Remembering Alberto Lupo

Alberto Lupo was born Alberto Zoboli on December 19, 1924 in Genoa, Liguria, Italy. Alberto was born into a middle-class family (his father ran The Gaslini Institute Bolzaneto) and he demonstrated from early youth a keen interest in acting, attending at least twenty courses given by Andrew Miano he then took lessons from Lea Zanzi . He studied to be a lawyer to accommodate his father, but continued to nurture his passion for the theater. With his fellow adventurers staged “Small Town” of Thornton Wilder, which proved a great success.

 

In 1946 Lupo made his stage debut at the Centro Sperimentale University of Genoa Luigi Pirandello, later known as Art Theatre City of Genoa, working there until 1952, where he would recite at the Piccolo Teatro di Milano and the New Theatre, where he played in the 1953-54 season alongside Gino Cervi in “Cyrano de Bergerac” by Edmond Rostand.

 

He proved to be a charming actor, with a significant presence on stage, and an especially sensual voice that stirs the affection of women, he made his cinematic debut in 1954 with a role in the film “Ulysses” by Mario Camerini. He would continue in mostly secondary roles in genre films typical of the era. Perhaps his best interpretation of this period is in the movie “The Hit”, directed in 1960 by Damiano Damiani.

 

In 1955 he made his first appearance on the small screen, in ‘Little Women’, directed by Anton Giulio Majano. Lupo would appeared in two Euro-westerns: “Zorro in the Court of Spain” (1962), as Miguel “Django Shoots First” (1966) as the town doctor.

 

His career continued on stage, film and TV until in 1977, at the height of his career he agreed to play in the theater drama “Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”. During a practice presentation he was hit by a thrombosis of the brain. Rushed to a hospital, he remained in a coma for a long time and when he woke up he found himself voiceless and paralyzed on one side of his body. He had to subsequently undergo a long and complex rehabilitation to recover his voice and motor faculties helped by his wife Lila Rocco.

 

He returned to television in 1978 reciting the poem If by Rudyard Kipling in a rather weak voice. Then in 1979 he returned fully recovered in ‘An Evening with Alberto Lupo’ and appeared in the film “Action” directed by Tinto Brass. 

He died at the age of 59 on August 13, 1984 in the seaside town of San Felice Circeo.

 

Today we remember Alberto Lupo on what would have been his 90^th birthday.