Giovanni Frezza

{{short description|Italian actor}}

{{For|the 18th-century Italian engraver|Giovanni Girolamo Frezza}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2020}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Giovanni Frezza

| image =

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1972|9|8}}

| birth_place = Potenza, Italy

| occupation = Actor (former), Dive Master, Martial Arts trainer & Product Development Director

| yearsactive = 1980–1985

| spouse =

| website =

}}

Giovanni Frezza (born 8 September 1972) is an Italian former child actor, diver, martial artist and product developer who appeared in a number of films throughout the 1980s. Frezza is possibly best recalled for his roles in several horror films.[http://www.horrorexpress.com/moviereview/a-blade-in-the-dark Register Horror Express]: "Giovanni Frezza, a creepy kid icon of 80’s Italian exploitation cinema thanks to Lucio Fulci’s "House by the Cemetery" and Enzo Castellari’s "The New Barbarians"

Early life

Giovanni Frezza was born in Potenza, Basilicata, Italy.

Career

He made his film debut with a minor role the 1980 Marco Bellocchio-directed comedy-drama Salto nel vuoto (English title: A Leap in the Dark). Frezza then went on to play a variety of juvenile roles, most often in horror films. In 1981 he had a starring role in the gory, supernatural-themed Lucio Fulci-directed The House by the Cemetery as Bob Boyle, an imperiled child living in a sinister New England house.[http://www.mondo-digital.com/zombie.html Lucio Fulci's A House by the Cemetery] He worked with Fulci a second time in 1982's Manhattan Baby as the brother of a little girl possessed by a supernatural amulet. In 1982 he appeared in Enzo G. Castellari-directed post-apocalyptic Italian action film I Nuovi barbari (English: The New Barbarians).{{Cite web |url=http://www.jabootu.com/acolytes/bnotes/warwaste.htm |title=B-Notes |access-date=5 June 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080412222448/http://www.jabootu.com/acolytes/bnotes/warwaste.htm |archive-date=12 April 2008 |url-status=dead }}

Frezza would continue appearing in films until 1985. His last role was as Kirk in the 1985 Dario Argento-penned and Lamberto Bava-directed thriller Dèmoni (English: Demons). After retiring from films at age thirteen, Frezza concentrated on his studies.

Giovanni is currently working as a Director-Product Development at Molex LLC.

Personal life

According to his official MySpace page, he currently resides in Chicago and is a married father of three children who works as a Director for a multinational technology company.[http://www.myspace.com/therealgiovannifrezza Giovanni Frezza's Official MySpace page]

Filmography

  • A Leap in the Dark (1980) (Italian title: Salto nel vuoto, also known as Leap into the Void)
  • The House by the Cemetery (1981) (Italian title: Quella villa accanto al cimitero)
  • Heads I Win, Tails You Lose (1982) (Italian title: Testa o croce)
  • The New Barbarians (1982) (Italian title: I Nuovi barbari, also known as Warriors of the Wasteland)
  • Cuando calienta el sol... vamos a la playa (1982)
  • Manhattan Baby (1982) (Italian title: L' Occhio del male)[https://web.archive.org/web/20110520041530/http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/31286/L-Occhio-del-male/overview New York Times Movies]
  • Mani di fata (1983){{Cite web |url=http://www.vacanzedinatale.it/mani_di_fata.htm |title=Vacanze di Natale (in [[Italian language{{!}}Italian]]) |access-date=5 June 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080604133402/http://www.vacanzedinatale.it/mani_di_fata.htm |archive-date=4 June 2008 |url-status=dead }}
  • A Blade in the Dark (1983) (Italian title: La Casa con la scala nel buio)[http://monsterhunter.coldfusionvideo.com/BladeDark.html Monster Hunter]
  • Demons (1985) (Italian title: Dèmoni)[https://www.angelfire.com/darkside/realmofhorror/demons.htm Darkside]''"In case you were wondering, the lad with the shotgun in the white jeep at the films ending was indeed young Giovanni Frezza, who also played the young lad in Lucio Fulci's "House by the Cemetery".

References

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