Lino Ventura

Lino Ventura

Known for Acting · 104 credits

Born
1919-07-13
Died
1987-10-22
Place of birth
Parma, Emilia-Romagna, Italy
Also known as
Angiolino Giuseppe Pasquale Ventura

Biography

Angiolino Giuseppe Pasquale Ventura (14 July 1919 – 22 October 1987), known as Lino Ventura, was an Italian-born actor and philanthropist, who lived and worked for most of his life in France. He was considered one of the greatest leading men of French cinema during the 1960s and 1970s, known for his portrayal of tough characters on both sides of the law in crime dramas.

Born in Parma and raised in Paris, Ventura worked as a professional wrestler before an injury ended his career. He made his film debut as a gangster in the 1954 Jacques Becker film Touchez pas au grisbi and rapidly became one of France's favourite film actors, playing opposite many other great stars and working with such leading directors as Louis Malle, Claude Sautet, and Claude Miller. Usually portraying a tough man, either a criminal or a cop, he also featured as a leader of the Resistance in the Jean-Pierre Melville-directed Army of Shadows (1969). He was nominated for a Cesar Award for his portrayal of Jean Valjean in the 1982 film adaptation of Les Misérables.

After one of his four children, a daughter, was born handicapped, he and his wife founded a charity Perce-Neige (Snowdrop) which aids disabled children and their parents. Though a lifelong resident and pop cultural icon in France, Ventura always considered himself an Italian first and foremost, and never took French citizenship. He was nonetheless voted 23rd in a 2005 poll of the 100 greatest Frenchmen. ...

Description above from the Wikipedia article Lino Ventura, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Known For

TV Shows (11)

Movies (93)

Elevator to the Gallows
Movie

Elevator to the Gallows

1958

as Le Commissaire Cherrier

Army of Shadows
Movie

Army of Shadows

1969

as Philippe Gerbier

The Medusa Touch
Movie

The Medusa Touch

1978

as Brunel

The Sicilian Clan
Movie

The Sicilian Clan

1969

as Commissaire Le Goff

The Valachi Papers
Movie

The Valachi Papers

1972

as Vito Genovese

La TV des 70's : Quand Giscard était président
Movie

La TV des 70's : Quand Giscard était président

2022

as Self (archive footage)

Marie-Octobre
Movie

Marie-Octobre

1959

as Carlo Bernardi

The Slap
Movie

The Slap

1974

as Jean Douléan

Razzia
Movie

Razzia

1955

as Roger le Catalan

The Devil and the Ten Commandments
Movie

The Devil and the Ten Commandments

1962

as Garigny

Touchez Pas au Grisbi
Movie

Touchez Pas au Grisbi

1954

as Angelo Fraiser

Crooks in Clover
Movie

Crooks in Clover

1963

as Fernand Naudin

The French Detective
Movie

The French Detective

1975

as Commissioner Verjeat

Illustrious Corpses
Movie

Illustrious Corpses

1976

as Inspector Amerigo Rogas

The Cage
Movie

The Cage

1975

as Julien

La Rumba
Movie

La Rumba

1987

as un caïd

The Threepenny Opera
Movie

The Threepenny Opera

1963

as Brown, Polizeichef von London

The Inquisitor
Movie

The Inquisitor

1981

as Inspector Antoine Gallien

The Last Adventure
Movie

The Last Adventure

1967

as Roland

Les Misérables
Movie

Les Misérables

1982

as Jean Valjean / Mr. Madeleine / Champmathieu

Le Deuxième Souffle
Movie

Le Deuxième Souffle

1966

as Gustave 'Gu' Minda

Rum Runners
Movie

Rum Runners

1971

as Cornelius von Zeelinga

L'Homme en colère
Movie

L'Homme en colère

1979

as Romain Dupre

The Big Risk
Movie

The Big Risk

1960

as Abel Davos

The Lovers of Montparnasse
Movie

The Lovers of Montparnasse

1958

as Morel

Last Known Address
Movie

Last Known Address

1970

as Principal Inspector Marceau Leonetti

Maigret Sets a Trap
Movie

Maigret Sets a Trap

1958

as Inspecteur Torrence

Taxi for Tobruk
Movie

Taxi for Tobruk

1961

as le brigadier Théo Dumas

Sunday Lovers
Movie

Sunday Lovers

1980

as François Quérole (sketch 'La méthode française')

The Great Spy Chase
Movie

The Great Spy Chase

1964

as Francis Lagneau

The Wise Guys
Movie

The Wise Guys

1965

as Laurent Dannecker

Happy New Year
Movie

Happy New Year

1973

as Simon

The Silent One
Movie

The Silent One

1973

as Clément Tibère

Crime and Punishment
Movie

Crime and Punishment

1956

as Gustave Messonnier

Money Money Money
Movie

Money Money Money

1972

as Lino Massaro

Speaking of Murder
Movie

Speaking of Murder

1957

as Pepito

A Pain in the Ass
Movie

A Pain in the Ass

1973

as Ralf Milan

The Mask of the Gorilla
Movie

The Mask of the Gorilla

1958

as Géo Paquet, Le Gorille

The Last Judgment
Movie

The Last Judgment

1961

as Giovanna's father

The Right of the Maddest
Movie

The Right of the Maddest

1973

as Le gendarme motorisé instructeur

Spy, Stand Up
Movie

Spy, Stand Up

1982

as Sébastien Grenier

Cloportes
Movie

Cloportes

1965

as Alphonse Maréchal aka 'Le Malin'

