Raffaele Vallone, known as Raf, (17 February 1916 – 31 October 2002), was an Italian actor and an international film star.
Born in Tropea, Calabria, Italy, the son of a lawyer, Vallone studied Law and Philosophy at the University of Turin and entered his father's law firm. He also played semi-professional soccer but never realized his dream of becoming a professional athlete. Subsequently, he became the editorial head of the culture section of L'...
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Raffaele Vallone, known as Raf, (17 February 1916 – 31 October 2002), was an Italian actor and an international film star.
Born in Tropea, Calabria, Italy, the son of a lawyer, Vallone studied Law and Philosophy at the University of Turin and entered his father's law firm. He also played semi-professional soccer but never realized his dream of becoming a professional athlete. Subsequently, he became the editorial head of the culture section of L'Unità, then the official newspaper of the Italian Communist Party, and also a film and drama critic for the Turin newspaper La Stampa. During World War II, Vallone served with the anti-Fascist resistance.
His first film appearance was as a sailor in We the Living (1942), but Vallone was not interested in an acting career. Nevertheless, he was cast as a soldier competing with Vittorio Gassman for the love of Silvana Mangano in Riso amaro (Bitter Rice) (1949). The film became a neo-realist classic and Vallone was launched on an international...
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