Biography
Vittorio Gassman was an Italian actor, director and screenwriter. He was born Vittorio Gassmann on 1 September 1922 in Struppa, Genoa, and died on 29 June 2000 in Rome.
He made his stage debut in Milan in 1942 and his film debut in 1946. His early screen roles included Walter in Bitter Rice (1949). He later appeared in Big Deal on Madonna Street (1958), The Great War (1959), Il Sorpasso (1962), For Love and Gold (1966), We All Loved Each Other So Much (1974) and Scent of a Woman (1974). In 1996 he played King Benny in Sleepers.
Gassman founded and directed theatre companies, including the Teatro d'Arte Italiano with Luigi Squarzina in 1952, and was known for work with directors such as Luchino Visconti. He received the Golden Lion lifetime achievement award at the Venice Film Festival in 1996.
