Totò

Totò was born Antonio Vincenzo Stefano Clemente on 15 February 1898 in the Rione Sanità, a poor district of Naples, the illegitimate son of Anna Clemente (1881–1947), a Sicilian woman, and the Neapolitan marquis Giuseppe de Curtis (1873–1944).{{r|TotòInfanzia}} His father did not legally recognize him, and Totò so regretted growing up without a father that in 1933, at age 35, he managed to have the marquis Francesco Maria Gagliardi Focas adopt him in exchange for a life annuity.{{cite web |author=Domenico de Fabio |title=Omaggio a Antonio de Curtis in arte Totò: l'infanzia |language=it |website=Antoniodecurtis.com |url=http://www.antoniodecurtis.com/infanzia.htm |access-date=24 December 2016 }} As a consequence, when Marquis de Curtis finally recognized him in 1937 Totò had become an heir of two noble families, ultimately claiming an impressive slew of titles.{{r|TotòInfanzia}}

File:Totò 1918.jpg

Totò's mother wanted him to become a priest, but as early as 1913, at the age of 15, he was already acting as a comedian in small theatres, under the pseudonym Clerment. His early repertoire mostly consisted in imitations of Gustavo De Marco's characters.{{r|TotòInfanzia}} In the minor venues where he performed, Totò had the chance to meet famous artists like Eduardo and Peppino De Filippo. He served in the Italian Army during World War I and then went back to acting. He learned the art of the guitti, the Neapolitan scriptless comedians, heirs to the tradition of the Commedia dell'Arte, and began developing the trademarks of his style, including a puppet-like, disjointed gesticulation, emphasized facial expressions, and an extreme, sometimes surrealistic, sense of humor, largely based on emphasizing primitive urges such as hunger and sexual desire.{{cite web |title=Il pianeta Totò |language=it |website=Antoniodecurtis.org |url=http://www.antoniodecurtis.org/ |access-date=24 December 2016 }}

In 1922, he moved to Rome to perform in bigger theatres. He performed in the genre of avanspettacolo, a vaudevillian mixture of music, ballet and comedy preceding the main act (hence its name, which roughly translates as "before show"). He became adept at these shows (also known as rivista – Revue), and in the 1930s he had his own company, with which he travelled across Italy. In 1937, he appeared in his first movie Fermo con le mani, and later starred in 96 other films.{{cite web|url=http://www.antoniodecurtis.com/cinema.htm|title=Tutti i film di Totò al cinema|access-date=20 December 2022|language=it}}

As the vast majority of his movies were essentially meant to showcase his performances, many have his name "Totò" in the title. Some of his best-known films are Fear and Sand, Toto Tours Italy, Toto the Sheik, Cops and Robbers, Toto and the Women, Totò Tarzan, Toto the Third Man, Toto in Color (one of the first Italian color movies, 1952, in Ferraniacolor), Big Deal on Madonna Street, Toto, Peppino, and the Hussy, The Law Is the Law. Pier Paolo Pasolini's The Hawks and the Sparrows and the episode "Che cosa sono le nuvole" from Caprice Italian Style (the latter released after his death), showed his dramatic skills.{{cite web|url=https://www.ilsaltodellaquaglia.com/2021/05/05/capriccio-allitaliana-lultimo-film-interpretato-da-toto/|title="Capriccio all'italiana", l'ultimo film interpretato da Totò|work=Il Salto della Quaglia |date=5 May 2021 |access-date=20 December 2022|language=it |last1=Lupi |first1=Gordiano }}

File:Antonio De Curtis - Totò.png

In his vast cinematographic career, Totò had the opportunity to act side by side with virtually all major Italian actors of the time.{{cite web|url=https://www.superguidatv.it/toto-54-anni-senza-il-principe-della-risata/|title=Totò: 54 anni senza il principe della risata|date=15 April 2021 |access-date=20 December 2022|language=it}} With some of them he paired in several films, the most renowned and successful teams being established with Aldo Fabrizi and Peppino De Filippo. De Filippo was one of the few actors to have his name appear in movie titles along with that of Totò, for example in Toto, Peppino, and the Hussy and Toto and Peppino Divided in Berlin.

