Eduardo De Filippo
Eduardo De Filippo (26 May 1900 – 31 October 1984) was an Italian actor, director, screenwriter and playwright. Born in Naples, he used his mother’s surname because his father, the famous playwright Eduardo Scarpetta, never acknowledged him. He started acting at four and became a professional on his father’s stage company at fourteen.
In 1931 he formed a theatre company with his siblings Peppino and Titina, the De Filippo Theatre Company, which changed Italian theatre. They created plays that mixed humor with real-life pain and dignity. His most famous Neapolitan works are Filumena Marturano and Napoli milionaria. He also acted in and wrote many films, helping to bring Neapolitan culture to a wider audience.
He opened a drama school in Florence in 1980 and was named senator for life in 1981. He was married three times: first to Dorothy Pennington, then to actress Thea Prandi with whom he had two children, Luisa (Luisella) and Luca, and finally to writer Isabella Quarantotti. His daughter Luisella died in 1960; Thea Prandi died in 1961. His sister Titina died in 1963 and his brother Peppino in 1980. Eduardo De Filippo died of kidney failure in Rome in 1984, at age 84. His son Luca continued his theatre legacy.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 07:48 (CET).