Lino Ventura

Born: 1919-07-13 in Parma, Emilia-Romagna, Italy

Died: 1987-10-22

Known For: Acting

Biography

Angiolino Giuseppe Pasquale Ventura (14 July 1919 – 22 October 1987), known as Lino Ventura, was an Italian-born actor and philanthropist, who lived and worked for most of his life in France. He was considered one of the greatest leading men of French cinema during the 1960s and 1970s, known for his portrayal of tough characters on both sides of the law in crime dramas. Born in Parma and raised in Paris, Ventura worked as a professional wrestler before an injury ended his career. He made his film debut as a gangster in the 1954 Jacques Becker film Touchez pas au grisbi and rapidly became one of France's favourite film actors, playing opposite many other great stars and working with such leading directors as Louis Malle, Claude Sautet, and Claude Miller. Usually portraying a tough man, either a criminal or a cop, he also featured as a leader of the Resistance in the Jean-Pierre Melville-directed Army of Shadows (1969). He was nominated for a Cesar Award for his portrayal of Jean Valjean in the 1982 film adaptation of Les Misérables. After one of his four children, a daughter, was born handicapped, he and his wife founded a charity Perce-Neige (Snowdrop) which aids disabled children and their parents. Though a lifelong resident and pop cultural icon in France, Ventura always considered himself an Italian first and foremost, and never took French citizenship. He was nonetheless voted 23rd in a 2005 poll of the 100 greatest Frenchmen. ... Description above from the Wikipedia article Lino Ventura, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Filmography

2024

At the End of the Day as Lino (archive footage) (uncredited)

2022

La TV des 70's : Quand Giscard était président as Self (archive footage)
Bacri, comme un air de famille as Self (archive footage)
Patrick Dewaere, My Hero as Self (archive footage) - actor

2019

Aznavour by Charles as Self - Actor (archive footage)
Breakpoint: A Counter History of Progress as Self (archive footage)

1987

Sacrée Soirée as Self (archive footage)
Le monde est à vous as Self (archive footage)
La Rumba as un caïd

1986

Sword of Gideon as Papa

1984

One Hundred Days in Palermo as General Carlo Dalla Chiesa
The Seventh Target as Bastien Grimaldi

1983

The Ruffian as Aldo

1982

Champs-Elysées as Self
Les Misérables as Jean Valjean / Mr. Madeleine / Champmathieu
Spy, Stand Up as Sébastien Grenier

1981

The Inquisitor as Inspector Antoine Gallien

1980

Sunday Lovers as François Quérole (sketch 'La méthode française')

1979

L'Homme en colère as Romain Dupre

1978

Butterfly on the Shoulder as Roland Fériaud
The Medusa Touch as Brunel

1977

Auf los geht's los as Self

1976

Illustrious Corpses as Inspector Amerigo Rogas

1975

Les Rendez-vous du dimanche as Self
Numéro un as Self
The French Detective as Commissioner Verjeat
The Cage as Julien

1974

Spécial cinéma as Self
The Slap as Jean Douléan
Three Tough Guys as Father Charlie

1973

The Silent One as Clément Tibère
A Pain in the Ass as Ralf Milan
The Right of the Maddest as Le gendarme motorisé instructeur
Happy New Year as Simon
Far West as Prisoner

1972

Le Grand Échiquier as Self
Midi trente as Self
The Valachi Papers as Vito Genovese
Money Money Money as Lino Massaro

1971

Rum Runners as Cornelius von Zeelinga
Fantasia Among the Squares as Sagamore Noonan

1970

Last Known Address as Principal Inspector Marceau Leonetti

1969

Army of Shadows as Philippe Gerbier
The Sicilian Clan as Commissaire Le Goff

1968

Birds of Prey as Le rapace / Le rital

1967

The Last Adventure as Roland
Deux Romains en Gaule as Un client du bar

1966

Let's Not Get Angry as Antoine Beretto
To Skin a Spy as Pascal Fabre
Le Deuxième Souffle as Gustave 'Gu' Minda
Jean-Pierre Melville on the Set of Le Deuxième Souffle as Self - Interviewee

1965

The Wise Guys as Laurent Dannecker
Cloportes as Alphonse Maréchal aka 'Le Malin'
The Dictator's Guns as Jacques Cournot

1964

The Great Spy Chase as Francis Lagneau
The Monocle's Sour Laugh as Elie's Client (uncredited)
Weeping for a Bandit as "El lutos"
Greed in the Sun as Hervé Marec, aka 'Le plouc'

1963

The Threepenny Opera as Brown, Polizeichef von London
Crooks in Clover as Fernand Naudin

1962

The Devil and the Ten Commandments as Garigny
Hitch-Hike as Paul, le chauffeur de car
Emile's Boat as Émile Bouet
Carmen di Trastevere as Vincenzo, le caïd

1961

The Last Judgment as Giovanna's father
Black City as Il bandito
Taxi for Tobruk as le brigadier Théo Dumas
The Lions Are Loose as le docteur André Challenberg
Girl in the Window as Federico

1960

Mistress of the World - Part II as Biamonte
The Big Risk as Abel Davos
Mistress of the World - Part I as Biamonte

1959

Pensione Edelweiss as Borcher
Way of Youth as Tiercelin
Witness in the City as Ancelin
Twelve Hours by the Clock as Fourbieux
125 rue Montmartre as Pascal
The Tiger Attacks as Paul Lamiani
Marie-Octobre as Carlo Bernardi

1958

Maigret Sets a Trap as Inspecteur Torrence
The Mask of the Gorilla as Géo Paquet, Le Gorille
Elevator to the Gallows as Le Commissaire Cherrier
Three Days to Live as Lino Ferrari
The Lovers of Montparnasse as Morel

1957

To Catch a Spy as Bérès
Burning Fuse as Legentil
The Strange Mr. Steve as Denis
Speaking of Murder as Pepito
Dishonorable Discharge as Paulo, Claire's lover

1956

Cinépanorama as Self
Crime and Punishment as Gustave Messonnier
Law of the Streets as Mario

1955

Razzia as Roger le Catalan

1954

Touchez Pas au Grisbi as Angelo Fraiser