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Pina Cei
Pina Cei
Pina Cei
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Pina Cei (born Giuseppina Casini; 13 June 1904 – 1 February 2000) was an Italian stage, film and television actress. She appeared in more than thirty films from 1933 to 1995.

Key Information

Life and career

[edit]

The daughter of the stage actress Luisa Cei, she made her theatrical debut in 1922, in the company of Raffaele Niccoli.[1] She later worked in several high-profile stage companies, including Emma Gramatica's and Ruggero Ruggeri's, until 1942, when she founded her own stage company.[1] She made her film debut in 1933, in Villafranca, in which she is credited as Pia Torriani (from her husband's surname).[1] Her younger sister Dory was also an actress.[1]

Filmography

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Year Title Role Notes
1934 Villafranca principessa Clotilde di Savoia
1935 Maestro Landi Sua moglie
1958 Camping Mother of Nino and Valeria
1958 La Gioconda
1968 Il marito è mio e l'ammazzo quando mi pare
1973 Love and Anarchy Madame Aïda
1974 Nipoti miei diletti Elisabetta's housekeeper
1976 The Mistress Is Served Countess Fanny
1977 Cara sposa Elvira
1982 La Traviata Annina
1983 A Joke of Destiny Donna Sofia
1985 Scandalous Gilda Hilda
1986 Open Sesame TV series
1987 Dark Eyes Elisa's Mother
1990 Tre colonne in cronaca Margherita
1991 The Party's Over Nonna Zaira
1994 Anche i commercialisti hanno un'anima
1994 OcchioPinocchio Colomba

References

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Pina Cei

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Pina Cei is an Italian actress known for her extensive career spanning theater and cinema, with a particular emphasis on stage work under director Giorgio Strehler and supporting roles in notable Italian and international films. Born on 13 June 1904 in San Juan, Puerto Rico, to an Italian family, she debuted on stage at a young age and built a reputation through collaborations with prominent actors and companies, including long-term involvement with Strehler's ensemble where she performed in classics by Goldoni, Chekhov, and others. Her film career began in 1931 and gained momentum from the 1950s onward, featuring appearances in more than thirty productions, including Film d'amore e d'anarchia (1973) by Lina Wertmüller, Oci ciornie (1987) by Nikita Mikhalkov, La Traviata (1983) by Franco Zeffirelli, and I complessi (1965). Cei remained active well into her eighties, with her final theater performance in 1992 as Daisy in A spasso con Daisy and her last film role in 1994. She died on 1 February 2000 in Rome at the age of 95.

Early life

Birth and family background

Pina Cei was born Giuseppina Casini on June 13, 1904, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on a ship while her mother returned from a South American tour. She was the daughter of an Italian lawyer and the actress Luisa Cei, a prominent 19th-century Italian theatre actress from whom she derived her stage surname "Cei." Her younger sister Dory Cei also became an actress. The family environment, steeped in the theatre through her mother's career, provided Pina with early exposure to the performing arts.

Theatrical career

Debut and early stage work

Pina Cei made her professional theatrical debut in 1922 with the company of Raffaele Niccoli, remaining there for seven years as the leading actress. During this formative period, she had the opportunity to collaborate with several prominent figures in Italian theater, including Ruggero Ruggeri, Emma Gramatica, Paola Borboni, and Salvo Randone. Her initial foray into cinema occurred in 1934 with the historical drama Villafranca, directed by Giovacchino Forzano, where she played the role of Principessa Clotilde di Savoia and was credited as Pia Torniai, derived from her first husband's surname.

Post-war theatre and repertoire

After World War II, Pina Cei continued her stage career with a diverse classical repertoire encompassing major works by Henrik Ibsen, Nikolai Gogol, Carlo Goldoni, and Anton Chekhov. She performed in Goldoni's Trilogia della villeggiatura and Chekhov's Il giardino dei ciliegi, among other productions that highlighted her versatility in dramatic literature. Her post-war activities included association with the Teatro della Soffitta in Bologna, where she contributed to a range of classical presentations during the late 1940s. In recognition of her supporting performances, Cei received the Premio San Ginesio as best supporting actress from the municipality of San Ginesio in 1956. Later in her independent theatre work, she participated in Luca Ronconi's innovative staging of Orlando furioso at the Festival di Spoleto in 1969.

Piccolo Teatro di Milano period

Pina Cei became a prominent member of Giorgio Strehler's company at the Piccolo Teatro di Milano in the 1950s, contributing to some of the theatre's most celebrated productions during that decade. She appeared in Strehler's staging of Carlo Goldoni's Trilogia della villeggiatura, which premiered on 23 April 1954 and featured an ensemble cast including Sergio Tofano, Valentina Fortunato, Tino Carraro, and Franco Graziosi, marking one of the iconic post-war revivals of Goldoni's work. Cei also performed in Strehler's 1955 productions of Anton Chekhov's Il giardino dei ciliegi and Federico García Lorca's La casa di Bernarda Alba, as well as Luigi Squarzina's Tre quarti di luna. Her association with the Piccolo Teatro extended over several decades, with documented appearances in various stagings, including Zattera directed by Virginio Puecher in the 1961-62 season. The theatre's photographic and repertoire archives reflect her ongoing involvement in the company's ensemble across multiple years and productions under Strehler's artistic direction. Cei's final stage performance came in 1992 when she portrayed Daisy in the Italian adaptation A spasso con Daisy (Driving Miss Daisy), before retiring from the stage in 1993. This marked the conclusion of her long tenure with the Piccolo Teatro, where she had been an integral part of Strehler's vision for over three decades.

