Arturo Dominici

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Arturo Dominci

Arturo Dominici (born January 2, 1916 in Palermo , † September 7, 1992 in Rome ) was an Italian film and theater actor who made remarkable achievements, especially in the genre of the classic fantastic film.

Life

Dominici knew early on that he wanted to be an actor. Shortly after the Second World War, in 1947, he made his first film with the title “Il pricipe ribelle”, after having previously played theater.

The most important role in his career was in 1960 that of Dracula- Javutich in Mario Bava's classic horror film "La maschera del demonio" ("The hour when Dracula comes"). At the side of Barbara Steele , for whom an international career as "Scream Queen" began with this film, he played Prince Javutich, who was sentenced to death in the 17th century and who was sentenced to death two hundred years later by his lover, the witch Asa (Steele ) is brought back to life as a vampire . The peculiarity of Dominici's portrayal is that he embodied a completely different vampire type than one was used to at the time - shaped by the interpretations above all by Christopher Lee and Bela Lugosi : Dracula-Javutich is fatally reminiscent of his shoulder-length hair and long mustache Vlad III. Draculea , the historical model for Bram Stoker's Draculoman. Dominici wore a large dragon coat of arms on her chest, also a reference to the historical prince who belonged to the Dragon Order (hence "Draculea"). Since Dominici had little text in this film despite his intense role, his distinctive, deep voice was not shown to advantage in the original Italian version either. "The hour when Dracula comes" is now considered to be one of the greatest works of classic horror film, to which many modern directors such as Tim Burton refer again and again with their own work. According to Dominicis, the strip was made in the complex of the Italian film studio Cinecittà and in Castell Orsini, a few kilometers from the gates of Rome .

For Dominici this meant to be committed to the role of dark guys in the future. He played the demonic Prince Osman in "Il ladro di Bagdad" ("The crook of Baghdad", 1961), the Penthius in "Ercole contra Moloch" ("The Moloch", 1963) and - again alongside Barbara Steele - the opaque Dr. Camus in “La danza macabra” (1964).

In addition, he played in numerous sandal and coat-and-epee films , but also regularly went on excursions into other genres: In 1965 he was seen alongside Louis de Funès as a Canadian professor in the comedy "Fantomas se déchaîne" ( “Fantomas versus Interpol”) and in 1969 as a customs officer together with Jean-Paul Belmondo in the action thriller “Un homme qui me plait” (“The man I like”). In total, his filmography (excluding dubbing) includes almost 80 cinema strips and television games. In contrast, Dominici was practically never seen in television series.

In addition, Dominici was constantly active on the Roman theater stage until the 1970s, where he performed both classic and modern roles.

In the 1980s he ended his screen career and devoted himself almost exclusively to dubbing. B. the Italian voice of the hospital director Alfred Mühlmann (played by Alf Marholm ) in the German television series " The Black Forest Clinic " or the red-capped Oberschlumpf in the cartoon series " The Smurfs ". Stars he voiced include José Ferrer , Lee J. Cobb , Jeremy Kemp, Jack Warden , Peter Vaughan and Patrick Magee. As a voice actor Dominici also encountered the Dracula theme once again when he dubbed the actor Walter Ladengast in the role of Professor van Helsing for the Italian version of Werner Herzog's " Nosferatu - Phantom of the Night " (FRG 1979); The Draco role played in this film Klaus Kinski , of whose portrayal Dominici thought little, although he otherwise valued Kinski as an actor.

Dominici, who also spoke German, had his personal favorite role neither in the theater nor on the screen , but in a radio play : "E venne un uomo", an LP about the life of Pope Johannes XXIII.

Arturo Dominici died on 7 September 1992 in Rome to cancer . He was married to the Yugoslav-born painter Liana Dodoja; his daughter Germana , who was 14 years old in a supporting role as a peasant girl in “La maschera del demonio” (“The hour when Dracula comes”) and who later dubbed “The Smurfs” (as Golosone) with him, is today a celebrated stage actress in Italy and sought-after voice actress. Germana is married to producer and director Enrico Bomba .

Filmography (selection)

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Dominici, Arturo
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Italian film and stage actor
DATE OF BIRTH January 2, 1916
PLACE OF BIRTH Palermo
DATE OF DEATH September 7, 1992
Place of death Rome