Walter Chiari

Walter Annicchiarico (8 March 1924 – 20 December 1991), known as Walter Chiari , was an Italian stage and screen actor, mostly in comedy roles.

Biography Walter Annicchiarico was born in Verona, Italy on 8 March 1924 to a family originally from Apulia. During World War II, he joined the Decima Flottiglia MAS and was then drafted into the Wehrmacht (a detail that emerged only after his death). He was sent to a German anti-aircraft squad engaged in Northern France in Normandy where he was slightly wounded in the fighting during D-Day. Captured, he was taken to the American prisoner camp of Coltano.

In 1951, Luchino Visconti offered him the role of the young lover, in Bellissima; he continued in the theater, in the musical comedy with Delia Scala in 1956 with Buonanotte Bettina and in 1958 with Il gufo e la gattina, and in 1960 with Sandra Mondaini, Ave Ninchi and Alberto Bonucci with Un mandarino per Teo, all by Garinei and Giovannini, but also in the prose theater, acting in 1961 in The Gay Life, in 1965 with Gianrico Tedeschi in the comedy Luv by Murray Schisgal and, in 1966, with Renato Rascel in La strana coppia by Neil Simon.

During the making of The Little Hut, he met Ava Gardner (still married to Frank Sinatra but already estranged from him), and he started a relationship with the American superstar.

Chiari appeared in films such as The Little Hut (1957), Bonjour Tristesse (1958), Chimes at Midnight (1966) and The Valachi Papers (1972). He appeared opposite Anna Magnani in Luchino Visconti's film Bellissima (1951).

He starred in They're a Weird Mob (1966), the last of the Powell and Pressburger films, based on a popular Australian novel by John O'Grady. His then girlfriend, Italian singer and actress Alida Chelli, also appeared in the film; the two married in 1969, and had one son, television presenter Simone Annicchiarico, before their 1972 divorce. He also appeared in the Australian film Squeeze a Flower in 1970.

In 1970, he was arrested and jailed in Rome on suspicion of cocaine possession and trafficking. After his release and partial acquittal (he was deemed not guilty of the trafficking count and received a lenient sentence for the charge of drug possession for personal use), his career never recovered. The Italian state television was off-limits for him, and all he could aspire to were bit parts in low-key comedies and local television appearances, and on theatre.

Chiari died of a sudden heart attack in Milan, at home, on 21 December 1991. His gravestone bears the line he once mentioned to director Dino Risi as his favourite choice for an epitaph: "Don't worry, I'm merely catching up with sleep". His grave is in the Civico Mausoleo Palanti in the Cimitero Monumentale di Milano.

