Rossellini, Roberto

DIRECTOR (ITALY)
BORN 8 May 1906, Roma, Lazio - DIED 3 Jun 1977, Roma, Lazio
BIRTH NAME Rosselini, Roberto Gastone Zeffiro
CAUSE OF DEATH heart attack
GRAVE LOCATION Roma, Lazio: Cimitero Monumentale del Verano, Piazzale del Verano, 1 (Altapiano Pincetto, section 45)

Roberto Rosselini was the son of Angiolo Rossellini, who owned a construton firm. His father built the Barberini, the first cinema in Italy. Robert had unlimited access and agter his father died he worked as a soundmaker for films. In 1934 he married the Russian actress Assia Noris, but the marriage was annulled in 1936. On 26 September 1936 he married Marcella De Machis (17/01/1916-25/02/2009). She was a custome designer and they continued their cooperation after their marriage was over. They had two sons.

In 1937 he made a documentary and in 1940 he assisted Goffredo Alessandrini on "Luciano Serra pilota", a very successful film. He was a close friend of Mussolini's son Vittorio and perhaps this supported his career. In 1941 he directed "La nave bianca" ("The White Ship) and it was followed by "Un pilota ritorna" ("A Pilot Returns" (1942) and "L'uomo dalla croce" ("The Man with a Cross") in 1943. around this time he befriended Federico Fellini and Aldo Fabrizi.

After the fall of the fascist regime he quickly created the anti-fascist "Roma cittą aperta" in 1945. In 1950 he separated from Marcella and started an affair with Ingrid Berman. They collaborated on "Stromboli terra di Dio" (1950). They married and had three children, among them Isabella Rossellini. They worked together on several films. In 1957 he visited India and he started an affair with the screenwriter Sonali Das Gupta (d.07/06/2014). She was married and the scandal caused Nehru to ask him to leave India. He separated from Bergman soon afterwards married Sonali and adopted her young son. He left Sonali in 1973 for the young Silvia D'Amico. In 1977 he died in Rome.

Related persons
• was adviser of Fabrizi, Aldo

Images

The mausoleum of Roberto Rossellini at the Cimitero Monumentale al Verano, Rome.
Picture by Androom (28 Feb 2015)

 

Sources
Internet Movie Database
• Zaal, Wim, Rust in Rome, Elmar BV, Rijswijk, 1999
Roberto Rossellini - Wikipedia


Rossen, Robert

Published: 31 Mar 2019
Last update: 25 Mar 2023