Gigi Ballista

Gigi Ballista

Born: December 1, 1918
Died: August 2, 1980
in Florence, Tuscany, Italy
Gigi Ballista (1 December 1918 – 2 August 1980) was an Italian film and television actor. He appeared in 60 films between 1961 and 1980.

Born in Florence, Ballista graduated in Law, then he started working as a PR consultant in the field of advertising and industrial documentaries. He debuted as an actor at a mature age in the early 1960s with some minor roles, but his breakout came in 1966 with a role of weight in Pietro Germi's The Birds, the Bees and the Italians.

Following the critical and commercial success of the film, Ballista decided to pursue a professional career as an actor, and he became, mainly thanks to his characteristic hoarse and dysphonic voice, one of the most recognizable character actors in Italian cinema and television.

Description above from the Wikipedia article Gigi Ballista, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Movies for Gigi Ballista...

L'assistente sociale tutto pepe
Title: L'assistente sociale tutto pepe
Character: Bishop
Released: March 18, 1981
Type: Movie
Nadia is a social worker who is trying to keep the residents of a local slum in line. Unfortunately she keeps neglecting her work and fantasizing about a life as a pop-star. When she falls for one of the residents in question, a small time crook called Bel Ami, she ends up an accomplice in a convoluted heist involving a holy Catholic relic.
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I Hate Blondes
Title: I Hate Blondes
Character: Psychiatrist
Released: September 12, 1980
Type: Movie
There are two problems with Emilio and his career as a pulp writer. Emilio is a bumbling fellow who has absolutely nothing in common with the heroes he writes about. Second, Emilio can't seem to publish anything under his own name.
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Liquirizia
Title: Liquirizia
Character: Bartolozzi
Released: September 15, 1979
Type: Movie
Two groups of students - the third-class high school students and the matured accountants - decide to perform a show to celebrate the last day of school.
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Midnight Express
Title: Midnight Express
Character: Chief Judge
Released: August 31, 1978
Type: Movie
Billy Hayes is caught attempting to smuggle drugs out of Turkey. The Turkish courts decide to make an example of him, sentencing him to more than 30 years in prison. Hayes has two opportunities for release: the appeals made by his lawyer, his family, and the American government, or the "Midnight Express".
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Title: Il furto della gioconda
Character: Poupardin
Released: February 1, 1978
Type: TV
A miniseries in three parts about the theft of Da Vinci's "Mona Lisa" in 1911.
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The Schoolmate
Title: The Schoolmate
Character: Girardi
Released: August 12, 1977
Type: Movie
Lilli Carati plays a high school student being pursued by a very persistent young man in this Italian sex-comedy
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Mala, Love and Death
Title: Mala, Love and Death
Character: Carlo Alberto Giorgi
Released: February 17, 1977
Type: Movie
The young Marisa, after having inherited from her aunt, gets involved in blackmail and crime.
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Un amore targato Forlì
Title: Un amore targato Forlì
Released: November 24, 1976
Type: Movie
The young Rimini native Stefano Santi goes to Rome, with a letter of recommendation for the maestro Melchiorri, artistic director of the Opera House, to take part in a competition for cellists. While trying in vain to be received by Melchiorri, he met an unscrupulous girl, Giorgia Muller, an architectural student temporarily linked to a fellow student. Between one misfortune and another the cello smashes, a homosexual theater manager tries to enmesh him Stefano, who now has a precarious employment in a nightclub, yields to the allurements of Giorgia, ending up in his bed. The girl, however, is unfaithful to him, so that Stefano, disgusted with her, and having now lost all hope of participating in the competition,
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Horse Fever
Title: Horse Fever
Character: Count Dallara
Released: October 29, 1976
Type: Movie
Bruno Fioretti, known as "Mandrake", is an inveterate gambler who never misses a day at the horse racing track in Rome. He is doubly unlucky: he bets too much on one horse, and his wife is sleeping with his best friend because Mandrake is always at the track. Penniless and cuckolded, Mandrake decides to make one last bet.
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Under the Sheets
Title: Under the Sheets
Character: Professor Ciotti
Released: May 20, 1976
Type: Movie
Three medical students who are reluctant to hit the books and unwilling to work are much more enthusiastic about creating pranks and targeting a thriving confidential, female doctor.
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Salon Kitty
Title: Salon Kitty
Character: General
Released: March 2, 1976
Type: Movie
Kitty runs a brothel in Nazi Germany where the soldiers come to "relax". Recording devices have been installed in each room by a power hungry army official who plans to use the information to blackmail Hitler and gain power himself. A girl named Margherita discovers the little ploy and with Kitty's help plans to take on the dangerous task of exposing the conspiracy.