Filmography

Vanity (directed by Giorgio Pàstina) (1947) Toto Tours Italy (directed by Mario Mattòli) (1948) as Bruno Che tempi! (directed by Giorgio Bianchi) (1948) as Eugenio Devoto The Elusive Twelve (directed by Mario Mattoli) (1950) as Carletto Esposito / Brandoletti The Cadets of Gascony (directed by Mario Mattòli) (1950) as Walter Mantoni That Ghost of My Husband (directed by Camillo Mastrocinque) (1950) as Gianni Alberti Abbiamo vinto! (directed by Robert Stemmle) (1951) as Giorgio Silvestri Arrivano i nostri (directed by Mario Mattòli) (1951) as Walter Introcci, l'autista It's Love That's Ruining Me (directed by Mario Soldati) (1951) as Walter Palaccioni O.K. Nerone (directed by Mario Soldati) (1951) as Fiorello Capone The Steamship Owner (directed by Mario Mattòli) (1951) as himself Era lui... sì! sì! (directed by Metz and Marchesi) (1951) as Walter Milani Bellissima (directed by Luchino Visconti) (1951) as Alberto Annovazzi Sardinian Vendetta (directed by Mario Mattòli) (1952) as Gualtiero Porchiddu The Dream of Zorro (directed by Mario Soldati) (1952) as Don Raimundo Esteban Five Paupers in an Automobile (directed by Mario Mattòli) (1952) as Paolo L'ora della verità (directed by Jean Delannoy) (1952) as Un client du cabaret We Two Alone (directed by Marino Girolami) (1952) as Walter Poppy (directed by Vittorio Metz and Marcello Marchesi) (1952) as Gualtiero / Walter Viva il cinema! (directed by Giorgio Baldaccini and Enzo Trapani) (1952) It Was She Who Wanted It! (directed by Marino Girolami and Giorgio Simonelli) (1953) as Walter Martini Cinema d'altri tempi (directed by Steno) (1953) as Marcello Serventi Viva la rivista! (directed by Enzo Trapani) (1953) Siamo tutti Milanesi (directed by Mario Landi) (1953) What Scoundrels Men Are! (directed by Glauco Pellegrini) (1953) as Bruno A Day in Court (directed by Steno) (1954) as Don Michele Of Life and Love (directed by Aldo Fabrizi) (1954) as Il commissario (segment "Marsina stretta") Gran varietà (directed by Domenico Paolella) (1954) Avanzi di galera (directed by Vittorio Cottafavi) (1954) as Giuseppe Rasi It Happened at the Police Station (directed by Giorgio Simonelli) (1954) as Luigi Giovetti Vacanze d'amore (directed by Jean-Paul Le Chanois) (1955) as Momo Nanà (directed by Christian-Jaque) (1955) as Fontan Je suis un sentimental (directed by John Berry) (1955) as Dédé la Couleuvre Accadde al penitenziario (directed by Giorgio Bianchi) (1955) as Walter Polacchi Io piaccio (directed by Giorgio Bianchi) (1955) as Professor Roberto Maldi Red and Black (directed by Domenico Paolella) (1955) Mio zio Giacinto (directed by Ladislao Vajda) (1956) as Caballero elegante Donatella (directed by Mario Monicelli) (1956) as Guido Wives and Obscurities (directed by Leonardo De Mitri) (1956) as Frank Cattabriga, suo figlio The Little Hut (directed by Mark Robson) (1957) as Mario Bonjour tristesse, directed by Otto Preminger (1958) as Pablo Festa di maggio (directed by Luis Saslavsky) (1958) as Gilbert Amore a priva vista (directed by Franco Rossi) (1958) as Luigi I zitelloni (directed by Giorgio Bianchi) (1958) as Marcello La ragazza di piazza San Pietro (directed by Piero Costa) (1958) as Roberto Gradi The Friend of the Jaguar (directed by Giuseppe Bennati) (1959) as Augusto Parque de Madrid (directed by Enrique Cahen Salaberry) (1959) as Alberto Lui, lei and il nonno (directed by Anton Giulio Majano) (1959) as Eugenio Le sorprese dell'amore (directed by Luigi Comencini) (1960) as Ferdinando Aloisi I baccanali di Tiberio (directed by Giorgio Simonelli) (1960) as Cassio, the Cicerone Vacanze in Argentina (directed by Guido Leoni) (1960) as Il barista Un mandarino per Teo (directed by Mario Mattòli) (1960) as Teo Tosci Femmine di lusso (directed by Giorgio Bianchi) (1960) as Walter Un dollaro di fifa (directed by Giorgio Simonelli) (1960) as Mike Ferragosto in bikini (directed by Marino Girolami) (1960) as 'Harold' Pasquale Esposito Caccia al marito (directed by Marino Girolami) as Himself La moglie di mio marito (directed by Tony Roman) (1961) as Giulio Bellezze sulla spiaggia (directed by Romolo Girolami) (1961) as Walter Crocci Walter and i suoi cugini (directed by Marino Girolami) (1961) as Walter Colasuonno / Rosario Colasuonno / Nicola Colasuonno Mariti a congresso (directed by Luigi Filippo D'Amico) (1961) La