Giorgio Simonelli | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 14 November 1901 Rome, Italy |
| Died | 3 October 1966 (aged 64) Rome, Italy |
| Occupation(s) | Director, screenwriter |
Giorgio Simonelli (14 November 1901[1] – 3 October 1966), was an Italian film director, editor, screenwriter and journalist.
Born in Rome, Simonelli got a high school diploma in business studies, and then started working as a journalist and as a film critic for the weekly magazines Avvenimento and Gente nostra.[2] In 1928, at 22, he made his directorial debut co-directing with Nicola Fausto Neroni Maratona, and two years later he was among the screenwriters of the first Italian talking film, The Song of Love by Gennaro Righelli.[2] From 1934 Simonelli mainly devoted himself to film editing, then, from 1940, he resumed his activity as a director specialising in commercially successful comedy films, in which he directed some of the most popular actors of the period, notably Totò, Eduardo and Peppino De Filippo, Nino Taranto, Renato Rascel, Walter Chiari, Ugo Tognazzi, Macario, Alberto Sordi and Aldo Fabrizi.[2] He ended his career by filming many successful works interpreted by the comedy duo Franco and Ciccio.[2] His last film was the western-parody Two Sons of Ringo, in which shortly before the end of filming he was replaced by Giuliano Carnimeo for health reasons.[3]
