Oreste Lionello | |
|---|---|
 Lionello in 2007 | |
| Born | 18 April 1927 |
| Died | 19 February 2009 (aged 81) Rome, Italy |
| Occupation(s) | Actor, voice actor, cabaret performer, dialogue writer, dubbing director |
| Years active | 1953–2009 |
| Height | 1.63 m (5 ft 4 in) |
| Children | 5, including Luca and Cristiana |
Oreste Lionello (18 April 1927 – 19 February 2009) was an Italian actor and voice actor.[1]
Lionello was born in Rhodes (which was then a possession of Italy), to Calabrian parents, and grew up in Reggio Calabria. He began his career as a theatre actor, and was considered amongst the founders of Italian cabaret. In 1953 he entered the Musical Theatrical Company of RAI (Italian state TV) and the following year he debuted in television with Marziano Filippo, a boys' show. In the 1960s, he was one of the founders of the Bagaglino comic theatre and TV company and he had found success as an entertainer on Italian TV in the 1970s and 1980s.[2] As an actor, Lionello acted in over 56 feature films and several television shows. He appeared in five episodes of Le avventure di Laura Storm and he made his debut film appearance in The Cheerful Squadron.[3]
As a voice actor, Lionello was the official Italian voice of Woody Allen. Other actors he dubbed included Charlie Chaplin, Groucho Marx, Dick Van Dyke, Peter Sellers, Gene Wilder, Michel Serrault, Donald Pleasence, Clive Revill, Gérard Depardieu, Rick Moranis and Roman Polanski. He also dubbed Robin Williams as Mork in the first two seasons of Mork & Mindy. In his animated roles, Lionello dubbed popular animated characters for Disney and Warner Bros. between the 1950s and 1970s. He was considered a pioneer of Italian voice dubbing and founded the C.V.D. along with Renato Turi, Giancarlo Giannini, Valeria Valeri, Corrado Gaipa and other dubbers.[4]
Lionello was married with five children who followed in his footsteps. This includes Luca, Cristiana, Alessia and Davide, who are all actors and dubbers. His oldest son Fabio Luigi is a television director.
Lionello died on 19 February 2009 in Rome at the age of 81 after a long illness and was buried at the Campo Verano.[5] Allen later paid tribute to him in an interview.[6][7]
After his death, the voice of Woody Allen was passed on to Leo Gullotta.[8]
