Lino Ventura
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. ...
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Acting
Movie
Army of Shadows
as Philippe Gerbier
1969
Movie
Elevator to the Gallows
as Le Commissaire Cherrier
1958
Movie
Crooks in Clover
as Fernand Naudin
1963
Movie
The Sicilian Clan
as Commissaire Le Goff
1969
Movie
The Inquisitor
as Inspector Antoine Gallien
1981
Movie
Touchez Pas au Grisbi
as Angelo Fraiser
1954
Movie
A Pain in the Ass
as Ralf Milan
1973
Movie
Le Deuxième Souffle
as Gustave 'Gu' Minda
1966
Movie
The Medusa Touch
as Brunel
1978
Movie
Money Money Money
as Lino Massaro
1972
Movie
Let's Not Get Angry
as Antoine Beretto
1966
Movie
Greed in the Sun
as Hervé Marec, aka 'Le plouc'
1964
Movie
The Great Spy Chase
as Francis Lagneau
1964
Movie
Taxi for Tobruk
as le brigadier Théo Dumas
1961
Movie
The Big Risk
as Abel Davos
1960
Movie
The Wise Guys
as Laurent Dannecker
1965
Movie
The Last Adventure
as Roland
1967
Movie
The French Detective
as Commissioner Verjeat
1975
Movie
Maigret Sets a Trap
as Inspecteur Torrence
1958
Movie
The Valachi Papers
as Vito Genovese
1972
Movie
Last Known Address
as Principal Inspector Marceau Leonetti
1970
Movie
Illustrious Corpses
as Inspector Amerigo Rogas
1976
Movie
The Slap
as Jean Douléan
1974
Movie
Razzia
as Roger le Catalan
1955