Italian postcard by Zimncografica, Firenze. Sent by mail in 1939. Photo: Scalera / Pesce. Leonardo Cortese in Cavalleria rusticana (Amleto Palermi, 1939).
Leonardo Cortese (1916-1984) was a matinee idol of the Italian cinema of the 1940s. He starred in such films as Sissignora (1941) and Un garibaldino al convento (Vittorio De Sica, 1942). After the war, he started directing, first films and later on rather focusing on television.
Leonardo Cortese, also known by the pseudonym Leo Passatore was born in Rome, in 1916. He was the son of the Neapolitan businessman and journalist Luca Cortese and Beatrice Arena. After his university studies at the Faculty of Law, he became a student at the National Academy of Dramatic Art. As soon as he finished his courses, he made his debut on the screen in 1938. Soon he starred in such light entertainment films as La Vedova/The Widow (Goffredo Alessandrini, 1939) with Isa Pola, Cavalleria rusticana (Amleto Palermi, 1939), Sissignora/Yes, Madam (Ferdinando Maria Poggioli, 1941) starring Maria Denis, and Un garibaldino al convento/A Garibaldian in the Convent (Vittorio De Sica, 1942) opposite Maria Mercader and Carla Del Poggio. He also appeared in the war drama I tre aquilotti/The Three Pilots (Mario Mattoli, 1942) also starring Michela Belmonte and Alberto Sordi. Cortese made his stage debut in the 1940-1941 season when he was signed by Filippo Scelzo's company. In 1942 he was part of the company directed by Ermete Zacconi and in 1943 he had great success at the Teatro Delle Arti in Rome together with Margherita Bagni, Ermete Zacconi, and Camillo Pilotto. At the end of the war, he formed a company with Bagni and Luigi Almirante, and in 1947 he also took part in a revue directed by Adolfo Celi, 'E lui dice...' with Alberto Sordi. Since his film debut, he was among the most applauded and highly-rated young men both before and after the war. He became a favourite with the public, especially women. Pleasant and good-looking, he was one of the Italian cinema's most popular actors. Leonardo Cortese appeared in 39 films between 1938 and 1962.
Towards the beginning of the 1950s, he began to withdraw from cinema to devote himself to television, both as an actor and as a director. Educated and skilled, he also directed eight films between 1952 and 1967. His documentary Chi è di scena? won first prize at the 1952 Venice Film Festival. Among his features are Art. 519 Codice Penale/Article 519, Penal Code (Leonardo Cortese, 1952) with Henri Vidal, and Violenza sul Lago/Violence at the Lake (Leonardo Cortese, 1954) starring Lia Amanda and Erno Crisa. His last film direction was the documentary Russia sotto inchiesta/Russia under investigation (1962) in collaboration with Romolo Marcellini and Tamara Lisizian. As a television actor he appeared in the original Vacanze ai quartieri alti (Daniele D'Anza, 1956), the TV Mini-Series Capitan Fracassa/Captain Fracasse (Anton Giulio Majano, Anton Giulio Majano, 1958) and L'isola del tesoro/Treasure Island (1959). More significant was his career as a television director. Cortese began to direct in the early 1960s. In 1965, he shot a documentary for RAI that took him around Europe, visiting and describing various locations in Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands. In 1965-1966, he also directed the Mini-Series La figlia del capitano/The Captain's daughter (1965) with Umberto Orsini, and Luisa Sanfelice (1965), both of which were broadcast in seven episodes and were a great success among audiences and critics. He returned to direct Oltre il buio/Beyond the Darkness (1967) and obtained excellent acclaim with the series Sheridan, squadra omicidi/Sheridan, Murder Squad (1967). But his greatest successes were three crime series written by Mario Casacci and Alberto Ciambricco: La donna di quadri/The woman of paintings (1968), La donna di cuori/The woman of hearts (1969), and La donna di picche/The woman of spades (1972), all starring Ubaldo Lay. He also directed Un certo Harry Brent/A Man Called Harry Brent (1970) based on a play by Francis Durbridge and starring Alberto Lupo. Under the pseudonym of Leo Passatore, he wrote as a theatre critic in specialised magazines, such as the weekly Idea. He was also the author of a novel entitled 'Papà magnifico' (1950). In October 1977 he became the widower of Margherita Ligios, whom he had married in 1941, at the height of his film fame. In the same year he directed Traffico d'armi nel golfo, a miniseries for TV, with Renato De Carmine and Lorenza Guerrieri. Leonardo Cortese passed away in Rome in 1984. He was 68.
Sources: Wikipedia (Italian and English), and IMDb.
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