RIP Gianfranco Barra

 

Farewell to Gianfranco Barra, character actor for great directors: he was 84 years old 

His career was launched in 1968 by the film 'Il medico della mutua' by Luigi Zampa with Alberto Sordi

adnkronos

March 23, 2025

 

Actor Gianfranco Barra has died. Character actor appreciated for his versatility, capable of passing through the most varied roles, both comic and dramatic, he was 84 years old. Barra, who worked for the greatest directors of the Italian film and television scene, died today at his home in Rome, where he was born on April 5, 1940. The announcement of his death was made by his family to Adnkronos.

A graduate of the 'Silvio D'Amico' Academy of Dramatic Arts, a long-time theatre actor, Barra made his debut on the big screen in 1968 in the film 'Il medico della mutua' by Luigi Zampa, where he played Dr. Sandolini, one of the perfidious colleagues of Dr. Guido Tersilli (Alberto Sordi), a young and ambitious recent graduate. He then starred in dramas such as 'Detainee awaiting judgment' (1971) by Nanni Loy and in brilliant comedies such as 'What happened between my father and your mother?' (1972) by Billy Wilder, starring Jack Lemmon, set and shot in Italy, with an almost all-Italian cast.

He worked with Steno, by whom he was particularly appreciated, in 'Il trapianto' (1969), 'La polizia grazie' (1972), 'La poliziotta' (1974), 'Il padrone e l'operaio' (1975), 'Doppio delitto' (1977), 'Fico d'india' (1980) and 'Banana Joe' (1982), alongside Bud Spencer. Barra also distinguished himself in 'Il sindacalista' (1972) by Luciano Salce, 'Mordi e fuggi' (1973) by Dino Risi and 'Pane e cioccolata' (1973) by Franco Brusati.

Supporting Ugo Tognazzi and Paolo Villaggio in 'La mazurka del barone, della santa e del fico fiorone' (1975) by Pupi Avati, Gianfranco Barra then joined Monica Vitti and Adriano Celentano in 'L'altra metà del cielo' (1976) by Franco Rossi, and starred in the film 'I nuovi mostri' (1977), directed by Mario Monicelli, Dino Risi and Ettore Scola, appearing in the episode 'Con i saluti degli amici', and later in 'Gian Burrasca' (1982) by Pier Francesco Pingitore.

With the eighties, Barra was one of the most used actors by the Vanzina brothers: appearing in 'Eccezzziunale... veramente' (1982), 'Christmas Holidays' (1983), 'La partita' (1988) and above all 'Sapore di mare' (1982): in the latter film he is Antonio Pinardi, the father of siblings Paolo (Angelo Cannavacciuolo) and Marina (Marina Suma) who came to Forte dei Marmi for the first time with their parents. Barra was also present in 'Sapore di mare 2 - Un anno dopo' (1983) by Bruno Cortini (1983). He was again directed by Carlo Vanzina in 'Il pranzo della domenica' (2003) and 'Le barzellette' (2004) and also in the TV miniseries 'Anni '50' (1998).

In Barra's filmography, which includes 117 titles, characterizations in dramatic films stand out, such as 'The Rubber Wall' (1991) by Marco Risi, who also chose him for the comedy 'In the Black Continent' (1992). Other films in which he has acted as a character actor include 'Roaring Throats' (1992) by Pier Francesco Pingitore, 'Only You - Love at First Sight' (1994) by Norman Jewison, 'Italian Miracle' (1994) by Enrico Oldoini, 'Dirty Laundry' (1999) by Mario Monicelli, 'The Talented Mr. Ripley' (1999) by Anthony Minghella (1999).

Since the nineties, Barra's career has also included many fictions for Rai and Mediaset such as 'Giovanni Falcone' (1993), 'The Baron' (1995), 'Positano' (1996), 'Blessed by the Lord' (2004), 'Honor and Respect' (2006), 'The Countess of Castiglione' (2006), 'Warm Blood' (2011). In recent years he has also appeared in commercials. In 2017 Gianfranco Barra was awarded at the Formia Film Festival for the short film 'New Year New Life', which he wrote, directed and starred in, for which he also received a special mention and a lifetime achievement award. In the short film, now in old age, thinking back to his artistic past, the actor goes through a lacerating conflict: 'celebrate the successes of the past or relive them as an experience of reaching maturity?'.

BARRA, Gianfranco

Born: 4/5/1940, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Died: 3/23/2025, Rome, Lazio, Italy

 

Gianfranco Barra’s western – actor:

Jesse and Lester, Two Brothers in a Place Called Trinity - 1972