Domenico "Memo" Benassi (21 June 1886 – 24 February 1957) was an Italian stage and film actor who appeared in more than forty films in a mixture of leading and supporting roles.
Life and career
Born in Sorbolo, Benassi initially formed as a musician, studying cello at the Parma Conservatory.[1] His professional acting career was launched in the late 1910s by Gualtiero Tumiati, who offered him a role in his stage company after noting him during an amateur theatrical performance.[1] He was later enrolled in several major theater companies of the time, notably working with Eleonora Duse and Emma and Irma Gramatica.[1] In 1925, he formed his own stage company.[1] He made his film debut in 1932, and had main roles in films by Alessandro Blasetti and Max Ophüls, among others.[1] He played the composer Beethoven in the 1942 film Rossini.[2] After the war, he mostly focused on his theatrical career, working with Giorgio Strehler and Luchino Visconti.[1]
^ abcdefLancia, Enrico (2003). "Benassi, Memo". Dizionario del cinema italiano. Gli artisti : Vol. 3, Gli attori dal 1930 ai giorni nostri : T. 1. A - L. Gremese Editore. ISBN978-88-8440-213-4.
^Mathew, Nicholas & Walton, Benjamin (2013). The Invention of Beethoven and Rossini: Historiography, Analysis, Criticism. Cambridge University Press. p.337.