ragazza sotto il lenzuolo (directed by Marino Girolami) (1961) as Bruno I magnifici tre (directed by Giorgio Simonelli) (1961) as Pablo Copacabana Palace (directed by Steno) (1962) as Ugo I motorizzati (directed by Camillo Mastrocinque) (1962) as Valentino Terrible Sheriff (directed by Alberto De Martino and Antonio Momplet) (1962) as Bull Bullivan Gli Italiani and le donne (directed by Marino Girolami) (1962) as Renato Nelli (segment "L'Abito non fa il Monaco") The Shortest Day (directed by Sergio Corbucci) (1963) as L'avvocato difensore The Attic (directed by Gianni Puccini) (1963) as Gabriele The Reunion (directed by Damiano Damiani) (1963) as Cesarino Obiettivo ragazze (directed by Mario Mattòli) (1963) as Antonio Zanelli Le motorizzate (directed by Marino Girolami) (1963) as Walter (segment "La Signora Ci Marcia") The Swindlers (directed by Lucio Fulci) (1963) as Dr. Corti (segment "Medico e fidanzata") Gli onorevoli (directed by Sergio Corbucci) (1963) as Salvatore Dagnino Follie d'estate (directed by Carlo Infascelli and Edoardo Anton) (1963) as uomo della 'Vanoni' La donna degli altri è sempre più bella (directed by Marino Girolami) (1963) as Walter, il bagnino (segment "Bagnino lover") Heroes of the West (directed by Steno) (1964) as Mike The Thursday (directed by Dino Risi) (1964) as Dino Versini Let's Talk About Women (directed by Ettore Scola) (1964) as Philanderer I maniaci (directed by Lucio Fulci) (1964) as The Sicilian hitchhiker (segment "L'autostop") / Car driver (segment "Il sorpasso") / Pasquale Taddei (segment "La protesta") / Client of Night-clubs (segment "Lo strip") I gemelli del Texas (directed by Steno) (1964) as Ezechiel / Joe Le tardone (directed by Marino Girolami and Javier Setó) (1964) as Bortolo Masteghin (episode "40 ma non li dimostra") Här kommer bärsärkarna (directed by Arne Mattsson) (1965) as Pollo The Sucker (directed by Gérard Oury) (1965) (uncredited) Thrilling (directed by Gian Luigi Polidoro) (1965) as Bertazzi (segment "Sadik") Falstaff (directed by Orson Welles) (1965) as Mr. Silence Made in Italy (directed by Nanni Loy) (1965) as Enrico (segment "1 'Usi e costumi', episode 3") Me, Me, Me... and the Others (directed by Alessandro Blasetti) (1966) as Sandro Ischia operazione amore (directed by Vittorio Sala) (1966) as Enrico Laterra - aka Trema la terra They're a Weird Mob (aka Sono strana gente) (directed by Michael Powell) (1966) as Nino Culotta Love Italian Style (directed by Steno) (1966) as Il venditore di uova / Antonio / Flavio / 007 / Il viaggiatore / Roberto Matrasso The Most Beautiful Couple in the World (directed by Camillo Mastrocinque) (1968) as Walter Caprice Italian Style (directed by Mauro Bolognini) (1968) as Paolo (segment "Gelosa, La") Monte Carlo or Bust! (directed by Ken Annakin) (1969) as Angelo Squeeze a Flower (directed by Marc Daniels) (1970) as Brother George The Valachi Papers (Italian title: Joe Valachi - I segreti di Cosa Nostra) (directed by Terence Young (1972), produced by Jerry Ferraro) as Gap Don't Hurt Me, My Love (directed by Vittorio Sindoni) (1974) as Paolo De Simone Zig Zag (directed by László Szabó) (1975) as Walter, le clochard Son tornate a fiorire le rose (directed by Vittorio Sindoni) (1975) as Paolo De Simone La banca di Monate (directed by Francesco Massaro) (1975) as Ragionier Adelmo Pigorini Per amore di Cesarina (directed by Vittorio Sindoni) (1976) as Davide Camporesi Passi furtivi in una notte boia (directed by Vincenzo Rigo) (1976) as Pompeo Piretti Come ti rapisco il pupo (directed by Lucio De Caro) (1976) as Sterzi - Jimmy's father La bidonata (directed by Luciano Ercoli) (1977) as Renato Ride bene... chi ride ultimo (directed by Walter Chiari) (1977) as Loris Martegani (segment "Prete per forza") Tanto va la gatta al lardo... (directed by Marco Aleandri) (1978) as Teodoro Casadei Ridendo and scherzando (directed by Marco Aleandri) (1978) as Giorgio Belli and brutti ridono tutti (directed by Domenico Paolella) (1979) as Don Enzo Tre sotto il lenzuolo (directed by Paolo Dominici) (1979) as Giorgio Mori (segment "No, non è per gelosia") Romance (directed by Massimo Mazzucco (1986) and produced by Jerry Ferraro) as Giulio Kafka la colonia penale (directed by Giuliano Betti) (1988) Traces of an Amorous Life (directed by Peter Del Monte) (1990) as Giorgio (final film role)