Partly because of the radical, naive immorality of his roles, some of his more spicy gags raised much controversy in a society that was both strictly Catholic and ruled by the conservative Democrazia Cristiana (Christian Democracy) party. For example, Totò's 1964 film What Ever Happened to Baby Toto? (a parody of What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?) included a humorous celebration of cannabis{{cite web|url=https://www.filmtv.it/film/1473/che-fine-ha-fatto-toto-baby/|title=Che fine ha fatto Totò Baby?|access-date=20 December 2022|language=it}} in an era when drugs were perceived by the Italian audience as something exotic, depraved and dangerous.{{cite web|url=https://normalarea.com/storia-della-tossicodipendenza/|title=Storia della tossicodipendenza?|access-date=20 December 2022|language=it}}

During the 1950s, he started to compose poetry. The best-known is probably 'A Livella, in which an arrogant rich man and a humble poor man meet after their deaths and discuss their differences. Totò was also a songwriter: Malafemmena (Wayward Woman), dedicated to his wife Diana after they separated, is considered a classic of the Neapolitan popular music.{{cite web |author=Domenico de Fabio |title=Omaggio a Antonio de Curtis in arte Totò: Malafemmena |language=it |website=Antoniodecurtis.com |url=http://www.antoniodecurtis.com/canzoni1.htm |access-date=1 July 2017 }}

File:Totò, Neapolitan actor 1943.jpg

Totò had a reputation as a playboy. One of his lovers, the well known chanteuse and dancer {{ill|Liliana Castagnola|it}}, committed suicide after their relationship ended.{{cite news|url=https://www.corriere.it/cronache/17_agosto_07/toto-relazione-pericolosa-liliana-castagnola-che-si-uccise-lui-ora-non-guardero-piu-nessuno-5d489a6c-7bb2-11e7-8e8c-39c623892090.shtml?refresh_ce-cp|title= Totò e la relazione pericolosa con Liliana Castagnola. Che si uccise per lui: "Ora non guarderò più nessuno"|date=17 August 2017 |publisher=corriere.it|language=it|access-date=26 April 2020}} This tragedy marked his life. He buried Liliana in his family's chapel, and named his only daughter Liliana (born 10 May 1933 to his wife, Diana Bandini Rogliani, whom he married in 1935).

Another personal tragedy was the premature birth of his son Massenzio in 1954. The child died a few hours later. He was the son of Totò's mistress Franca Faldini.{{cite news|url=https://www.viagginews.com/2019/08/04/toto-chi-e-compagna-franca-faldini-carriera-vita-privata/|title= Totò, chi è la compagna Franca Faldini: carriera e vita privata|date=4 August 2019|publisher=viagginews.com|language=it|access-date=26 April 2020}} During a tour in 1956, he lost most of his eyesight due to an eye infection that he had ignored to avoid cancelling his show and disappointing his fans. Arguably however, the handicap almost never affected his schedule and acting abilities.

Totò died at the age of 69 on 15 April 1967 in Rome after a series of heart attacks. Due to overwhelming demand, there were no fewer than three funeral services: the first in Rome, a second in his birth city of Naples—and a few days later, in a third one by the local Camorra boss, an empty casket was carried along the packed streets of the popular Rione Sanità quarter where he was born.{{cite web |title=Quel 15 aprile 1967 |language=it |website=Antoniodecurtis.com |url=http://www.antoniodecurtis.com/15aprile.htm |access-date=10 September 2017 }}

In 1946, when the Consulta Araldica—the body that advised the Kingdom of Italy on matters of nobility—ceased operations, the Tribunal of Naples recognized his numerous titles, so his complete name was changed from Antonio Clemente to Antonio Griffo Focas Flavio Ducas Komnenos Gagliardi de Curtis of Byzantium, His Imperial Highness, Palatine Count, Knight of the Holy Roman Empire, Exarch of Ravenna, Duke of Macedonia and Illyria, Prince of Constantinople, Cilicia, Thessaly, Pontus, Moldavia, Dardania, Peloponnesus, Count of Cyprus and Epirus, Count and Duke of Drivasto and Durazzo. For someone born and raised in one of the poorest Neapolitan neighbourhoods, this must have been quite an achievement, but in claiming the titles (at the time they had become meaningless) the comedian also mocked them for their intrinsic worthlessness. In fact, when he was not using his stage name Totò, he mostly referred to himself simply as Antonio de Curtis.{{r|TotòInfanzia}}

