Person
Totò
Naples, Campania, Italy
Totò was born Antonio Clemente in a poor district of Naples, the illegitimate son of Anna Clemente from Sicily and Marquis Giuseppe De Curtis from Naples. Nicknamed “il principe d…
IMDbKnown for
Popular titles
Photos
More stills of Totò
Biography
A closer look
Read full biography
Totò was born Antonio Clemente in a poor district of Naples, the illegitimate son of Anna Clemente from Sicily and Marquis Giuseppe De Curtis from Naples. Nicknamed “il principe della risata’ (the prince of laughter), he was an Italian comedian, film and theatre actor, writer, singer and songwriter, and widely considered one of the greatest Italian artists of the 20th century. While he first gained his popularity as a comic actor, his dramatic roles, poetry, and songs are all of cultural import; his style and a number of his recurring jokes and gestures have become universally known memes in Italy. As a comic actor, Totò is classified as an heir of the Commedia dell'Arte tradition, and has been compared to such figures as Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin. 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. He served in the army during World War I and then went back to acting to develop the trademarks of his style. In 1937, he appeared in his first movie "Fermo con le mani", and later starred in 96 more films, many of which are still frequently broadcast on Italian television. In his vast cinematographic career, Totò had the opportunity to act side by side with virtually all major Italian actors of the time. Totò's unmistakable figure, with his peculiarly irregular face (due to an accident in his teen years), and his unique trademark ability to disarticulate his body like a marionette, soon became very popular and his comic gags became part of the Italian culture. Totò died at the age of 69 in Rome after a series of heart attacks. Due to overwhelming popularity there were three funeral services: the first in Rome, and the second and third in Naples. Totò's birth home has been recently opened to the public as a museum.
Filmography
Movies and shows, newest first
-
2025
'A Livella
Movie Original Concept
-
2023
Totò e il Principe De Curtis - L'uomo oltre la maschera
Movie Se stesso
-
2021
We Are Cinema
Movie Self (archive footage)
-
2021
Cinecittà, de Mussolini à la Dolce Vita
Movie Self (archive footage)
-
2020
Siamo tutti Alberto Sordi?
Movie Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
-
2016
Naples '44
Movie Self (archive footage)
-
2009
Hollywood sul Tevere
Movie
-
2004
How We Got the Italian Movie Business Into Trouble: The True Story of Franco and Ciccio
Movie Self (archive footage)
-
1980
SuperTotò
Movie
-
1978
Antologia di Totò
Movie Totò (se stesso)
-
1977
Forza Italia!
Movie Self (archive footage)
- 1977
-
1975
Un sorriso, uno schiaffo, un bacio in bocca
Movie (archive footage)
-
1968
Caprice Italian Style
Movie Anziano Signore / Iago
-
1968
What Are the Clouds?
Movie Iago
-
1968
Totò Story
Movie
More credits
- 1967
-
1967
Tutto Totò - Totò a Napoli
Movie Totò, la guida non autorizzata
-
1967
Tutto Totò - Totò Ciak
Movie Totò l'agente segreto
-
1967
Tutto Totò - Totò Ye Ye
Movie musicista capellone
-
1967
Il latitante
Movie Gennaro La Pezza
-
1967
Tutto Totò - Il grande maestro
Movie Mardoccheo Stonatelli
-
1967
The Witches
Movie Ciancicato Miao (segment "La Terra vista dalla Luna")
-
1967
The Earth As Seen from the Moon
Movie Ciancicato Miao
-
1967
Tutto Totò - La scommessa
Movie Oberdan Lo Cascio
-
1967
Tutto Totò - Don Giovannino
Movie Barnaba Parmiggiani aka 'Babà'
-
1967
Tutto Totò - Premio Nobel
Movie il professor Serafino Bolletta
-
1966
The Treasure of San Gennaro
Movie Don Vincenzo
-
1966
The Hawks and the Sparrows
Movie Totò Innocenti / Frate Cicillo
-
1965
Rita the American Girl
Movie Serafino Benvenuti
-
1965
The Mandrake
Movie il frate
-
1965
Latin Lovers
Movie Rag. Antonio Gargiulo (ep. Amore e morte)
-
1965
Totò d'Arabia
Movie Totò
-
1964
Beautiful Families
Movie Filiberto Comanducci
-
1964
What Ever Happened to Baby Toto?
Movie Totò Baby / il Padre
-
1964
Laughs Italian Style
Movie
-
1964
Totò versus the Black Pirate
Movie Josè
-
1963
The Commandant
Movie Col. Antonio Cavalli
-
1963
Gli onorevoli
Movie Antonio La Trippa
-
1963
Toto and Cleopatra
Movie Marc'Antonio / Totonno
