Image of Cesare Danova

Cesare Danova

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Cesare Danova (March 1, 1926 - March 19, 1992), born Cesare Deitinger in Bergamo, Italy, was a television and screen actor. He adopted the stage name Danova when he turned to acting in Rome at the end of World War II. He migrated to the United States in the 1950s to make the film Don Giovanni (Don Juan) in 1955. He was contracted to MGM in 1956. Other appearances include The Man Who Understood Women. He tested for a part in Ben Hur, but his big break was the role of Apollodorus, Cleopatra's personal servant in the 1963 film, Cleopatra directed by Joseph Mankiewicz and starring Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton and Rex Harrison. While the original script called for a major role for Danova, who was to form a trio of Cleopatra's lovers alongside Harrison's Caesar and Burton's Marc Antony. Though a number of scenes featuring Taylor and Danova were shot, the script was revised and the role truncated as the Burton-Taylor affair made tabloid headlines. What remained was little more than a cameo. The following year he starred as Count Elmo Mancini in Viva Las Vegas as Elvis Presley's rival for both Ann Margaret's Rusty Martin and for the Las Vegas Grand Prix (predictably losing both to Elvis's Lucky Jackson). In 1967, Danova had another break with the TV series, Garrison's Gorillas, in which he played the role of Actor. Clearly inspired by the hit film, The Dirty Dozen and the hit TV series Mission: Impossible, the series had an ensemble cast but, unfortunately, only ran for 26 episodes. Two of his best roles were as the neighborhood mafia Don, Giovanni Cappa, in Martin Scorsese's Mean Streets (1973) and as the corrupt town mayor, Carmine DePasto, in National Lampoon's Animal House (1978). He also acted in three episodes of The Rifleman, and regularly appeared as a guest star on numerous television series, including Murder, She Wrote, Maude, Falcon Crest, and the revival of Mission: Impossible (1988–90). He died of a heart attack at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences headquarters in Los Angeles while attending a meeting of the Foreign Language Film committee. His mausoleum is in Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery. Danova was married twice and had two sons, Marco & Fabrizio, by his first wife, Pamela. He was an expert horseman, avid polo player, and an excellent archer. Description above from the Wikipedia article Cesare Danova, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.


Read bio at tmdb | Read bio at Wikipedia
Born:
Mar 1, 1926 In Bergamo, Italy
Movie/TV Credits:
80
First Appeared:
In the movie The Captain's Daughter 1947-10-08
Latest Project:
Series Blacke's Magic 1986-01-05
Known For
Poster of Gemini Man
Poster of McMillan and Wife
Poster of Honey West
Poster of El correo del rey
Filmography
Series Blacke's Magic Unknown 1986-01-05
Series Hunter Unknown 1984-09-18
Series Murder, She Wrote Unknown 1984-09-30
Series Automan Captain Romano 1983-12-15
Series Matt Houston Unknown 1982-09-26
Series Hotel Unknown 1982-08-21
Series The Fall Guy Unknown 1981-11-04
Series Nero Wolfe Unknown 1981-01-16
Series Falcon Crest Unknown 1981-12-04
Series Simon & Simon Unknown 1981-11-24
Series Magnum, P.I. Unknown 1980-12-11
Series The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo Unknown 1979-09-18
Series 13 Queens Blvd. Unknown 1979-03-20
Series Eischied Unknown 1979-09-21
Series Hart to Hart Unknown 1979-09-22
Series Trapper John, M.D. Unknown 1979-09-23
Movie The Astral Factor Mario 1978-02-01
Series Vega$ Unknown 1978-09-20
Movie Animal House Mayor Carmine DePasto 1978-07-28
Series The Hardy Boys / Nancy Drew Mysteries Unknown 1977-01-30
Movie Tentacles John Corey 1977-02-25
Movie Scorchy Philip Bianco 1976-10-08
Series Gemini Man Unknown 1976-05-10
Series Charlie's Angels Unknown 1976-09-22
Movie A Matter of Wife... and Death Dottore 1975-05-03
Series Ryan's Hope Unknown 1975-07-07
Series The Manhunter Unknown 1974-09-11
Series Chico and the Man Unknown 1974-09-13
Movie Death Cruise Captain Vettori 1974-10-30
Series Police Story Unknown 1973-03-20
Movie Mean Streets Giovanni Cappa 1973-10-14
Series Sanford and Son Unknown 1972-01-14
Series Maude Unknown 1972-09-12
Series The Sandy Duncan Show Unknown 1972-09-17
Movie Decisions! Decisions! Dieter Klaus 1971-09-11
Series McMillan and Wife Unknown 1971-09-29
Series Cannon Unknown 1971-09-14
Series McCloud Unknown 1970-02-17
Series Night Gallery Unknown 1970-12-16
Movie Che! Ramon Valdez 1969-06-27
Movie Honeymoon with a Stranger Second Ernesto 1969-12-23
Series Medical Center Unknown 1969-09-24
Series The Mod Squad Unknown 1968-09-24
Series Garrison's Gorillas 1967-09-06
Series Mannix Unknown 1967-09-16
Series That Girl Unknown 1966-09-08
Series The Green Hornet Unknown 1966-09-09
Movie Boy, Did I Get a Wrong Number! Pepe Pepponi 1966-06-08
Series The Girl from U.N.C.L.E. Unknown 1966-09-13
Movie Chamber of Horrors Anthony Draco 1966-10-19
Series Honey West Unknown 1965-09-17
Movie Viva Las Vegas Count Elmo Mancini 1964-02-08
Series Daniel Boone Unknown 1964-09-24
Movie Cleopatra Apollodorus 1963-06-12
Series Vacation Playhouse Unknown 1963-07-22
Series Breaking Point Unknown 1963-09-16
Movie Gidget Goes to Rome Paolo Cellini 1963-08-07
Series Arrest and Trial Unknown 1963-09-15
Series Stoney Burke Unknown 1962-10-01
Movie Tender Is the Night Tommy Barban 1962-01-19
Series The Lucy Show Unknown 1962-10-01
Movie Valley of the Dragons Hector Servadac 1961-10-31
Series Outlaws Unknown 1960-09-26
Series The Roaring 20's Unknown 1960-10-15
Movie Tarzan, the Ape Man Harry Holt 1959-10-01
Series Adventures in Paradise Unknown 1959-10-05
Movie The Man Who Understood Women Major Marco Ranieri 1959-10-02
Series The Rifleman Unknown 1958-09-30
Movie Incatenata dal destino Kirk Mauri 1956-02-24
Movie Don Giovanni Don Giovanni 1955-07-28
Movie Crossed Swords Raniero 1954-05-20
Movie Loves of Three Queens Il conte Sigfride (segment: I Cavalieri dell'illusione) 1954-12-24
Movie The Fate of Two Queens 1954-12-24
Movie Pentimento Sandro 1952-04-09
Movie Processo contro ignoti L'avvocato Enzo Pirani 1952-10-01
Movie I tre corsari Carlo di Ventimiglia, il Corsaro Verde 1952-10-16
Movie El final de una leyenda Carlos MontaƱa 1951-02-04
Movie El correo del rey Marcos de Malta 1951-02-19
Movie Monaca santa 1949-07-01
Movie The Captain's Daughter Piotr Grinev 1947-10-08