Lino Ventura

About

Angiolino Giuseppe Pasquale Ventura (14 July 1919 – 22 October 1987), known as Lino Ventura, was an Italian-born actor and philanthropist, who lived and worked for most of his life in France. He was considered one of the greatest leading men of French cinema during the 1960s and 1970s, known for his portrayal of tough characters on both sides of the law in crime dramas. Born in Parma and raised in Paris, Ventura worked as a professional wrestler before an injury ended his career. He made his film debut as a gangster in the 1954 Jacques Becker film Touchez pas au grisbi and rapidly became one of France's favourite film actors, playing opposite many other great stars and working with such leading directors as Louis Malle, Claude Sautet, and Claude Miller. Usually portraying a tough man, either a criminal or a cop, he also featured as a leader of the Resistance in the Jean-Pierre...

Known for

Elevator to the GallowsMovie • 1958Army of ShadowsMovie • 1969The Sicilian ClanMovie • 1969Illustrious CorpsesMovie • 1976Way of YouthMovie • 1959The InquisitorMovie • 1981The Last AdventureMovie • 1967Touchez Pas au GrisbiMovie • 1954The Lovers of MontparnasseMovie • 1958Maigret Sets a TrapMovie • 1958The Valachi PapersMovie • 1972Let's Not Get AngryMovie • 1966The Medusa TouchMovie • 1978Taxi for TobrukMovie • 1961Last Known AddressMovie • 1970The Big RiskMovie • 1960Money Money MoneyMovie • 1972Crooks in CloverMovie • 1963Les MisérablesMovie • 1982At the End of the DayMovie • 2024Greed in the SunMovie • 1964RazziaMovie • 1955The Mask of the GorillaMovie • 1958Marie-OctobreMovie • 1959