Umberto Raho

Biography

Umberto Raho (Bari, 1922 – Anzio, 2016) was an Italian actor who worked across stage, film and television. The son of an Italian father and a Bulgarian mother, he studied philosophy and made his stage debut right after the Second World War. Theatre remained his main activity, yet he also became a highly prolific character actor on screen, with more than one hundred credits from 1948 onwards.

He was a familiar presence in Italian cinema of the 1960s and 1970s, often playing priests, doctors, officials and soldiers in films of very different kinds, from the giallo to historical and biblical epics. Among his better-known appearances are Darling, The Bird with the Crystal Plumage and Last Days of Mussolini. He also appeared in television films and series, which ran alongside his film work.

He died in Anzio at the age of 93, although sources differ on the exact day in January 2016. His legacy rests mainly on his supporting and character roles, a craft he sustained for decades in popular European cinema.

Key films

• Darling (1965): a supporting role in Schlesinger's drama.
• The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (1970): plays Alberto Ranieri in Dario Argento's directorial debut.
• Last Days of Mussolini (1974): plays Guido Leto in this film about the dictator's final days.
• The Last Man on Earth (1964): appears as Dr. Mercer in the adaptation of Richard Matheson's novel.
• Romeo and Juliet (1964): plays Friar Lawrence in the film version of the Shakespeare tragedy.