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IMDbPro

Eduardo Ciannelli(1889-1969)

  • Actor
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Eduardo Ciannelli
Victims of oppressive town boss Honey are offered help by an unusual alliance of gunmen and circus performers.
Play trailer3:46
Boot Hill (1969)
5 Videos
71 Photos
Eduardo Ciannelli was born on the beautiful island of Ischia in the Bay of Naples, which is renowned for its thermal baths. His father, a physician, owned a health spa there and Eduardo briefly followed the same career path and studied medicine at the University of Naples, graduating as a fully qualified doctor. His calling, however, lay elsewhere. He first came to prominence as a leading baritone opera star, performing at La Scala and touring internationally. Then he reinvented himself as a dramatic actor of stage and screen, first in Europe, and, from 1919, in America.

He first performed on Broadway in the short-lived play 'Always You' (1920), then had better roles in 'Rose-Marie' (1924-1926), 'The Front Page' (1928-29, as Diamond Louis, establishing his stereotypical later screen persona) and 'Uncle Vanya' (1930,as Telegin). He reprised his stage role from 'Reunion in Vienna' (1931-32) in the MGM movie of 1933. With his heavily-lined face, piercing eyes and erudite Italian-accented manners, Ciannelli was soon cast as Italian gangsters (apparently, there was also some alleged resemblance to the infamous Lucky Luciano). One of his most celebrated roles was as Trock Estrella in Winterset (1936) (re-creating another previous stage performance), which the New York Times review of December 4 described as the film's 'most compelling characterization'. This set the pattern for many of Ciannelli's later efforts, such as the smooth, elegant racketeer Johnny Vanning in Marked Woman (1937) or Rockey in Law of the Underworld (1938). Other notable villains in his repertoire include the maniacal leader of the Kali sect in Gunga Din (1939) and the suave evil genius, titular villain in the Republic serial Mysterious Doctor Satan (1940).

Attempting to shake-off his typecast 'bad guy' image, Eduardo appeared as the jovial speakeasy proprietor Giono in Kitty Foyle (1940). Following that, his screen roles began to diminish. Changing his name to Edward Ciannelli failed to re-ignite his career. In 1952, he returned to Italy to appear in continental co-productions, occasionally re-surfacing in Hollywood sword-and-sandal epics (Attila (1954),Helen of Troy (1956), Love Slaves of the Amazons (1957)). He also continued to portray Godfather-types in film (The Brotherhood (1968),Stiletto (1969)) and on television (Naked City,The Untouchables,I Spy). Among his last roles of note, one must include Houseboat (1958), as Arturo Zaccardi, and a recurring character part, jazz club owner Waldo, in the television series Johnny Staccato (1959). Eduardo died in Rome in October 1969 and is interred at the Cimitero Flaminio in Lazio.
BornAugust 30, 1889
DiedOctober 8, 1969(80)
BornAugust 30, 1889
DiedOctober 8, 1969(80)
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank

Photos71

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Known for

Gunga Din (1939)
Gunga Din
7.2
  • Guru
  • 1939
Laraine Day and Joel McCrea in Foreign Correspondent (1940)
Foreign Correspondent
7.4
  • Mr. Krug(as Eduardo Cianelli)
  • 1940
Eduardo Ciannelli, Ella Neal, and Robert Wilcox in Mysterious Doctor Satan (1940)
Mysterious Doctor Satan
7.2
  • Doctor Satan(as Edward Ciannelli)
  • 1940
Janet Leigh, Jack Palance, Robert Vaughn, and David McCallum in The Spy in the Green Hat (1967)
The Spy in the Green Hat
5.7
  • Arturo 'Fingers' Stilletto
  • 1967

