Renzo Cesana

Renzo Cesana (30 October 1907, Rome – 8 November 1970, Hollywood, California)[1][2] was an actor, writer, composer, and songwriter most famed for his title role on the American television show The Continental. He was also known as Renato Cesana.

Renzo Cesana
Born(1907-10-30)October 30, 1907
Rome, Italy
DiedNovember 8, 1970(1970-11-08) (aged 63)
Hollywood, California, United States
OccupationActor

Biography

Cesana was the grandson of Luigi Cesana, publisher of one of Rome's largest daily newspapers, Il Messaggero.[3] He emigrated to America as a screenwriter in 1929, to adapt Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer "talkies" for Italian audiences.[4][5] After a failed attempt at becoming a film star, he appeared on radio in San Francisco, then became the U.S. advertising director for a prominent Italian wine, eventually opening his own advertising agency.[6] He returned to Italy to co-write and appear in childhood friend Roberto Rossellini's film Stromboli (1950), then returned to America in 1949 to begin a film and television acting career in Hollywood.[7]

In an era when advertisers and advertising agencies played major roles in program creation and sponsorship, Cesana created The Continental as a radio program that he produced, wrote, and starred in for a Los Angeles station in 1951, where it directly followed The Lonesome Gal, in which a female disk jockey talked soothingly to male listeners. After a brief and unsuccessful run, Cesana convinced a local television station to broadcast a video version of The Continental, which was picked up by the CBS television network in 1952.

The program led to a recording contract with Capitol Records, in which the non-singer Cesana would recite the lyrics of romantic songs to a musical accompaniment. For instance, "Walk The Lonesome Night" was a big hit in which Cesana recited the lyrics along with a piano and a theater organ. It was released on the "Ultra-Lounge Vol. 7: The Crime Scene" as an extra track; but it received massive success when it was originally released.

In 1967, he appeared in That Girl, as Dr. Cessna – an "ink blot" interpreting personality analyst. On September 20, 1967, Cesana appeared in Bewitched, "Business Italian Style" (Season 4, Episode 3). He played an entrepreneur hoping to have Tate & Stephens Advertising Agency introduce Chef Romani Italian Foods to the American market.

Filmography
Year Title Role Notes
1950StromboliThe Priest
1950A Lady Without PassportAsa Sestina, Deported Mobster
1950The Sound of FuryDr. VIdo Simone
1951The Mark of the RenegadeFather Juan
1951The Light TouchFather DolziUncredited
1952California ConquestFray Lindos
1958Anna of BrooklynIl barone Trevassi
1958The Beautiful Legs of SabrinaJames
1958The Naked MajaBayeu
1959For the First TimeAngelo
1959The MoralistThe Police Commissioner
1959Hannibal
1960The Warrior EmpressPaeone
1961Francis of AssisiFriarUncredited
1965The Art of LovePepe de Winter
1966Three on a CouchThe Ambassador
1972Original: Do Not ProjectBrother Dimension(final film role)

Further reading
  • "Renzo Cesana", Biography Index. Volume 2. New York: H.W. Wilson Co., 1953.
  • "Renzo Cesana", The ASCAP Biographical Dictionary. Third edition. New York: American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, 1966.

References
  1. Social Security Death Index.
  2. Ancestry.com. California Death Index, 1940-1997 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, US: The Generations Network, Inc., 2000.
  3. Mark Barron, "They're Asking Continental to Be Wed", The Washington Post, August 9, 1953, p. L5.
  4. Passenger list, S.S. "Vulcania", Port of New York, 19 February 1929.
  5. U.S. Census, 1 April 1930, State of California, County of Los Angeles, enumeration district 1253, p. 14A, family 396.
  6. Mary Desjardins and Mark Williams, "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" In: Susan Merrill Squier (ed.), Communities of the Air, Duke University Press, 2003, p. 272. ISBN 978-0-8223-3095-0.
  7. Passenger list, S.S. Queen Elizabeth, Port of New York, 21 November 1949.
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