Walter Chiari

Walter Annicchiarico (8 March 1924 – 20 December 1991), known as Walter Chiari [ˈvalter ˈkjaːri], was an Italian stage and screen actor, mostly in comedy roles.

Walter Chiari
Chiari in 1964
Born
Walter Annicchiarico

(1924-03-08)8 March 1924
Verona, Kingdom of Italy
Died20 December 1991(1991-12-20) (aged 67)
Milan, Italy
OccupationActor
Years active1946–1991

Biography

Walter Annicchiarico was born in Verona, Italy on 8 March 1924 to a family originally from Apulia. During World War II he joined the Decima Flottiglia MAS, created by the Fascist regime, and then the Wehrmacht. Chiari achieved a certain degree of international success in films such as The Little Hut (1957), Bonjour Tristesse (1958), Chimes at Midnight (1966), and The Valachi Papers (1972). He appeared opposite Anna Magnani in Luchino Visconti's film Bellissima (1951).

In the late 1950s and 1960s he was one of the main protagonists of the "Dolce Vita", the glitzy and glamorous Italian jet-set scene, centered in Rome and especially focused on the booming cinema industry with which he was so at ease.

Chiari and Lucia Bosè in Era lei che lo voleva (1952)

During the making of The Little Hut he met Ava Gardner (still formally married to Frank Sinatra but already estranged from him), and he started a passionate and tumultuous relationship with the American superstar.

Unlike many Italian actors of the time he had a full and fluent command of English that he put to good use in his Broadway spell, which in 1961 saw him performing in The Gay Life (a musical comedy inspired by a Schnitzler piece) for 113 shows.

He starred in They're a Weird Mob (1966), the last of the Powell and Pressburger films, based on a popular Australian novel by John O'Grady. He also appeared in the Australian film Squeeze a Flower in 1970.

In 1970 he was arrested and jailed in Rome on suspicion of cocaine possession and trafficking, with 70 days passing before he was bailed. Despite being known in show business as a cocaine user, Chiari enjoyed for years the de facto impunity often accorded to members of his trade (provided he kept his addiction private). The willingness of authorities to prosecute him, mounting a nationwide scandal, was seen by some as an attempt to distract public opinion from the fruitless search for the culprits of the Piazza Fontana bombing, which precipitated Italy in fear.

After his release and partial acquittal (he was deemed not guilty of the trafficking count and received a lenient sentence for the charge of drug possession for personal use) his career never recovered. The Italian state television was off-limits for him, and all he could aspire to were bit parts in low-key comedies and local television appearances, such as on Antenna 3 Lombardia. He concentrated on theatre as a way of stopping the downward spiral and, while never regaining his former fame, he gave some brilliant performances in plays such as Sheridan's The Critic, Marc Terrier's Six heures plus tard and Beckett's Endgame.

Chiari died of a sudden heart attack in Milan, at home, on 21 December 1991. On that same day he had undertaken a complete, positive medical check-up. Not showing up at a dinner with a theatre manager where he should have discussed his involvement in a new production, he was found by his host (who reached the residence where he was living at the time) sitting in an armchair, in front of a functioning television.

His gravestone carries the line he once mentioned to director Dino Risi as his favorite choice for an epitaph: "Don't worry, I'm merely catching up with sleep". The grave is inside Civico Mausoleo Palanti in Cimitero Monumentale di Milano.[1]

