Maria Cumani Quasimodo
Maria Cumani Quasimodo (born January 7, 1908 in Caldè, Castelveccana , † November 22, 1995 in Milan ) was an Italian dancer , actress and author .
Life
Cumani Quasimodo studied classical dance with Jia Ruskaja and made her debut as a ballerina in 1937. The following year, she became the partner and muse of the poet Salvatore Quasimodo , with whom she already had a son, Alessandro, before she married him in 1948. She turned to choreography; later, in the 1960s, she switched to acting, where she succeeded initially in comic supporting roles and later as a serious, often eerie old lady. On stage she played under directors such as Giancarlo Cobelli , Luca Ronconi and Aldo Trionfo , for the film she was engaged by Federico Fellini , Pier Paolo Pasolini , Lina Wertmüller and Mario Monicelli as well as by Andrei Tarkowski . From the 1980s onwards it was still active, albeit much more sparsely.
She published an autobiography, L'arte del silenzio , about her love story with Quasimodo. Her son posthumously published a volume of his mother's poems.
Filmography (selection)
- 1963: Crazy Summer (Frenesia dell'estate)
- 1965: Julia and the Spirits (Giulietta degli spiriti)
- 1967: Fedra West
- 1967: The Subversives (I sovversivi)
- 1968: Madame has the longest fingers (La notte è fatta per… rubare)
- 1969: The Story of the Apostles (Atti degli apostoli) (TV miniseries)
- 1973: The nun of Verona (Le monache di Sant'arcangelo)
- 1974: Two missionaries (Porgi l'altra guancia)
- 1978: Immoral novices (Interno di un convento)
- 1979: Caligula (Caligola)
- 1989: Ghosthouse 4 - House of the Witches (La casa del sortilegio)
- 1994: Aquero
Web links
- Maria Cumani Quasimodo in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Obituary in the Corriere
Individual evidence
- ↑ Roberto Chiti, article Maria Cumani Quasimodo , in: Enrico Lancia, Roberto Poppi: Dizionario del cinema italiano, Gli attrici, pp. 197/198, Rome, Gremese 2003
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Cumani Quasimodo, Maria |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Italian dancer, actress and author |
| DATE OF BIRTH | January 7, 1908 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Caldè, Castelveccana |
| DATE OF DEATH | November 22, 1995 |
| Place of death | Milan |