Totò starred in 97 films:

{{div col}}

• Hands Off Me! (1937) as Antonio 'Totò' Toretota
• Mad Animals (1939) as Totò / Barone Tolomeo dei Tolomei
• Saint John, the Beheaded (1940) as Mastro Agostino Miciacio
• The Happy Ghost (1941) as Nicolino & Gelsomino & Antonino
• Two Hearts Among the Beasts (1943) as Totò
• {{ill|Arcobaleno (film)|it|Arcobaleno (film 1943)|lt=Arcobaleno }} (1943)
• Romulus and the Sabines (1945) as Aristide Tromboni
• The Two Orphans (1947) as Gasparre
• Toto Tours Italy (1948) as Prof. Toto' Casamandrei
• Fear and Sand (1948) as Nicolino Capece
• The Firemen of Viggiù (1949) as The Suitor - Disguises Himself as Dummy / Band Leader
• Yvonne of the Night (1949) as Nino, il fantasista
• Toto Looks for a House (1949) as Beniamino Lomacchio
• The Emperor of Capri (1949) as Antonio De Fazio
• Totò Le Mokò (1949) as Antonio Lumaconi / Totò le Moko
• Side Street Story (1950) as Pasquale Miele
• Figaro Here, Figaro There (1950) as Figaro
• Toto Looks for a Wife (1950) as Toto
• Totò Tarzan (1950) as Antonio Della Buffas
• Bluebeard's Six Wives (1950) as Totò Esposito
• Toto the Sheik (1950) as Antonio Sapore, il maggiordomo
• 47 morto che parla (1950) as Il barone Antonio Peletti
• Toto the Third Man (1951) as Piero / Paolo / Totò
• Seven Hours of Trouble (1951) as Totò De Pasquale
• Cops and Robbers (1951) as Ferdinando Esposito
• Toto in Color (1952) as Antonio Scannagatti
• Toto and the King of Rome (1952) as Ercole Pappalardo
• Toto and the Women (1952) as Antonio Scaparro
• One of Those (1953) as Rocco
• Man, Beast and Virtue (1953) as Prof. Paolino
• Neapolitan Turk (1953) as Felice Sciosciammocca
• Funniest Show on Earth (1953) as Tottons, il clown / Una signora del pubblico
• Of Life and Love (1954) as Rosario Chiarchiaro (segment "La patente")
• Where Is Freedom? (1954) as Salvatore Lojacono
• A Slice of Life (1954) as Il fotografo
• Poverty and Nobility (1954) as Felice Sciosciammocca
• The Doctor of the Mad (1954) as Felice Sciosciammocca
• The Three Thieves (1954) as Tapioca
• Toto Seeks Peace (1954) as Gennaro Piselli
• The Gold of Naples (1954) as Don Saverio Petrillo (segment "Il guappo")
• Toto and Carolina (1955) as Antonio Caccavallo
• Toto in Hell (1955) as Antonio Marchi / March' Antonio
• Carousel of Variety (1955)
• Are We Men or Corporals? (1955) as Toto Esposito
• Destination Piovarolo (1955) as Antonio La Quaglia
• Roman Tales (1955) as Professore Semprini
• Il coraggio (1955) as Gennaro Vaccariello
• The Band of Honest Men (1956) as Antonio Buonocore
• Totò, lascia o raddoppia? (1956) as Duca Gagliardo della Forcoletta
• Toto, Peppino, and the Hussy (1956) as Antonio Caponi
• Toto, Peppino and the Outlaws (1956) as Antonio
• The Lady Doctor (1957) as Michele 'Mike' Spillone
• Toto and Marcellino (1958) as Il professore
• The Law Is the Law (1958) as Giuseppe La Paglia