Girl in the Window
Movie

Girl in the Window

1961

as Federico

Black City
Movie

Black City

1961

as Il bandito

The Seventh Target
Movie

The Seventh Target

1984

as Bastien Grimaldi

Three Tough Guys
Movie

Three Tough Guys

1974

as Father Charlie

Let's Not Get Angry
Movie

Let's Not Get Angry

1966

as Antoine Beretto

Code Name: Melville
Movie

Code Name: Melville

2010

as Self (archive footage)

One Hundred Days in Palermo
Movie

One Hundred Days in Palermo

1984

as General Carlo Dalla Chiesa

Breakpoint: A Counter History of Progress
Movie

Breakpoint: A Counter History of Progress

2019

as Self (archive footage)

Aznavour by Charles
Movie

Aznavour by Charles

2019

as Self - Actor (archive footage)

At the End of the Day
Movie

At the End of the Day

2024

as Lino (archive footage) (uncredited)

Witness in the City
Movie

Witness in the City

1959

as Ancelin

Greed in the Sun
Movie

Greed in the Sun

1964

as Hervé Marec, aka 'Le plouc'

The Dictator's Guns
Movie

The Dictator's Guns

1965

as Jacques Cournot

Sword of Gideon
Movie

Sword of Gideon

1986

as Papa

Way of Youth
Movie

Way of Youth

1959

as M. Tiercelin, restaurateur et as du marché noir

Deux Romains en Gaule
Movie

Deux Romains en Gaule

1967

as Un client du bar

Patrick Dewaere, My Hero
Movie

Patrick Dewaere, My Hero

2022

as Self (archive footage) - actor

Hitch-Hike
Movie

Hitch-Hike

1962

as Paul, le chauffeur de car

Weeping for a Bandit
Movie

Weeping for a Bandit

1964

as "El lutos"

The Beast Is Loose
Movie

The Beast Is Loose

1959

as Paul Lamiani

Three Days to Live
Movie

Three Days to Live

1958

as Lino Ferrari

125 rue Montmartre
Movie

125 rue Montmartre

1959

as Pascal

The Ruffian
Movie

The Ruffian

1983

as Aldo

De Gaulle, the Last King of France
Movie

De Gaulle, the Last King of France

2017

as Self (archive footage)

Butterfly on the Shoulder
Movie

Butterfly on the Shoulder

1978

as Roland Fériaud

Law of the Streets
Movie

Law of the Streets

1956

as Mario

Il était une fois... Vincent, François, Paul et les autres
Movie

Il était une fois... Vincent, François, Paul et les autres

2011

as Self (archive footage)

Bacri, comme un air de famille
Movie

Bacri, comme un air de famille

2022

as Self (archive footage)

The Lions Are Loose
Movie

The Lions Are Loose

1961

as le docteur André Challenberg

Pensione Edelweiss
Movie

Pensione Edelweiss

1959

as Borcher

Birds of Prey
Movie

Birds of Prey

1968

as Le rapace / Le rital

To Skin a Spy
Movie

To Skin a Spy

1966

as Pascal Fabre

The Monocle's Sour Laugh
Movie

The Monocle's Sour Laugh

1964

as Elie's Client (uncredited)

Far West
Movie

Far West

1973

as Prisoner

Fantasia Among the Squares
Movie

Fantasia Among the Squares

1971

as Sagamore Noonan

Carmen di Trastevere
Movie

Carmen di Trastevere

1962

as Vincenzo, le caïd

The French
Movie

The French

1982

as Self

Mistress of the World - Part II
Movie

Mistress of the World - Part II

1960

as Biamonte

Burning Fuse
Movie

Burning Fuse

1957

as Legentil

The Strange Mr. Steve
Movie

The Strange Mr. Steve

1957

as Denis

Lino Ventura, la part intime
Movie

Lino Ventura, la part intime

2018

as Self (archive footage)

To Catch a Spy
Movie

To Catch a Spy

1957

as Bérès

Michel Audiard et le mystère du triangle des Bermudes
Movie

Michel Audiard et le mystère du triangle des Bermudes

2002

as Self (archive footage)

Dishonorable Discharge
Movie

Dishonorable Discharge

1957

as Paulo, Claire's lover

Lino, il n'était que lui-même
Movie

Lino, il n'était que lui-même

2012

as Self (archive footage)

Emile's Boat
Movie

Emile's Boat

1962

as Émile Bouet

Twelve Hours by the Clock
Movie

Twelve Hours by the Clock

1959

as Fourbieux

Mistress of the World - Part I
Movie

Mistress of the World - Part I

1960

as Biamonte

Il était une fois... Les Tontons flingueurs
Movie

Il était une fois... Les Tontons flingueurs

2010

as Self (archive footage)

Jean-Pierre Melville on the Set of Le Deuxième Souffle
Movie

Jean-Pierre Melville on the Set of Le Deuxième Souffle

1966

as Self - Interviewee

Lino Ventura, une histoire d'homme
Movie

Lino Ventura, une histoire d'homme

2017

as Self (archive footage)

About Lino Ventura

Angiolino Giuseppe Pasquale Ventura (14 July 1919 – 22 October 1987), known as Lino Ventura, was an Italian-born actor and philanthropist, who lived and worked for most of his life in France. He was considered one of the greatest leading men of French cinema during the 1960s and 1970s, known for his portrayal of tough characters on both sides of the law in crime dramas. Born in Parma and raised in Paris, Ventura worked as a professional wrestler before an injury ended his career. He made his film debut as a gangster in the 1954 Jacques Becker… With 104 credits spanning from 1954 to 2024, Lino Ventura has appeared in 93 films and 11 TV shows.

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