Italian character actor Alvaro Vitali, 75, died on June 24. He was working as an electrician when spotted by Federico Fellini, and cast in his Satyricon, The Clowns, Roma, and Amarcord (being told you’re perfect for Fellini films is the most backhanded of compliments). He went on to appear in nearly 100 films and TV shows; beginning in the 1980s, he appeared as “Pierino,” a kind of commedia dell'arte Sad Sack, in several bawdy comedies. Despite ill health (asthma), Vitale continued acting till last year. In 2022, Vitali told the media he was broke: “As for my acting career, it’s clear to me that the cinema left me alone. I live with a pension of just over a thousand euros. I should take more because I’ve made over 150 films, but at least thirty have never paid me contributions. Artists, when we are the center of attention and we work, we earn a lot of money, and you know the more you earn and the more you spend. Unfortunately, we don’t think about putting them aside the moment you work and I now that I don’t work as I did before I’ve finished the money.”
