Italian child actor Enzo Staiola, 85, died on June 4. He was cast in Vittorio De Sica’s classic The Bicycle Thief (1948), in which he played the son of Lamberto Maggiorani, whose work-necessary bike is stolen. Staiola went on the appear in another 14 films, including The White Line, Lucky Nick Cain, A Tale of Five Woman, Journey to Love, The Barefoot Contessa, and Sword without a Country. After leaving acting, he became that most terrifying of entities, a math teacher (I still have algebra nightmares). Staiola recalled his discovery by De Sica: “I was coming back from school and at a certain point I noticed this big car following me at walking pace. Then this gentleman with gray hair, all dressed up, got out and asked me: ‘What's your name?,’ and I was silent. And he said: ‘But don't you talk?’ ‘I don't feel like talking,’ I replied. My mother always told me not to be too familiar if someone stopped us. But De Sica followed me home. My parents recognized him right away, he was a famous actor.”