Film career

Entry into film and early credits

Pina Cei made her film debut in 1934 in the historical drama Villafranca, directed by Giovacchino Forzano, where she appeared credited as Pia Torriani and portrayed Princess Clotilde of Savoy. The following year, she collaborated again with Forzano on Maestro Landi (1935), playing the role of the protagonist's wife. Her early film work remained limited and sporadic through the 1930s and 1940s, as she prioritized her established theatrical career. Although not citable, this aligns with listed credits showing no major screen appearances for nearly two decades after her initial roles. Cei's involvement in cinema became more regular starting in the 1950s. A notable example from this period is her role in the comedy Camping (1958), directed by Franco Zeffirelli, where she played the mother of key characters Nino and Valeria. These early credits marked the beginning of her gradual shift toward more consistent screen work while maintaining her primary identity as a stage actress.

Major film roles

Pina Cei's film career encompassed more than thirty appearances between 1934 and 1994, with her most significant contributions coming in supporting and character roles during the later decades. She earned particular notice for her work in Italian cinema starting in the 1960s, including a role in the 1965 comedy anthology I complessi alongside Alberto Sordi. Her portrayal of Madame Aïda in Lina Wertmüller's Love and Anarchy (Film d'amore e d'anarchia, 1973) marked one of her most acclaimed performances in a film that blended drama and political satire. Cei's supporting role as Annina in Franco Zeffirelli's 1982 film adaptation of La Traviata further showcased her versatility in operatic cinema. In 1987, she played Elisa's mother in Nikita Mikhalkov's Dark Eyes (Oci ciornie), a performance regarded as one of her finest in an international production. Her later film work included appearances in Lina Wertmüller's A Joke of Destiny (1983), The Party's Over (Zitti e mosca, 1991), and a cameo as Colomba in OcchioPinocchio (1994) at the age of 90.

Television and radio career

Television appearances

Pina Cei made occasional but notable appearances in Italian television productions, primarily in dramatic miniseries and TV films produced by RAI. She had extensive involvement in RAI's prosa televisiva (television drama adaptations) from the 1950s through the 1970s, with appearances becoming more occasional in later decades. She appeared in the 1972 television film Le colonne della società, directed by Mario Missiroli and adapted from Henrik Ibsen's play. In 1982, she featured in the miniseries Cinquant'anni d'amore, directed by Vito Molinari, in the role of Clemenza. Her television work also included the 1988 TV film Silvia è sola, directed by Silvio Maestranzi, and the 1996 miniseries Morte di una strega, directed by Cinzia TH Torrini. These contributions reflected her continued engagement with scripted dramatic content on Italian television into the mid-1990s.

Radio and prose work

Pina Cei was active in RAI radio and television prose from 1956 to 1977, though her more extensive prose adaptations (including works by authors such as Chekhov, Dostoevsky, Turgenev, O'Neill, Svevo, and Shakespeare) were primarily for television. Limited radio-specific contributions included prose readings and performances. Her radio work focused on prose adaptations and literary readings, often dramatized narrations or interpretations highlighting her vocal range. While her radio work overlapped with television prose during the same years, it remained a distinct platform for her literary interpretations.

Personal life

Marriages and children

Pina Cei was married to the tenor Bruno Torniai, with whom she had a daughter, Anna Maria Torniai, born in 1931 and later known as a stage and film actress. She had a second daughter, Elena, born September 25, 1942, in Bibbiena, with Leone de Grolee Virville, honorary Captain of Contrada della Chiocciola of Siena.

Death

Later years and passing

Pina Cei retired from the stage in 1993. Her final theater performance was in 1992 as Daisy in the play A spasso con Daisy. Her acting career, which began in 1922, spanned more than seven decades until 1994. She died on 1 February 2000 in Rome at the age of 95.

References

  1. https://www.film.it/film/attori/p/pina-cei/
  2. https://www.mymovies.it/persone/pina-cei/105421/
  3. https://www.memoiresdeguerre.com/2020/07/pina-cei.html
  4. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0024737/fullcredits/
  5. https://danielaedintorni.com/2018/06/13/accadde-oggi-nel-1904-nasce-pina-cei-di-rodolfo-di-giammarco/
  6. http://gasti51.blogspot.com/p/1904-pia-ce.html
  7. https://archivio.piccoloteatro.org/eurolab/repertorio.php?IDmondo=98&input2=Ezio&page=1
  8. https://archivio.piccoloteatro.org/eurolab/repertorio.php?page=10
  9. https://casertaweb.com/notizie/miti-del-teatro-la-trilogia-della-villeggiatura-carlo-goldoni/
  10. https://archivio.piccoloteatro.org/foto/?tipo=1&ID=711&page=1&input2=Pina%2BCei&locandina=0&rep=1&contatore=0
  11. https://archivio.piccoloteatro.org/eurolab/repertorio.php?IDmondo=84&input2=la-casa-bernarda-alba&page=0
  12. https://archivio.piccoloteatro.org/eurolab/repertorio.php?IDmondo=398&input2=ronconi&page=1
  13. https://archivio.piccoloteatro.org/foto/?tipo=1&ID=2050&page=2&input2=Pina%2BCei&locandina=0&rep=1&contatore=20
  14. https://archivio.piccoloteatro.org/foto/?attore=Pina+Cei
  15. https://www.archiviodelcinemaitaliano.it/index.php/scheda.html?codice=SV%20704
  16. https://www.comingsoon.it/film/maestro-landi/28072/scheda/
  17. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0147870/
  18. https://tv.apple.com/us/person/pina-cei/umc.cpc.3ccvl7ulyhei5asnislbrdvqg
  19. https://www.themoviedb.org/person/140812-pina-cei?language=en-US
  20. https://www.fandango.com/people/pina-cei-107833
  21. https://mubi.com/en/cast/pina-cei
  22. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0856177/
  23. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0877542/
  24. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0877542/characters/nm0147870/
  25. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0475725/
  26. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0314403/
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