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Antonio De Curtis - Totò

Naples, 1898 – Rome, 1967

Life and History

Antonio De Curtis - TotòWhen De Curtis died suddenly at the age of 69, it was said that with him went the last character in the Italian tradition of Commedia dell’arte.

Antonio was born from an illicit relationship between his mother Anna Clemente and Giuseppe de Curtis, who did not recognized Antonio as his son until 1937. He was raised in Rione Sanità, one of the most popular and populated areas of Naples. Antonio remained tied to his city and many of his characters were truly Neapolitan in their interest in food and love, and their personalities that ranged from witty to simply mad.

Antonio’s mother made him go to school in hopes that he would become a priest, but Antonio had already begun acting in small local theaters by the age of fifteen. He performed with other young actors, including De Filippo. In the poor, improvised theaters, De Curtis pulled himself up by his bootstraps, memorizing scenes without a script and giving his unique physicality to the characters. He was known for his floppy puppet movements, expressive face, and comedic phrases that have entered into day-to-day speech.

In 1925, his acting reached new levels in Rome, with his first national successes. He appeared in his first film in 1937. After a few more cinematic roles, he returned to the theater with new energy and new acting partners like Anna Magnani and the De Filippo brothers. His artistic career really blossomed from 1947 to 1952, in both the theater and on the big screen. During the years to come, he experimented with different avenues, including television.

Unfortunately, his began losing his vision. He ended up almost blind and unable to work. In the last years of his life, his talent was not recognized justly. He was no longer offered important scripts, except from the great directors like Lattuada, Fellini and Pasolini who granted him small cameo apperances.

The recipe

Spaghetti alla Gennaro

This recipe comes from a cookbook De Curtis daughter, Liliana, dedicated to him. It is a simple dish of the common folk, and captures the Neapolitan spirit that Totò portrayed many times on the big screen and theater stages.

Ingredients (serves 6)

  • 1 lb spaghetti
  • 3 slices stale bread
  • 4 salted anchovies
  • basil
  • oregano
  • garlic
  • extra virgin olive oil

Preparation
(15 minutes preparation + 12 minutes cooking)

Rub the bread slices with garlic, Then arrange them on a plate. In a pan, stir-fry two garlic cloves with two tablespoons of oil: stir-fry the bread in the oil, being careful that the garlic does not become too brown. In another pan, put the oil, the chopped anchovies and a pinch of oregano. Cook the spaghetti al dente drain and pour them into the pan with the anchovies, then add the crispy bread and stir quickly finishing with a handful of basil leaves, torn into pieces. Serve immediately.

Gastronomic Library
Totò. Fegato qua, fegato là, fegato fritto e baccalà, a cura di Liliana de Curtis e Matilde Amorosi, Milano, Rizzoli, 2001.