Carlo Ponti

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Carlo Fortunato Pietro Ponti (born December 11, 1912 in Magenta , Province of Milan , † January 10, 2007 in Geneva ) was one of the most important Italian film producers . Since 1941 he has produced more than 140 films, including masterpieces such as La Strada by Federico Fellini , Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow by Vittorio De Sica , Doctor Schiwago by David Lean or Blow Up by Michelangelo Antonioni , and worked with many of the most important film directors of the 20th century Century together.

Life

After studying law at the University of Milan and briefly working in his father's law office (1935–1938), he started a career as a film producer at Artisti Tecnici Associati (ATA) in Milan. Between 1945 and 1949 he was the sole producer of “Lux Films” in the Italian capital.

In 1951 Carlo Ponti founded the production company Ponti-De Laurentiis together with Dino De Laurentiis, which produced the first Italian color film with Toto a Colori , among others .

In 1950, Ponti met 16-year-old Sofia Villani Scicolone at a Miss Rome beauty contest. He invented the name Sophia Loren for her, promoted her and finally paved her way to Hollywood. The two married on September 17, 1957, after Ponti divorced his first wife Giuliana Fiastri in Mexico. This divorce was not recognized in Italy, however, as the Catholic Church in Italy did not allow divorces until 1970. Therefore Ponti was accused of bigamy and the marriage between Loren and Ponti was annulled in 1962. Sophia Loren, Carlo Ponti and his first wife Giuliana Fiastri then took French citizenship in 1966. Ponti and his first wife legalized the divorce, and on April 9, 1966, he and Sophia Loren remarried.

Carlo Ponti died on the night of January 10, 2007 at the age of 94 in a Geneva hospital of complications from pneumonia . He had 4 children: from his marriage to Sophia Loren Carlo Ponti jr. , first actor and later conductor with the San Bernardino Symphony Orchestra in California, and Edoardo Ponti , director and screenwriter; from his first marriage to Giuliana Fiastri come the film producer Alex (Alessandro) Ponti and the lawyer Guendalina Ponti. Carlo Ponti was buried on the Cimitero comunale in his hometown of Magenta in the province of Milan.

Trivia

In the 2004 television film The Life and Death of Peter Sellers , Ponti is portrayed by Joseph Long. Rip Torn played him in the TV film Sophia Loren - Mein Leben from 1980 .

Filmography (selection)

Awards

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Knerger.de: The grave of Carlo Ponti
personal data
SURNAME Ponti, Carlo
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Ponti, Carlo Fortunato Pietro (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Italian film producer
DATE OF BIRTH December 11, 1912
PLACE OF BIRTH magenta
DATE OF DEATH January 10, 2007
Place of death Geneva