Luciano Salce Biography
Luciano Salce, born in Rome on 25 September 1922 and also known by the pseudonym Pilantra, was a multifaceted Italian artist, actor, director, screenwriter, playwright, lyricist and radio and television host. Initially forced to study law by his father, he then enrolled at the National Academy of Dramatic Arts in Rome in 1942, where he met some of his future and famous colleagues, including Vittorio Gassman, Nino Manfredi and Emilio Serrao. After being drafted into military service in 1943, he was taken prisoner by the Germans for two years and attempted to escape with a companion in July 1944, but was betrayed by some Italians in Innsbruck, Austria. Salce made his film debut in 1946 with the film "An American on Holiday", directed by Luigi Zampa, and in 1947 he graduated in directing from the National Academy of Dramatic Arts in Rome and joined the theater company of Evi Maltagliati and Vittorio Gassman . In 1950-1951 the company moved to São Paulo, Brazil, where Salce and his colleagues remained to stage several theater productions. In 1960, Salce made his directorial debut with the film "The Pills of Hercules", based on a work by Maurice Hennequin and Paul Bilhaud. In 1975, Salce achieved two major film successes in Italy, directing the film "Fantozzi" and replacing Dino Risi as director of "The Orange Duck". In 1976, Salce directed "The Second Tragic Fantozzi." On December 17, 1989 in Rome, Salce died of a heart attack.
