Italian actor (1903–1980)
Peppino De Filippo (born Giuseppe De Filippo; 24 August 1903 – 27 January 1980) was an Italian actor.[1][2][3]
De Filippo was born in Naples, brother of actor and dramatist Eduardo De Filippo[4] and of Titina De Filippo. He made his stage debut at the age of six. He played in several movies such as Rome-Paris-Rome, Variety Lights, A Day in Court, Ferdinand I, King of Naples and Boccaccio '70. He is however most remembered for his several artistic partnerships with Totò, on movies such as Totò, Peppino e la malafemmina and La banda degli onesti. He died in Rome at age 76.
Biography
He was born from the affair between playwright and actor Eduardo Scarpetta and theatre seamstress and costumier Luisa De Filippo. He was the third of three children born from the couple, the other two being Annunziata "Titina" and Eduardo. His father was actually married since 1876 to Rosa De Filippo, Luisa's paternal aunt. His father Eduardo had several other illegitimate children from various affairs (including actors Ernesto Murolo, Eduardo Passarelli and Pasquale De Filippo).
After several attempts with different acting companies, as a utility player, in 1931 he and his siblings founded the Compagnia Teatro Umoristico: i De Filippo.
It was a very successful experience, featuring tours all over Italy, new comedies, enthusiastic ratings by critics, and sold out in theaters.
However, in 1944, due to a controversy with his brother, Peppino abandoned the company. The separation would allow him to find his own stylistic footprint as an author, being easily distinguishable from Eduardo's: Peppino's comedies are usually easier and more brilliant.
Peppino repeatedly showed his extraordinary versatility; particularly noteworthy are his performance in The Caretaker by Harold Pinter and in The Miser by Molière (as Harpagon), where he proved to be a skillful actor whose ability had grown beyond brilliant and dialect plays.
Peppino should be defined an actor as well as a popular TV and cinema star.
His partnership with Totò in many films has been one among the most interesting collaborations in the Italian comical cinema genre. Their movies obtained an outstanding success, despite being snubbed by critics. Worth a mention are Totò, Peppino e la malafemmina, Totò, Peppino e i fuorilegge, and La banda degli onesti. He worked with Federico Fellini as well, for instance in Boccaccio '70, and with Alberto Lattuada.[5]
He also invented Pappagone, a character for a TV show. He represented a humble servant of Cummendatore Peppino De Filippo (the title of Commendatore is a public honour of the Italian Republic). He performed as a sort of usher, a typical character of the Neapolitan theatre, and coined many funny phrases and an own jargon, that would transform into popular sayings.
He married three times, and his first wife Adele Carloni gave him Luigi, who successfully carried on his father's work.
He was married three times. From his first wife Adele (or Adelina) Carloni he had his only child, Luigi De Filippo. His second wife was actress Lidia Martora (pseudonym of Lidia Maresca) and was the sister of dancer Marisa Maresca. He married for the third time to Lelia Mangano. The actor Pietro Carloni (his first wife Adele's brother) was married to his sister Titina. The actress Ester Carloni was another sibling of his wife Adele.
