
Lino Ventura
Acting • Born 1919-07-13 – Died 1987-10-22
Biography
Angiolino Giuseppe Pasquale Ventura (14 July 1919 – 22 October 1987), known as Lino Ventura, was an Italian-born 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 France's 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 Jean-Pierre Melville-directed 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 Perce-Neige (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 CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Filmography
104 credits
Elevator to the Gallows
Movie • 1958
Le Commissaire Cherrier

The Sicilian Clan
Movie • 1969
Commissaire Le Goff

Les Misérables
Movie • 1982
Jean Valjean / Mr. Madeleine / Champmathieu

The Inquisitor
Movie • 1981
Inspector Antoine Gallien

The Last Adventure
Movie • 1967
Roland

The Medusa Touch
Movie • 1978
Brunel

The Great Spy Chase
Movie • 1964
Francis Lagneau

A Pain in the Ass
Movie • 1973
Ralf Milan

Le Deuxième Souffle
Movie • 1966
Gustave 'Gu' Minda

Crooks in Clover
Movie • 1963
Fernand Naudin

Taxi for Tobruk
Movie • 1961
le brigadier Théo Dumas

Greed in the Sun
Movie • 1964
Hervé Marec, aka 'Le plouc'

Way of Youth
Movie • 1959
Tiercelin

Let's Not Get Angry
Movie • 1966
Antoine Beretto

The Valachi Papers
Movie • 1972
Vito Genovese

The Big Risk
Movie • 1960
Abel Davos

Money Money Money
Movie • 1972
Lino Massaro

Touchez Pas au Grisbi
Movie • 1954
Angelo Fraiser

Emile's Boat
Movie • 1962
Émile Bouet

Army of Shadows
Movie • 1969
Philippe Gerbier

Spy, Stand Up
Movie • 1982
Sébastien Grenier

Illustrious Corpses
Movie • 1976
Inspector Amerigo Rogas

Razzia
Movie • 1955
Roger le Catalan

Dishonorable Discharge
Movie • 1957
Paulo, Claire's lover

One Hundred Days in Palermo
Movie • 1984
General Carlo Dalla Chiesa

Fantasia Among the Squares
Movie • 1971
Sagamore Noonan

125 rue Montmartre
Movie • 1959
Pascal

The Lovers of Montparnasse
Movie • 1958
Morel

La Rumba
Movie • 1987
un caïd

To Skin a Spy
Movie • 1966
Pascal Fabre

The Ruffian
Movie • 1983
Aldo

To Catch a Spy
Movie • 1957
Bérès

The Seventh Target
Movie • 1984
Bastien Grimaldi

The Silent One
Movie • 1973
Clément Tibère

Last Known Address
Movie • 1970
Principal Inspector Marceau Leonetti

Lino Ventura, une histoire d'homme
Movie • 2017
Self (archive footage)

The Devil and the Ten Commandments
Movie • 1962
Garigny

Cloportes
Movie • 1965
Alphonse Maréchal aka 'Le Malin'

The Wise Guys
Movie • 1965
Laurent Dannecker

Girl in the Window
Movie • 1961
Federico

Butterfly on the Shoulder
Movie • 1978
Roland Fériaud

Rum Runners
Movie • 1971
Cornelius von Zeelinga

The Dictator's Guns
Movie • 1965
Jacques Cournot

The Slap
Movie • 1974
Jean Douléan

The Lions Are Loose
Movie • 1961
le docteur André Challenberg

Marie-Octobre
Movie • 1959
Carlo Bernardi

Happy New Year
Movie • 1973
Simon

The Last Judgment
Movie • 1961
Giovanna's father

Carmen di Trastevere
Movie • 1962
Vincenzo, le caïd

The French Detective
Movie • 1975
Commissioner Verjeat

Three Tough Guys
Movie • 1974
Father Charlie

Speaking of Murder
Movie • 1957
Pepito

Hitch-Hike
Movie • 1962
Paul, le chauffeur de car

The Mask of the Gorilla
Movie • 1958
Géo Paquet, Le Gorille

The Beast Is Loose
Movie • 1959
Paul Lamiani

Witness in the City
Movie • 1959
Ancelin

Pensione Edelweiss
Movie • 1959
Borcher

Three Days to Live
Movie • 1958
Lino Ferrari

Burning Fuse
Movie • 1957
Legentil

Code Name: Melville
Movie • 2010
Self (archive footage)

Black City
Movie • 1961
Il bandito

Birds of Prey
Movie • 1968
Le rapace / Le rital

Sunday Lovers
Movie • 1980
François Quérole (sketch 'La méthode française')

L'Homme en colère
Movie • 1979
Romain Dupre

Twelve Hours by the Clock
Movie • 1959
Fourbieux

The Threepenny Opera
Movie • 1963
Brown, Polizeichef von London

Mistress of the World - Part I
Movie • 1960
Biamonte

The Cage
Movie • 1975
Julien

Weeping for a Bandit
Movie • 1964
"El lutos"

Bacri, comme un air de famille
Movie • 2022
Self (archive footage)

Maigret Sets a Trap
Movie • 1958
Inspecteur Torrence

La TV des 70's : Quand Giscard était président
Movie • 2022
Self (archive footage)

Mistress of the World - Part II
Movie • 1960
Biamonte

Crime and Punishment
Movie • 1956
Gustave Messonnier

Far West
Movie • 1973
Prisoner

Patrick Dewaere, My Hero
Movie • 2022
Self (archive footage) - actor

The Strange Mr. Steve
Movie • 1957
Denis

Sword of Gideon
Movie • 1986
Papa

Law of the Streets
Movie • 1956
Mario

Lino Ventura, la part intime
Movie • 2018
Self (archive footage)

Jean-Pierre Melville on the Set of Le Deuxième Souffle
Movie • 1966
Self - Interviewee

The Monocle's Sour Laugh
Movie • 1964
Elie's Client (uncredited)

Breakpoint: A Counter History of Progress
Movie • 2019
Self (archive footage)

Aznavour by Charles
Movie • 2019
Self - Actor (archive footage)

Lino, il n'était que lui-même
Movie • 2012
Self (archive footage)

The Right of the Maddest
Movie • 1973
Le gendarme motorisé instructeur

Il était une fois... Les Tontons flingueurs
Movie • 2010
Self (archive footage)

Deux Romains en Gaule
Movie • 1967
Un client du bar

De Gaulle, the Last King of France
Movie • 2017
Self (archive footage)

At the End of the Day
Movie • 2024
Lino (archive footage) (uncredited)

Il était une fois... Vincent, François, Paul et les autres
Movie • 2011
Self (archive footage)

Michel Audiard et le mystère du triangle des Bermudes
Movie • 2002
Self (archive footage)

Spécial cinéma
TV • 1974
Self

Le Grand Échiquier
TV • 1972
Self

Le Grand Échiquier
TV • 1972
Self - Main guest

Auf los geht's los
TV • 1977
Self

Les Rendez-vous du dimanche
TV • 1975
Self

Numéro un
TV • 1975
Self

Champs-Elysées
TV • 1982
Self

Cinépanorama
TV • 1956
Self

Le monde est à vous
TV • 1987
Self (archive footage)

Midi trente
TV • 1972
Self

Sacrée Soirée
TV • 1987
Self (archive footage)

Cérémonie des César
TV • 1976
Self - President