Antonio Cifariello


Antonio Cifariello was an Italian actor and documentarist.

Life and career

Born in Naples, son of the sculptor Filippo Cifariello, Antonio started his career in 1950 as the main actor, credited as Fabio Montale, in La sposa che vestiva di bianco, a film which had several production issues and that was released only in 1953. In the meanwhile Cifariello appeared in several fotoromanzi using the stage name Mauro Vellani, and enrolled at the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia in Rome, graduating in 1953. The same year, he was chosen by Federico Fellini to star in Marriage Agency, a segment of the anthology film Love in the City. Following the release of the film, in a short time Cifariello established himself as one of the most requested young actors in Italian cinema, mainly active in romantic comedies and adventure films. Tired of playing stereotypal characters of seducers or boyfriends, in the 1960s Cifariello gradually moved his career towards journalism and television documentaries. On December 12, 1968, during a trip to Zambia for a RAI documentary, Cifariello died in a plane crash. He was 38.

Selected filmography