Victor Rietti
| Victor Rietti | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
Vittorio Rietti 29 February 1888 Ferrara, Italy |
| Died | 3 December 1963 (aged 75) London, England |
| Occupation | Actor, Director, Playwright |
| Spouse(s) | Rachel Rosenay |
| Children | Ronald Rietti, Robert Rietti |
Victor Rietti (29 February 1888 – 3 December 1963) was an Italian-born actor and director who became known through his work in television, especially through the many live television productions of the Italian play To Live in Peace during the 1950s. He was knighted by the Italian government.
Born in Ferrara, Italy in 1888 to a wealthy family, Vittorio Rietti was the eleventh of the twelve children of Samuele and Lucia Rietti. At the age of 13 he was discovered by the tragedian actor Tommaso Salvini while partaking in a charity performance. Salvini encouraged the boy to make the stage his career and it was under Salvini that he studied acting.
Rietti made his stage debut playing in Shakespeare at Bologna. At age 19 he had the distinction of being juvenile lead to Eleonora Duse in her company. But his parents, who wanted him to develop his musical talents, had him resume his studies and Vittorio studied violin at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels. Studying together with him in Brussels was his cousin Vittorio Rieti (later a Broadway composer). He formed his own band the Rietti String Players with considerable success. He served in the Italian Army during the First World War.
After World War I, Rietti resumed his stage career. In 1921 he founded Drama Players Theater (Later called Teatro Italiano and still later International Theater) which he ran for 40 years, producing popular Italian plays of the time. He would personally translate and adapt these plays into English and play the lead. He often cast his young son Bobby Rietti (known as Robert Rietti as an adult) in these plays. As a sideline, he taught acting, among his pupils were Ida Lupino, June Duprez and his son Bobby. His other son, Ronald Rietti, later became a film director and producer.
Vittorio's first motion picture was released in 1933, for which he was credited as Victor Rietti. He would appear in around 36 motion pictures, including a role as Beppo in Sinfonia Fatale (1946), the first American motion picture to be shot entirely in Italy. He made a cameo appearance in Come Fly with Me (1963) which would be his last film. He also broadcast in some 43 radio plays.
Rietti had a major success in the live television production of To Live in Peace (1951), playing the lead role, the lovable priest Don Geronimo Bonaparte, uncle of Napoleon - a part he previously played on the stage in one of his own productions. He had personally translated the Italian play by Giovacchino Forzano and adapted it for television. The television play won critical acclaim being voted best play of 1951. Rietti himself was given the critics’ Oscar for best television actor of 1951 for his performance.
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