• Big Deal on Madonna Street (1958) as Dante Cruciani
• Toto, Peppino and the Fanatics (1958) as Ragionier Antonio Vignanelli
• Toto in Paris (1958) as Marchese Gastone de Chemantel / Chateau-Boiron / il vagabondo Totò
• Toto in the Moon (1958) as Pasquale Belafronte
• Legs of Gold (1958) as barone Luigi Fontana
• Toto in Madrid (1959) as Totò Scorceletti
• The Overtaxed (1959) as Torquato Pezzella
• The Thieves (1959) as Commissario Di Sapio
• You're on Your Own (1959) as Il nonno illuminato
• La cambiale (1959) as Cesare Posalaquaglia
• Tough Guys (1960) as L'Algerino
• Gentlemen Are Born (1960) as Ottone Degli Ulivi, detto Zazà
• Toto, Fabrizi and the Young People Today (1960) as Antonio Cocozza
• Letto a tre piazze (1960) as Antonio Di Cosimo
• The Passionate Thief (1960) as Umberto 'Infortunio' Pennazzuto
• Who Hesitates Is Lost (1960) as Antonio Guardalavecchia
• Totò ciak (1960) as Toto
• Totò, Peppino e... la dolce vita (1961) as Antonio Barbacane
• Sua Eccellenza si fermò a mangiare (1961) as The So-Called Dr Biagio Tanzarella
• Totòtruffa 62 (1961) as Antonio Peluffo
• The Two Marshals (1961) as Antonio Capurro
• Toto vs. Maciste (1962) as Totokamen Sabachi
• Totò Diabolicus (1962) as Marquis Galeazzo di Torrealta / Gen. Scipione di Torrealta / Prof. Carlo di Torrealta / Baroness Laudomia di Torrealta / Mons. Antonino di Torrealta / Pasquale Bonocore
• Lo smemorato di Collegno (1962) as Lo smemorato
• Toto and Peppino Divided in Berlin (1962) as Antonio La Puzza / Canarinis
• Toto's First Night (1962) as Nini
• The Two Colonels (1962) as Colonnello Di Maggio
• The Shortest Day (1962) as Frate bersagliere
• Toto vs. the Four (1963) as Antonio Saracino
• The Monk of Monza (1963) as Pasquale Cicciacalda / Don Manuel
• Toto and Cleopatra (1963) as Mark Antony / Totonno
• Le motorizzate (1963) as Urbano Cacace (segment "Il Vigile Ignoto")
• Sexy Toto (1963) as Nini Cantachiaro
• Gli onorevoli (1963) as Antonio La Trippa
• The Commandant (1963) as Col. Antonio Cavalli
• Toto vs. the Black Pirate (1964) as José
• Beautiful Families (1964) as Filiberto Comanducci (segment "Amare è un po' morire")
• What Ever Happened to Baby Toto? (1964) as Totò Baby / il Padre
• Toto of Arabia (1965) as Totò
• Latin Lovers (1965) as Antonio Gargiulo (segment "Amore e morte")
• The Mandrake (1965) as Il Frate
• Rita the American Girl (1965) as Serafino Benvenuti
• The Hawks and the Sparrows (1966) as Innocenti Totò / Brother Ciccillo
• Treasure of San Gennaro (1966) as Don Vincenzo
• The Witches (1967) as Ciancicato Miao (segment "La terra vista dalla luna")
• The Head of the Family (1968) as Man at Funeral (uncredited, released posthumously)
• Caprice Italian Style (1968) as Anziano signore (segment "Mostro della domenica, Il") / Iago (segment "Che cosa sono le nuvole?") (final film role, released posthumously)