Credits

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IMDbPro

Actor



  • Barbara Bouchet in Colpo rovente (1970)
    Colpo rovente
    5.5
    • Parker
    • 1970
  • Terence Hill, Eduardo Ciannelli, Bud Spencer, and Woody Strode in Boot Hill (1969)
    Boot Hill
    5.5
    • Judge Boone (as Edward Ciannelli)
    • 1969
  • Anthony Quinn, Virna Lisi, and Anna Magnani in The Secret of Santa Vittoria (1969)
    The Secret of Santa Vittoria
    7.2
    • Luigi
    • 1969
  • Stiletto (1969)
    Stiletto
    5.1
    • Don Andrea
    • 1969
  • Gregory Peck, Telly Savalas, Omar Sharif, Ted Cassidy, Julie Newmar, Camilla Sparv, and Keenan Wynn in Mackenna's Gold (1969)
    Mackenna's Gold
    6.7
    • Prairie Dog
    • 1969
  • Raymond Burr and Barbara Sigel in Ironside (1967)
    Ironside
    6.9
    TV Series
    • John Danioni
    • 1969
  • The Brotherhood (1968)
    The Brotherhood
    6.0
    • Don Peppino
    • 1968
  • Barbara Bain, Martin Landau, Peter Graves, Peter Lupus, and Greg Morris in Mission: Impossible (1966)
    Mission: Impossible
    7.9
    TV Series
    • Jack Rycher
    • 1967
  • Garrison's Gorillas (1967)
    Garrison's Gorillas
    7.7
    TV Series
    • Kodash
    • 1967
  • Bill Cosby and Robert Culp in I Spy (1965)
    I Spy
    7.2
    TV Series
    • Charamboulis
    • 1967
  • Noel Harrison and Stefanie Powers in The Girl from U.N.C.L.E. (1966)
    The Girl from U.N.C.L.E.
    6.6
    TV Series
    • Prince Boriarsi
    • 1967
  • The Time Tunnel (1966)
    The Time Tunnel
    7.5
    TV Series
    • Count Enrico Galba
    • 1967
  • Janet Leigh, Jack Palance, Robert Vaughn, and David McCallum in The Spy in the Green Hat (1967)
    The Spy in the Green Hat
    5.7
    • Arturo 'Fingers' Stilletto
    • 1967
  • The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1964)
    The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
    7.7
    TV Series
    • Arturo 'Fingers' Stilletto
    • Carlo Farenti
    • 1965–1966
  • Jericho (1966)
    Jericho
    7.4
    TV Series
    • Bonaface
    • 1966

Videos5

Trailer
Trailer 3:46
Trailer
Trailer
Trailer 2:07
Trailer
Trailer
Trailer 2:07
Trailer
Trailer
Trailer 1:37
Trailer
Gunga Din
Trailer 2:12
Gunga Din
Kitty Foyle
Trailer 2:00
Kitty Foyle

Personal details

Edit
  • Alternative names
    • Edoardo Cianelli
  • Height
    • 5′ 7″ (1.70 m)
  • Born
    • August 30, 1889
    • Ischia, Italy
  • Died
    • October 8, 1969
    • Rome, Lazio, Italy(cancer)
  • Spouse
    • Alma WolfeJune 2, 1918 - June 23, 1968 (her death, 2 children)
  • Children
    • Lewis E. Ciannelli
  • Other works
    Stage: Appeared in "Always You" on Broadway. Musical comedy. Music by Herbert Stothart. Book by Oscar Hammerstein II. Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. Musical Director: Herbert P. Stothart. Choreographed by Robert Marks. Directed by Arthur Hammerstein. Central Theatre (moved to The Lyric Theatre from 26 Jan 1920- close): 5 Jan 1920- 28 Feb 1920 (68 performances). Cast: Joseph Barton (as "Thomas"), Rose Cardiff, Jose Carmen, Eduardo Ciannelli (as "An East Indian Peddler") [Broadway debut], Virginia Clark, Cortez and Peggy (as "Dancers"), Elinore Cullen, Helen Ford (as "Toinette Fontaine"), Bernard Gorcey (as "A Mysterious Conspirator"), George Hale (as "Ensemble"), Lillian Held, Ralph Herz (as "Montmorency Jones"), Leo Howe, Julie Kelety, Russell Mack (as "Charlie Langford"), Irma Marwick, Gene Morrison, Helen Neff, Marietta O'Brien, Mildred Rowland, Emily Russ, Memphis Russell, Walter Scanlan, Anna Seymour, Marvee Snow, Jacques Stone, Beatrice Summers, Jack Zambouli. Produced by Arthur Hammerstein.
  • Publicity listings
    • 3 Articles

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    He married Alma Wolfe in 1918. They had two sons, Lewis E. Ciannelli and Eduardo Jr.
  • Nickname
    • Edward Ciannelli

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