Lino Ventura

Angiolino Giuseppe Pasquale Ventura 14 July 1919 22 October 1987 known as Lino Ventura was an Italianborn 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 Frances 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 JeanPierre Melvilledirected Army of Shadows 1969 He was nominated for a Cesar Award for his portrayal of Jean Valjean in the 1982 film adaptation of Les Misérables After one of his four children a daughter was born handicapped he and his wife founded a charity PerceNeige Snowdrop which aids disabled children and their parents Though a lifelong resident and pop cultural icon in France Ventura always considered himself an Italian first and foremost and never took French citizenship He was nonetheless voted 23rd in a 2005 poll of the 100 greatest Frenchmen Description above from the Wikipedia article Lino Ventura licensed under CCBYSA full list of contributors on Wikipedia