Raf Vallone
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Raffaele Vallone, known as Raf, (17 February 1916-31 October 2002), was an Italian actor and an international film star.
Born in Tropea, Calabria, Italy, the son of a lawyer, Vallone studied Law and Philosophy at the University of Turin and entered his father's law firm. He also played semi-professional soccer but never realized his dream of becoming a professional athlete. Subsequently, he became a sports reporter for L'Unità, a communist newspaper, and also a drama critic for La Stampa. During World War II, Vallone served with the anti-Fascist resistance.
His first film appearance was in We the Living (19420, but Vallone was not interested in an acting career. Nevertheless, he was cast as a soldier competing with Vittorio Gassman for the love of Silvana Mangano in Riso amaro (Bitter Rice) (1949). The film became a neo-realist classic and Vallone was launched on an international career.
Vallone was married to the actress Elena Varzi from 1952 until his death. He had two children who are actors, Eleonora Vallone and Saverio Vallone.
He died in Rome.
