Febo Mari

Febo Mari (1884–1939) was an Italian actor and film director. He found success as a leading man during Italy's silent film era.[1][2]

Febo Mari
Born
Alfredo Giovanni Leopoldo Rodriguez[1]

(1884-01-18)18 January 1884 or (1884-01-16)16 January 1884[1]
Messina, Sicily, Italy
Died6 June 1939(1939-06-06) (aged 55)
Rome, Lazio, Italy
Alma materPeloritana University
Occupation(s)Actor, writer, director
Years active1912-1938 (film)
Spouses
Berta Vestri
​
​
(m. 1908; died 1938)​
    Nietta Mordeglia
    ​
    (m. 1938)​

    Early life

    Febo Mari was born Alfredo Giovanni Leopoldo Rodriguez in Messina, Sicily. His family were wealthy and of Iberian descent. He graduated from Peloritana University, having studied literature and philosophy, and soon began acting in theatre. By age 27 he was managing the Manzoni Theater in Milan.

    He entered the silent film industry in the early 1910's. His first feature length film was La ribalta (1912), directed by prolific Mario Caserini. The first film Mari acted in and scripted was Il fuoco (1915).[1] Il fauno (1917), one of Mari's best known films, it was restored in 1994 by Cinematek from original nitrate prints, obtained from the Cineteca Friuli and the National Museum of Cinema.[3][4][5]

    Personal life

    On 23 December 1908, Mari married the actress Berta Vestri. The relationship did not last, and Mari and Vestri eventually separated informally. He began a long-term romantic relationship with actress Antonietta "Nietta" Mordeglia[5] (also known as Misa Mordeglia Mari). The duo starred together in Il Fauno (1917). As divorce was not yet legal in Italy, Mari and Mordeglia married on 8 October 1938, after Vestri's death.[1]

    Selected filmography

    References
    1. Bernardini, Aldo (4 November 2019). "Febo Mari, L'Avanguardista del Cinema". Archivio Siciliano del Cinema. ASCinema. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
    2. Gural & Singer p.208
    3. "Il Fauno (Febo Mari, 1917)". Casa Italiana Zerilli - Marimò. Casa italiana New York University. 19 October 2018. Retrieved 5 March 2022. In Febo Mari's Il Fauno (1917; The Faun), Elena Makowska, playing an evil seducer and crafty mistress, has nothing of the mater dolorosa about her.
    4. Vacche, Angela Dalle (March 2008). "Diva: Defiance and Passion in Early Italian Cinema". University of Texas Press. Retrieved 5 March 2022. In Febo Mari's Il Fauno (1917; The Faun), Elena Makowska, playing an evil seducer and crafty mistress, has nothing of the mater dolorosa about her.
    5. Renzi, Vittorio (8 January 2018). "Il fauno (1917)". garden-of-silence. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
    6. "Il Fauno (Febo Mari, 1917)".

    Bibliography
    • Anna Gural & Robert Singer. Zola and Film: Essays in the Art of Adaptation. McFarland, 2005.


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