| Dino De Laurentiis  AKA Agostino De Laurentiis
Born: 8-Aug-1919
Birthplace: Torre Annunziata, Italy
Died: 11-Nov-2010
Location of death: Beverly Hills, CA
Cause of death: unspecified
Gender: Male
Race or Ethnicity: White
Sexual orientation: Straight
Occupation: Film/TV Producer Nationality: Italy
Executive summary: Prodigious film producer Military service: Italian Army, WWII Dino De Laurentiis left home at 17, determined to be a director. He earned tuition to film school by working as an extra, actor, and prop man, and produced his first film, L'Amore Canta, before his 21st birthday. He served in the Italian Army during World War II, then resumed making movies, and over subsequent decades he became a very successful Italian film producer. Often working with Carlo Ponti, De Laurentiis's best Italian films include Fellini's La Strada, Miseria e Nobiltà, and Fellini's gloomy night with a prostitute Le Notti di Cabiria. He also produced Roger Vadim's Barbarella, the brutal revenge drama Death Wish, and the brutal slave drama Mandingo.
Most Americans, though, had never heard of De Laurentiis until he re-made King Kong with Jeff Bridges, Charles Grodin, and Jessica Lange. The movie seemed tawdry and tedious, and the producer's name was featured in big letters on the poster, so for years after that, whenever De Laurentiis released a new film critics wrote, "from the man who made the King Kong remake". His reputation as "Dino De Horrendous" was not enhanced by such subsequent turkeys as The White Buffalo, Orca, The Hurricane, Flash Gordon, and an unnecessary sequel, King Kong Lives.
But De Laurentiis deserved more respect than he got, because between the schlock he also delivered some simply outstanding movies -- the police drama Serpico, the spy story Three Days of the Condor, Ragtime, Cronenberg and King's The Dead Zone, and David Lynch's flawed adaptation of Frank Herbert's Dune. De Laurentiis also produced Manhunter, an excellent thriller based on the Thomas Harris novel Red Dragon.
Both of De Laurentiis's brothers, both his wives, and most of his children have also worked in film. His granddaughter Giada De Laurentiis is the host and master chef of Everyday Italian on the Food Network. Father: Rosario Pasquale Aurelio De Laurentiis (pasta maker, b. 1881, d. 1967)
Mother: Giuseppina Salvatore (homemaker, b. 1886, m. 15-Aug-1914, d. 1977)
Sister: Celestina Barbato (homemaker, b. 22-April-1915, d. 7-July-1999)
Brother: Luigi De Laurentiis (film producer, 16-Feb-1917, d. 31-Mar-1992)
Sister: Rosa Balsamo (teacher, b. 16-Apr-1922)
Brother: Alfredo De Laurentiis (film producer, b. 17-Jan-1924, d. 20-Nov-1981 heart attack)
Sister: Raffaella Cimmino (homemaker, b. 28-Aug-1928)
Wife: Silvana Mangano (actress, m. 17-Jul-1949, sep. 1980, d. 16-Dec-1989, three daughters, one son)
Daughter: Veronica De Laurentiis (actress, b. 13-Jan-1950)
Daughter: Raffaella De Laurentiis (film and TV producer, b. 28-Jun-1952)
Son: Federico De Laurentiis (film producer, b. 29-Feb-1955, d. 15-Jul-1981 airplane crash)
Daughter: Francesca De Laurentiis (film producer, b. 10-May-1961)
Wife: Martha Schumacher (film producer, b. 10-Jul-1954, m. 1990, two daughters)
Daughter: Carolyna De Laurentiis
Daughter: Dina De Laurentiis
Conservatory: Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia
Bush-Cheney '04
Official Website:
http://www.dinodelaurentiis.it/
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