On October 31, 1984 Eduardo De Filippo passed away, one of the greatest authors of the Italian theater of the twentieth century. A highly skilled author, he was also an interpreter of great depth and sensitivity. He established himself on the Italian theater scene with a series of dramatic works awarded with great success even outside Italy. Eduardo De Filippo, famous phrases and aphorisms
On the occasion of the anniversary of the great theatrical author Eduardo de Filippo, we offer you his most famous phrases .
Son of art, Eduardo de Filippo was born in Naples on 24 May 1900, brother of Titina and Peppino, from the relationship of the actor and author Edoardo (Eduardo) Scarpetta with his niece Luisa De Filippo. At the age of 11 he entered the Chierchia boarding school in Naples, but only two years later he interrupted his studies and continued his education under the guidance of his father, who forced him to read and copy theatrical texts. When it happens, the young De Filippo participates in theatrical works and in 1914 he permanently enters the company of his half-brother Vincenzo Scarpetta, in which he covers every role, from stage servant, to toolmaker, from prompter, to property finder. He remained there until he was called up for military service, from 1920 to 1922. In 1920 he published his first single act “Pharmacy on duty”.
In 1922 he wrote and directed one of his theatrical works, “Man and gentleman”. THE FIRST WORKS
In this period he marries Dorothy Pennington, an American on vacation in Italy and also acts in other companies such as that of Michele Galdieri and Cariniu Falconi. Under the pseudonym of Tricot in 1929 he wrote the one-act “Sik Sik the magic artifice”. Together with the brothers Peppino and Titina in 1931, he founded the company of the “Teatro Humoristico I De Filippo”. Some of his masterpieces from this period: “Natale in casa Cupiello” (1931) and “Chi e cchiu felice ‘e me
“(1932). He also began his film career with Mario Bonnard’s “Three men in tails” (1932), followed by Mario Camerini’s “The three-pointed hat” (1934) and Gennaro Righelli’s “Quei due” (1935). In 1945, he wrote “Napoli millionaria” and distanced himself from his brother Peppino (but not from his sister Titina): their company was dissolved. Eduardo founded the “Company of Eduardo”, which represented “These ghosts” in 1946 and shortly thereafter “Filumena Marturano”, destined to become the workhorse of the great Titina. Followed by: “The lies with long legs” (1947), “The great magic” (1948), “The voices from the inside” (1948), “The fear number one” (1951). FROM “ASSUNTA SPINA” TO DEATH
At the same time as the cinema he shoots “Assunta Spina” (1948, by M. Mattoli), “Napoli milionaria” (1950), “Filumena Marturano” (1951), “The gold of Naples” (1954, by V. De Sica), “Ghosts in Rome” (1960, by A. Pietrangeli). Having obtained the annulment of the marriage with Dorothy Pennington, on January 2, 1956 Eduardo civilly marries Thea Prandi and legitimizes her children. Their union, however, did not last long. In the summer of the same year, in fact, he met Isabella Quarantotti (mother of Angelica Ippolito), with whom a year later he began a love story that would last a lifetime and resulted in marriage in 1977. Eduardo’s definitive international consecration came in 1958, when he was staged in Moscow, under the direction of R. Simonov, “Filumena Marturano” and, in 1962, “The mayor of the Sanita district”. In 1964, writes “The art of comedy”, compared to “L’promptu” by Moliere. Eduardo died on October 31, 1984, in the Roman clinic Villa Stuart where he had been hospitalized a few days earlier.