Filmography
  • Vanity (directed by Giorgio Pàstina) (1947)
  • Toto Tours Italy (directed by Mario Mattòli) (1948) as Bruno
  • Che tempi! (directed by Giorgio Bianchi) (1948) as Eugenio Devoto
  • L'inafferrabile 12 (directed by Mario Mattoli) (1950) as Carletto Esposito / Brandoletti
  • I cadetti di Guascogna (directed by Mario Mattòli) (1950) as Walter Mantoni
  • That Ghost of My Husband (directed by Camillo Mastrocinque) (1950) as Gianni Alberti
  • Abbiamo vinto! (directed by Robert Stemmle) (1951) as Giorgio Silvestri
  • Arrivano i nostri (directed by Mario Mattòli) (1951) as Walter Introcci, l'autista
  • È l'amor che mi rovina (directed by Mario Soldati) (1951) as Walter Palaccioni
  • O.K. Nerone (directed by Mario Soldati) (1951) as Fiorello Capone
  • Il padrone del vapore (directed by Mario Mattòli) (1951) as himself
  • Era lui... sì! sì! (directed by Metz and Marchesi) (1951) as Walter Milani
  • Bellissima (directed by Luchino Visconti) (1951) as Alberto Annovazzi
  • Vendetta... sarda (directed by Mario Mattòli) (1952) as Gualtiero Porchiddu
  • The Dream of Zorro (directed by Mario Soldati) (1952) as Don Raimundo Esteban
  • Cinque poveri in automobile (directed by Mario Mattòli) (1952) as Paolo
  • L'ora della verità (directed by Jean Delannoy) (1952) as Un client du cabaret
  • Noi due soli (directed by Marino Girolami) (1952) as Walter
  • Lo sai che i papaveri (directed by Vittorio Metz and Marcello Marchesi) (1952) as Gualtiero / Walter
  • Viva il cinema! (directed by Giorgio Baldaccini and Enzo Trapani) (1952)
  • Era lei che lo voleva! (directed by Marino Girolami and Giorgio Simonelli) (1953) as Walter Martini
  • Cinema d'altri tempi (directed by Steno) (1953) as Marcello Serventi
  • Viva la rivista! (directed by Enzo Trapani) (1953)
  • Siamo tutti Milanesi (directed by Mario Landi) (1953)
  • What Scoundrels Men Are! (directed by Glauco Pellegrini) (1953) as Bruno
  • A Day in Court (directed by Steno) (1954) as Don Michele
  • Questa è la vita (directed by Aldo Fabrizi) (1954) as Il commissario (segment "Marsina stretta")
  • Gran varietà (directed by Domenico Paolella) (1954)
  • Avanzi di galera (directed by Vittorio Cottafavi) (1954) as Giuseppe Rasi
  • It Happened at the Police Station (directed by Giorgio Simonelli) (1954) as Luigi Giovetti
  • Vacanze d'amore (directed by Jean-Paul Le Chanois) (1955) as Momo
  • Nanà (directed by Christian-Jaque) (1955) as Fontan
  • Je suis un sentimental (directed by John Berry) (1955) as Dédé la Couleuvre
  • Accadde al penitenziario (directed by Giorgio Bianchi) (1955) as Walter Polacchi
  • Io piaccio (directed by Giorgio Bianchi) (1955) as Professor Roberto Maldi
  • Red and Black (directed by Domenico Paolella) (1955)
  • Mio zio Giacinto (directed by Ladislao Vajda) (1956) as Caballero elegante
  • Donatella (directed by Mario Monicelli) (1956) as Guido
  • Wives and Obscurities (directed by Leonardo De Mitri) (1956) as Frank Cattabriga, suo figlio
  • The Little Hut (directed by Mark Robson) (1957) as Mario
  • Bonjour tristesse, directed by Otto Preminger (1958) as Pablo
  • Festa di maggio (directed by Luis Saslavsky) (1958) as Gilbert
  • Amore a priva vista (directed by Franco Rossi) (1958) as Luigi
  • I zitelloni (directed by Giorgio Bianchi) (1958) as Marcello
  • La ragazza di piazza San Pietro (directed by Piero Costa) (1958) as Roberto Gradi
  • L'amico del giaguaro (directed by Giuseppe Bennati) (1958) as Augusto
  • Parque de Madrid (directed by Enrique Cahen Salaberry) (1959) as Alberto
  • Lui, lei and il nonno (directed by Anton Giulio Majano) (1959) as Eugenio
  • Le sorprese dell'amore (directed by Luigi Comencini) (1960) as Ferdinando Aloisi
  • I baccanali di Tiberio (directed by Giorgio Simonelli) (1960) as Cassio, the Cicerone
  • Vacanze in Argentina (directed by Guido Leoni) (1960) as Il barista
  • Un mandarino per Teo (directed by Mario Mattòli) (1960) as Teo Tosci
  • Femmine di lusso (directed by Giorgio Bianchi) (1960) as Walter
  • Un dollaro di fifa (directed by Giorgio Simonelli) (1960) as Mike
  • Ferragosto in bikini (directed by Marino Girolami) (1960) as 'Harold' Pasquale Esposito
  • Caccia al marito (directed by Marino Girolami) as Himself
  • La moglie di mio marito (directed by Tony Roman) (1961) as Giulio
  • Bellezze sulla spiaggia (directed by Romolo Girolami) (1961) as Walter Crocci
  • Walter and i suoi cugini (directed by Marino Girolami) (1961) as Walter Colasuonno / Rosario Colasuonno / Nicola Colasuonno
  • Mariti a congresso (directed by Luigi Filippo D'Amico) (1961)
  • La ragazza sotto il lenzuolo (directed by Marino Girolami) (1961) as Bruno
  • I magnifici tre (directed by Giorgio Simonelli) (1961) as Pablo
  • Copacabana Palace (directed by Steno) (1962) as Ugo