{{div col end}}

• Il medico dei pazzi
• Totò all'inferno
• Siamo uomini o caporali
• Il coraggio
• I due marescialli

• TuttoTotò (1967, aired posthumously)

• Malafemmena, a 1951 song written by Totò

{{Notelist}}

{{Reflist}}

• Giancarlo Governi. Il pianeta Totò. Gremese, 1992. {{ISBN|887605703X}}.
• Liliana De Curtis, Matilde Amorosi. Totò a prescindere. Mondadori, 1992. {{ISBN|8804584521}}.
• Ennio Bìspuri. Totò: principe clown. Guida Editori, 1997. {{ISBN|8871881575}}.
• Alberto Anile. Il cinema di Totò: (1930-1945) : l'estro funambolo e l'ameno spettro. Le mani, 1997. {{ISBN|8880120514}}.
• Associazione Antonio De Curtis. Totò, partenopeo e parte napoletano: il teatro, la poesia, la musica. Marsilio, 1998. {{ISBN|8831770861}}.
• Alberto Anile. I film di Totò (1946-1967): la maschera tradita. Le mani, 1998.
• Costanzo Ioni, Ruggero Guarini. Tutto Totò. Gremese Editore, 1999. {{ISBN|8877423277}}.
• Ennio Bìspuri. Vita di Totò. Gremese Editore, 2000. {{ISBN|8884400023}}.
• Franca Faldini, Goffredo Fofi. Totò: l'uomo e la maschera. L'Ancora del Mediterraneo, 2000. {{ISBN|8883250133}}.
• Paolo Pistolese. Totò, stars and stripes. Cinecittà, 2000.
• Orio Caldiron. Totò. Gremese Editore, 2001. {{ISBN|8877424133}}.
• Antonio Napolitano. Totò, uno e centomila. Tempo Lungo Ed., 2001. {{ISBN|8887480141}}.
• Fabio Rossi. La lingua in gioco: da Totò a lezione di retorica. Bulzoni, 2002. {{ISBN|888319697X}}.
• Orio Caldiron. Il principe Totò. Gremese Editore, 2002. {{ISBN|8884402166}}.
• Liliana De Curtis. Totò, mio padre. Rizzoli, 2002. {{ISBN|8817117579}}.
• Daniela Aronica, Gino Frezza, Raffaele Pinto. Totò. Linguaggi e maschere del comico. Carocci, 2003. {{ISBN|8843027867}}.
• Patricia Bianchi, Nicola De Blasi. Totò parole di attore e di poeta. Dante & Descartes, 2007. {{ISBN|8861570127}}.
• Sonia Pedalino. Totò e la maschera. Firenze Atheneum, 2007. {{ISBN|8872553040}}.
• Edmondo Capecelatro, Daniele Gallo. Totò: vita e arte di un genio. Viator, 2008. {{ISBN|8890387203}}.
• Liliana De Curtis, Matilde Amorosi. Malafemmena: il romanzo dell'unico, vero, grande amore di Totò. Mondadori, 2009. {{ISBN|8804584521}}.
• Ornella Di Russo. Cogito ergo De Curtis. Fermenti, 2013. {{ISBN|8897171389}}.

{{Commons category}}

• [http://www.antoniodecurtis.org Site of Totò, Antonio De Curtis]
• [http://www.antoniodecurtis.com Omaggio a Antonio De Curtis in arte Totò]
• [http://www.tototruffa2002.it/ Antonio De Curtis e Totò, vita e opere]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20070220140636/http://www.antoniodecurtis.net/public/index.php Tribute to Totò (in Italian)]
• {{IMDb name|0869451}}
• [http://www.lapatriagrande.net/06_cultura/Toto/vota_antonio_la_trippa!.htm Tribute to Totò in "La Patria Grande de Caracas" (in Spanish and Italian)]

{{Nastro d'Argento Best Actor}}

{{Italian film genres}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Toto}}

Category:1898 births

Category:1967 deaths

Category:Male actors from Naples

Category:Film people from Naples

Category:Writers from Naples

Category:Singers from Naples

Category:Comedians from Naples

Category:Composers from Naples

Category:People of Sicilian descent

Category:Italian male film actors

Category:Italian male stage actors

Category:Italian male television actors

Category:Italian male comedians

Category:Italian male composers

Category:Italian male dramatists and playwrights

Category:Italian male poets

Category:Italian male screenwriters

Category:Italian male songwriters

Category:Italian slapstick comedians

Category:Italian lyricists

Category:Italian military personnel of World War I

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Category:20th-century Italian male actors

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Category:20th-century Italian comedians

Category:20th-century Italian composers

Category:20th-century male composers

Category:20th-century Italian dramatists and playwrights