (1988); "Verso sera" (1990); "I girasoli" (1970); "Casanova '70" (1965); "Mogliamante" (1977); "Todo modo" (1976); "I soliti ignoti" (1958); "Rappresaglia" (1973); "L'ingorgo" (1979); "Storia di Piera" (1983); "Contro la legge" (1950); "La notte" (1961); "Ieri oggi domani" (1963); "Liza" (1972); "Gabriela, Cravo e Canela" (1983); "Vita da cani" (1950); "Dramma della gelosia (tutti i particolari in cronaca)" (1970); "La pupa del gangster" (1975); "Viagem ao Princípio do Mundo" (1997); "Leo the Last" (1970); "Il viale della speranza" (1953); "Scipione detto anche l'africano" (1971); "La schiava del peccato" (1954); "Le voleur d'enfants" (1991); "Atto di accusa" (1950); "A Tale of Five Cities" (1951); "Trois vies et une seule mort" (1996); "La pelle" (1981); "Divorzio all'italiana" (1961); "Allonsanfàn" (1974); "Ferdinando I° re di Napoli" (1959); "Ginger e Fred" (1986); "Domenica d'agosto" (1950); "I compagni" (1963); "O melissokomos" (1986); "Gli eroi della domenica" (1952); "Fantasmi a Roma" (1961); "Amore e guai" (1958); "Oggi, domani, dopodomani" (1965); "Così come sei" (1978); "Le notti bianche" (1957); "Il bigamo" (1956); "Un ettaro di cielo" (1958); "Il generale dell'armata morta" (1983); "Padri e figli..." (1957); "Che?" (1972); "Signore e signori, buonanotte" (1976); "Tragico ritorno" (1952); "Lo straniero" (1967); "Doppio delitto" (1977); "Oci ciornie" (1987); "L'assassino" (1961); "Le due vite di Mattia Pascal" (1985); "Les cent et une nuits de Simon Cinéma" (1995); "Salut l'artiste" (1973); "La principessa delle Canarie" (1954); "Permette? Rocco Papaleo" (1971); "Oltre la porta" (1982); "La nuit de Varennes" (1982); "Fatto di sangue fra due uomini per causa di una vedova. Si sospettano moventi politici" (1978); "Le mani sporche" (1978); "De eso no se habla" (1993); "Lulù" (1953); "Un, deux, trois, soleil" (1993); "La legge" (1959); "Non è mai troppo tardi" (1953); "La città delle donne" (1980); "The Poppy Is Also a Flower" (1966); "Il medico e lo stregone" (1957); "Cin cin" (1992); "Tam tam mayumbe" (1955); "La moglie del prete" (1970); "Ciao maschio" (1978); "Casa Ricordi" (1954); "Racconti d'estate" (1958); "Fantasma d'amore" (1981); "Sensualità" (1952); "La bella mugnaia" (1955); "Il bell'Antonio" (1960); "L'événement le plus important depuis que l'homme a marché sur la Lune" (1973); "Peccato che sia una canaglia" (1955); "Splendor" (1989); "Tempesta su Parigi" (1948); "Spara forte, più forte... non capisco!" (1966); "Il marito bello: Il nemico di mia moglie" (1959); "Giuochi particolari" (1970); "La decima vittima" (1965); "La valigia dei sogni" (1953); "Penne nere" (1952); "Il momento più bello" (1957); "Per le antiche scale" (1975); "Diamonds for Breakfast" (1968); "La donna della domenica" (1975); "Cronaca familiare" (1962); "Le ragazze di Piazza di Spagna" (1952); "La terrazza" (1980); "Stanno tutti bene" (1990); "Maccheroni" (1985); "Al di là delle nuvole" (1995); "Vent'anni" (1949); "Ça n'arrive qu'aux autres" (1971); "Vie privée" (1962); "La ragazza della salina" (1957); "Che ora è?" (1989); "La dolce vita" (1960); "Febbre di vivere" (1953); "Io, io, io.... e gli altri" (1966); "Cronache di poveri amanti" (1954); "L'uomo dei cinque palloni" (1968); "Tempi nostri - Zibaldone n. 2" (1954); "Matrimonio all'italiana" (1964); "Cuori sul mare" (1950); "8½" (1963); "I soliti ignoti vent'anni dopo" (1985); "Divina creatura" (1975); "To meteoro vima tou pelargou" (1991); "Giallo napoletano" (1979); "Intervista" (1987); "Enrico IV" (1984); "Ready to Wear" (1994); "Culastrisce nobile veneziano" (1976); "La fortuna di essere donna" (1956); "Touche pas à la femme blanche" (1974); "Tutti innamorati" (1959); "I grandi peccatori (L'eterna catena)" (1952); "Amanti" (1968); "Miss Arizona" (1988); "Parigi è sempre Parigi" (1951); "Adua e le compagne" (1960); "Sostiene Pereira" (1995); "Vertigine d'amore" (1949); "La grande bouffe" (1973); "Giorni d'amore" (1954)

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Marcello Mastroianni (born September 26, 1924, Fontana Liri, Italy—died December 19, 1996, Paris, France) was an actor who became the preeminent leading man in Italian cinema during the 1960s. An attractive man whose acting style projected a mood of casual affability, he achieved international fame as the screen symbol of the modern European.

Mastroianni enrolled at the University of Rome after World War II. He began an acting career in amateur theatricals sponsored by the university, and in 1948 he joined Italy’s leading theatrical troupe.

Having made his film debut in 1947, Mastroianni had become a well-known actor in Italy by the mid-1950s. As the star of Le notti bianche (1957; White Nights), he was noticed by the Italian director Federico Fellini who cast him in the leading role of the world-weary journalist in La dolce vita (1960; “The Sweet Life”), the award-winning film that established Mastroianni’s international reputation. It was followed by other outstanding pictures—e.g., La notte (1960; The Night), in which Mastroianni portrays a novelist who experiences emotional aridity in his marriage; Divorzio all’italiana (1961; Divorce—Italian Style), a satiric farce about a debonair baron’s attempts to free himself from an unwanted wife; and Otto e mezzo (1963; 8 1/2), an Academy Award-winning film also directed by Fellini, with Mastroianni as a creative film director.

USA 2006 - 78th Annual Academy Awards. Closeup of giant Oscar statue at the entrance of the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles, California. Hompepage blog 2009, arts and entertainment, film movie hollywood

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The comedies Ieri, oggi, domani (1964; Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow) and Matrimonio all’italiana (1964; Marriage—Italian Style) were two of the many films in which he costarred with the Italian actress Sophia Loren. He also appeared with Loren in I girasoli (1969; Sunflower), La moglie del prete (1970; The Priest’s Wife), and Una giornata speciale (1977; A Special Day).

Mastroianni continued to act until his death and held starring roles in about 120 films over the course of his long career.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThis article was most recently revised and updated by J.E. Luebering.