  • I motorizzati (directed by Camillo Mastrocinque) (1962) as Valentino
  • Due contro tutti (directed by Alberto De Martino and Antonio Momplet) (1962) as Bull Bullivan
  • Gli Italiani and le donne (directed by Marino Girolami) (1962) as Renato Nelli (segment "L'Abito non fa il Monaco")
  • Il giorno più corto (directed by Sergio Corbucci) (1963) as L'avvocato difensore
  • L'attico (directed by Gianni Puccini) (1963) as Gabriele
  • La rimpatriata (directed by Damiano Damiani) (1963) as Cesarino
  • Obiettivo ragazze (directed by Mario Mattòli) (1963) as Antonio Zanelli
  • Le motorizzate (directed by Marino Girolami) (1963) as Walter (segment "La Signora Ci Marcia")
  • Gli imbroglioni (directed by Lucio Fulci) (1963) as Dr. Corti (segment "Medico e fidanzata")
  • Gli onorevoli (directed by Sergio Corbucci) (1963) as Salvatore Dagnino
  • Follie d'estate (directed by Carlo Infascelli and Edoardo Anton) (1963) as uomo della 'Vanoni'
  • La donna degli altri è sempre più bella (directed by Marino Girolami) (1963) as Walter, il bagnino (segment "Bagnino lover")
  • Gli eroi del West (directed by Steno) (1964) as Mike
  • Il giovedì (directed by Dino Risi) (1964) as Dino Versini
  • Se permettete, parliamo di donne (directed by Ettore Scola) (1964) as Philanderer
  • I maniaci (directed by Lucio Fulci) (1964) as The Sicilian hitchhiker (segment "L'autostop") / Car driver (segment "Il sorpasso") / Pasquale Taddei (segment "La protesta") / Client of Night-clubs (segment "Lo strip")
  • I gemelli del Texas (directed by Steno) (1964) as Ezechiel / Joe
  • Le tardone (directed by Marino Girolami and Javier Setó) (1964) as Bortolo Masteghin (episode "40 ma non li dimostra")
  • Här kommer bärsärkarna (directed by Arne Mattsson) (1965) as Pollo
  • The Sucker (directed by Gérard Oury) (1965) (uncredited)
  • Thrilling (directed by Gian Luigi Polidoro) (1965) as Bertazzi (segment "Sadik")
  • Falstaff (directed by Orson Welles) (1965) as Mr. Silence
  • Made in Italy (directed by Nanni Loy) (1965) as Enrico (segment "1 'Usi e costumi', episode 3")
  • Io, io, io... e gli altri (directed by Alessandro Blasetti) (1966) as Sandro
  • Ischia operazione amore (directed by Vittorio Sala) (1966) as Enrico Laterra - aka Trema la terra
  • They're a Weird Mob (aka Sono strana gente) (directed by Michael Powell) (1966) as Nino Culotta
  • Amore all'italiana (directed by Steno) (1966) as Il venditore di uova / Antonio / Flavio / 007 / Il viaggiatore / Roberto Matrasso
  • The Most Beautiful Couple in the World (directed by Camillo Mastrocinque) (1968) as Walter
  • Capriccio all'italiana (directed by Mauro Bolognini) (1968) as Paolo (segment "Gelosa, La")
  • Quei temerari sulle loro pazze, scatenate, scalcinate carriole (directed by Ken Annakin) (1969) as Angelo
  • Squeeze a Flower (directed by Marc Daniels) (1970) as Brother George
  • The Valachi Papers (Italian title: Joe Valachi - I segreti di Cosa Nostra) (directed by Terence Young (1972), produced by Jerry Ferraro)[2] as Gap
  • Amore mio, non farmi male (directed by Vittorio Sindoni) (1974) as Paolo De Simone
  • Due prostitute a Pigalle (directed by László Szabó) (1975) as Walter, le clochard
  • Son tornate a fiorire le rose (directed by Vittorio Sindoni) (1975) as Paolo De Simone
  • La banca di Monate (directed by Francesco Massaro) (1975) as Ragionier Adelmo Pigorini
  • Per amore di Cesarina (directed by Vittorio Sindoni) (1976) as Davide Camporesi
  • Passi furtivi in una notte boia (directed by Vincenzo Rigo) (1976) as Pompeo Piretti
  • Come ti rapisco il pupo (directed by Lucio De Caro) (1976) as Sterzi - Jimmy's father
  • La bidonata (directed by Luciano Ercoli) (1977) as Renato
  • Ride bene... chi ride ultimo (directed by Walter Chiari) (1977) as Loris Martegani (segment "Prete per forza")
  • Tanto va la gatta al lardo... (directed by Marco Aleandri) (1978) as Teodoro Casadei
  • Ridendo and scherzando (directed by Marco Aleandri) (1978) as Giorgio
  • Belli and brutti ridono tutti (directed by Domenico Paolella) (1979) as Don Enzo
  • Tre sotto il lenzuolo (directed by Paolo Dominici) (1979) as Giorgio Mori (segment "No, non è per gelosia")
  • Romance (directed by Massimo Mazzucco (1986) and produced by Jerry Ferraro)[3] as Giulio
  • Kafka la colonia penale (directed by Giuliano Betti) (1988)
  • Tracce di vita amorosa (directed by Peter Del Monte) (1990) as Giorgio (final film role)
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References
  1. "Walter Chiari", Mediane Books.
  2. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm7930716/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1
  3. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm7930716/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1
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