Born
July 1922 in Italy, Celi was considered to be the
renaissance
man of theatre and cinema. Making some early appearances in Italian
films during the 1940s, he found opportunities limited and went on to
spend two decades working on the stage in South America where he
directed two films. In 1964 he appeared in the Italian produced spy
film
That Man from Rio (1964)
which brought him back to the attention of European cinema producers.
The next year he went on to star in a triple bill of American produced
films shot in Europe - WW2 actioner
Von Ryan's Express (1965), Charlton Heston historical semi-epic
The Agony and the Ecstacy (1965) and culminating most famously as the chief villian in James Bond thriller
Thunderball
(1965). However Celi was unable to make the break into Hollywood, his
English although good was very heavily accented and had to be dubbed -
something commonplace in European cinema, but unpopular in the USA,
hence this was to be his peak of his mainstream cinematic fame. The
next year saw supporting roles in the massive scale
Grand Prix (1966) and the curious art-house film
King of Hearts (1966), and by 1967, Celi was firmly lodged in the Euro-cinema realm, appearing in a self-parody role in James Bond spoof
OK Connery (1967) and playing the first of many 'Mafia Boss' roles in
Grand Slam (1967). His heavy build, and dignified air was perfectly suited to this role and he would repeat similar roles in
Mario Bava's crazy
Diabolik (1968) and Fernando Di Leo's crime films
La Mala Ordina (1972) and
Live Like a Cop, Die Like a Man (1976). He also appeared in a variety of giallo and horror films as well as a
Spaghetti Western, the near-surrealist
Death Sentence
(1967). By the 1980s, euro-cinema was in decline, and Celi made
the switch to television, appearing in a few European shows before his
death in 1986.
Adolfo Celi is one of many actors with a big filmography, known to the world for a single role - in this case Emile Largo in
Thunderball
(1965). However, after his short-lived Hollywood sucess, he found a
suitable niché playing clergy and mafia bosses in dozens of
movies that have since become cult favourites.
