- Share this article on Facebook
- Share this article on Twitter
- Share this article on Flipboard
- Share this article on Email
- Show additional share options
- Share this article on Linkedin
- Share this article on Pinit
- Share this article on Reddit
- Share this article on Tumblr
- Share this article on Whatsapp
- Share this article on Print
- Share this article on Comment
One of Italy’s great stars of Neorealism, Franco Interlenghi, died on Friday at 11:30 am in his home in Rome Ponte Milvio, his manager announced. He was 83.
Born in 1931 in Rome, Interlenghi got his start at just 15 years of age, starring in Vittorio De Sica’s Shoeshine in 1946. De Sica had discovered him in the streets. His career continued to blossom after starring in Michelangelo Antonioni’s The Vanquished and Federico Fellini’s The Bulls.
Known for his handsome boy next door looks and tender acting, he became one of the faces of neorealism, also starring in films by Mauro Bolognini and Luchino Visconti.
Interlenghi gave equal weight to his theater career, entering the company of Rina Morelli and Paolo Stoppa. He performed there Death of a Salesman in 1951, directed by Visconti.
He also had a successful international career. He starred in The Barefoot Contessa with Ava Gardner and Humphrey Bogart in 1954, in A Farewell to Arms with Rock Hudson in 1957, and alongside Brigitte Bardot and Jean Gabin in Love is My Profession in 1958.
More recently he played on Italian TV in the popular series Don Matteo and in the popular 2005 film Romanzo Criminale.
He is survived by two daughters, actresses Stella and Antonella Interlenghi from his marriage with actress Antonella Lualdi.
THR Newsletters
Sign up for THR news straight to your inbox every day