Alberto Sordi

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Lore & Background

Alberto Sordi was born in Rome on 15 June 1920, the fifth of his parents' children. His father Pietro Sordi (1879–1941) was a music professor who played tuba contrabbasso in the orchestra of the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma. His mother Maria Righetti (1889–1952) was an elementary school teacher. His elder siblings were Savina (1911–1972), Giuseppe (1915–1990), and Aurelia (1917–2014). He received his name after Alberto, the couple's third son, who died in 1916 being only several days old. Already in elementary school he started staging small puppet plays. At age 7, he developed interest in opera and sang in the Sistine Chapel Choir headed by Lorenzo Perosi. When his voice changed to bass, he studied opera and performed as an opera singer for several years. In 1936, he recorded a disc of children's fairy tales for Fonit and left for Milan with the proceeds. There he enrolled at Accademia dei Filodrammatici, but was expelled for his thick Romanesco dialect. To please his mother, he later graduated as an accountant. In 1937, he won a competition organised by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to dub the voice of Oliver Hardy (initially under the pseudonym Albert Odisor), debuting in the comedy *Below Zero* in 1939, followed by *The Flying Deuces* in the same year. He worked as a voice actor until 1956, dubbing actors including Bruce Bennett, Anthony Quinn, John Ireland, Robert Mitchum, Pedro Armendáriz, and even Marcello Mastroianni in the 1950 film *Sunday in August*.

Reader's Guide

Sordi's significance lies in his seven-decade career and his embodiment of the 'average Italian' character in commedia all'italiana. He started as a voice actor and theater actor, but eventually grew to fame as a comedian. In the 1950s, he first started collaborating with Federico Fellini: they made *The White Sheik* in 1952 and *I vitelloni* in 1953, for which Sordi was praised by critics and honoured with Nastro d'Argento for Best Supporting Actor. In 1954 he played in 13 films, including *An American in Rome* and *Il seduttore*. For his performance in *The Bachelor* directed by Antonio Pietrangeli, Sordi was awarded with Nastro d'Argento for Best Actor. In 1959, he appeared in Monicelli's *Great War*, considered by many critics and film historians to be one of the best Italian comedies, winning his second Nastro d'Argento for Best Actor and his first David di Donatello. The film marks a turning point when Sordi moved on to interpreting complex dramatic characters. The 1960 film *Everybody Go Home* directed by Luigi Comencini was a great success, winning him his second David di Donatello and the Grolla d'oro. In 1963, he was awarded a Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture Actor in a Musical or Comedy for *Il diavolo*, which also won the Golden Bear at Berlin International Film Festival. Sordi directed 19 films, making his directorial debut in 1966 with *Fumo di Londra*, which brought him another David di Donatello. He won five Nastro d'argento, ten David di Donatello, a Golden Globe, a Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement, and many other awards and accolades.

Did You Know?

• Sordi initially dubbed Oliver Hardy under the pseudonym Albert Odisor.
• He was expelled from the Accademia dei Filodrammatici for his thick Romanesco dialect.
• Sordi sang in the Sistine Chapel Choir headed by Lorenzo Perosi.
• He won a Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture Actor in a Musical or Comedy for *Il diavolo* in 1963.
• Sordi appeared in more than 150 films in his film career.

From Dubbing Booth to Cinematic Icon

Alberto Sordi's path to stardom was anything but linear. In 1937, a young Roman with no professional dubbing background walked into a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer audition and won the role of giving voice to Oliver Hardy, a part that would anchor him in the Italian film industry for nearly two decades. His low, warm register made him an ideal match for the portly comedian, and he went on to lend his voice to a remarkable roster of Hollywood stars including Robert Mitchum, Anthony Quinn, and even his Italian colleague Marcello Mastroianni. Yet Sordi never let the microphone define him. By the early 1950s he had shifted his full energy toward on-screen performance, and by the 1960s he was tackling layered dramatic roles while simultaneously directing nineteen films of his own. Over a career stretching across seven decades of Italian cinema, he accumulated five Nastro d'Argento awards, ten David di Donatello prizes, a Golden Globe, and a Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement—testament to an artist who refused to be confined to a single genre or medium.

A Roman Childhood and a Reluctant Stage

Born on June 15, 1920, at number seven on via San Cosimato in Rome, Alberto Sordi grew up in a household steeped in music. His father Pietro played tuba contrabbasso in the orchestra of the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma and held a position as a music professor, while his mother Maria Righetti taught elementary school. Alberto was the fifth of their children, a name inherited from a brother who had died just days after birth in 1916. The family's roots traced back to Valmontone, where Alberto spent part of his early years. Performance came naturally: he staged puppet shows in elementary school and, at seven, began singing in the Sistine Chapel Choir under the direction of Lorenzo Perosi. When his voice deepened into a bass, he pursued opera for several years. His parents, however, resisted any acting ambitions. It was his maternal grandfather Primo Righetti who broke the impasse, presenting the young Alberto with a tuxedo and a small sum of money tucked inside the pocket—a costume the boy would wear on stage for years to come.

Fellini, De Sica, and the Roman Stage

Sordi's breakthrough as a dramatic actor arrived through two pivotal partnerships. In 1950 he co-founded the production company P.F.C. with Vittorio De Sica, a venture that lasted only a year before he disengaged. That same year he took on a leading role in Mamma Mia, What an Impression!, a film that drew lukewarm responses from both critics and audiences. The real turning point came with Federico Fellini: their first collaboration, The White Sheik (1952), was followed by I vitelloni (1953), a portrait of young men drifting through provincial life. In that film Sordi embodied a weak, immature loafer, and critics finally recognized his range beyond comedy. He earned the Nastro d'Argento for Best Supporting Actor, a first major validation of his dramatic instincts. The following year was a marathon—thirteen films, including An American in Rome—while he also traveled to New York with producer Goffredo Lombardo. On the broader landscape of Italian cinema, Sordi anchored two legendary groupings: a quartet with Nino Manfredi, Vittorio Gassman, and Ugo Tognazzi that dominated commedia all'italiana, and a Roman trio alongside Aldo Fabrizi and Anna Magnani that defined the city's screen identity.

Beyond the Screen: A Life in Service and Song

Before he was a household name, Alberto Sordi served in the 82nd Infantry Regiment "Torino" during the brief French campaign, playing in the regimental orchestra that accompanied soldiers on their deployments. Even in uniform, he continued to take small film roles, appearing in productions by directors such as Goffredo Alessandrini and Ladislao Kish. His first significant screen success came with Mario Mattoli's The Three Pilots, while on stage he was building a reputation as a comedian within the Compagnia di riviste di Fanfulla. Sordi's artistic identity was never singular: alongside acting, he worked as a singer, composer, and screenwriter, and his early career included recording a disc of children's fairy tales for the Fonit label in 1936. His theatrical roots ran deep—he had been expelled from Milan's Accademia dei Filodrammatici for his thick Romanesco dialect, and he later graduated as an accountant purely to satisfy his mother. By the 1960s, he had expanded into directing, accumulating nineteen directorial credits, cementing his status as one of the most versatile and important figures in the entire history of Italian cinema.