Nino Manfredi

Nino Manfredi (born Saturnino Manfredi, 22 March 1921 - 4 June 2004) was an Italian actor, one of the most prominent in the commedia all'italiana genre. Born at Castro dei Volsci, province of Frosinone, Lazio, he studied law before going into acting in the theatre company featuring also Vittorio Gassman and Tino Buazzelli, especially in dramatic roles. In 1949 he played for the Piccolo Teatro di Milano under Giorgio Strehler, in tragedies such as Romeo and Juliet and The Storm. In 1952-1952 he collaborated with Eduardo De Filippo, along with Paolo Panelli and Bice Valori. In 1962 he played the eponymous character in the musical Rugantino (see also Rugantino in the Italian Wikipedia). He made his film debut in 1957, and later branched out into directing. He even composed songs for the soundtrack of one of his films. He continued appearing in films and on television into old age.