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Confessions of a Lady Cop
Title: Confessions of a Lady Cop
Character: Questore Moretti
Released: February 12, 1976
Type: Movie
Gianna Amicucci works in the house of the head of her hometown police force and enters the academy with a kickback from him. She is a beautiful woman (she generously sheds clothes during the film) and has to overcome her male colleagues prejudices, but she gains their respect through a series of brilliant operations.
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La madama
Title: La madama
Character: The Venetian
Released: January 16, 1976
Type: Movie
In the slang of the underworld or "mala" there is a special term for cop: "Madama". But if word were to get around that the "Madama" is Vito (Christian De Sica) they might even start to like the guy. Vito is a funny sort of a cop. For a start he doesn't like the uniform (he never wears it). Things might even go smoothly for him, if it weren't for an incredible number of beautiful girls who always manage to get in his way. Especially one girl Angelo (shouldn't that have been Angela? No, the girl's name really is Angelo). Problems arise too, with his direct supervisor, who also happens to be a relative. But Vito puts up with it all and manages to stay his usual calm and polite self, even when he risks getting killed.
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The Sunday Woman
Title: The Sunday Woman
Character: Vollero
Released: December 23, 1975
Type: Movie
Police commissioner Santamaria is investigating the murder of the ambiguous architect Mr. Garrone. The investigations soon drive him into the Torino's high society. Santamaria suspect Anna Carla and at the same time falls in love for her. Lello is the lover of Massimo, Anna Carla’s gay friend. He is following another direction in order to find out the truth, and his results are confusing the Policeman. But another murder happens...
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The Family Vice
Title: The Family Vice
Character: Conte Giosuè
Released: October 7, 1975
Type: Movie
When Giacomo D'Amato is released from jail he is immediately employed by Magda, in a plot to secure her the heritage of the count. But there are other players in this game too, and Giacomo has his own agenda.
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Il giustiziere di mezzogiorno
Title: Il giustiziere di mezzogiorno
Character: direttore Filiberto Rossetti
Released: March 20, 1975
Type: Movie
Franco is abandoned by his wife and daughter who wrongly accuse him of being a wimp. Besides he's bossed around and sexually harassed at work. He decides to take justice into his own hands and get rough with the world. He soon gets his family's respect back.
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Cassiodorus is the Hardest Praetorian
Title: Cassiodorus is the Hardest Praetorian
Character: Cornelius da Mediolanum
Released: January 1, 1975
Type: Movie
The adventures of the Etruscan Cassiodorus who, after having involuntarily captured a rebel, is named centurion and ingratiates himself with Nero. He tries to take advantage of his role to enrich himself with shady deals, but it goes wrong.
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Policewoman
Title: Policewoman
Character: avvocato
Released: October 24, 1974
Type: Movie
A young policewoman discovers an ecological scandal and must face the corruption in the Milan Police department.
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Poker in Bed
Title: Poker in Bed
Character: comm. Gervasio Caminata
Released: August 14, 1974
Type: Movie
A poker player on a losing streak meets a beautiful young woman. He's attracted to her, but she appears to be perfectly content with her boyfriend, a somewhat wussy writer. The gambler gets the idea that if he can get this woman into bed, it will change his luck at the gambling tables.
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Italian Sex
Title: Italian Sex
Character: padre di Carletto
Released: June 11, 1974
Type: Movie
A sexy graduate student is giving her thesis presentation, which creates quite a stir since it reveals that she has just posed as a prostitute for several months to do sociological research for her thesis. She relates various stories of her experiences to her salivating thesis committee and a large audience of curious on-lookers.
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Stavisky...
Title: Stavisky...
Character: Gaston Henriet
Released: May 15, 1974
Type: Movie
Irresistible charm and talent helps Serge Alexandre alias Stavisky, small-time swindler, to make friends with even most influential members of French industrial and political elite during the early 30s. But nothing lasts forever and when his great scam involving hundreds millions of francs gets exposed result is an unprecedented scandal that almost caused a civil war.
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Fischia Il Sesso
Title: Fischia Il Sesso
Character: Mr. Lewis
Released: March 6, 1974
Type: Movie
A girl from New York, Carol, to get married turns to the marriage agency of Mr. Lewis, who introduces her to Gavino, a young Sardinian immigrant clandestine.
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Unbelievable Adventures of Italians in Russia
Title: Unbelievable Adventures of Italians in Russia
Character: Dottore
Released: January 31, 1974
Type: Movie
In Italy, a dying woman tells her granddaughter that she hid her treasure many years ago in Russia, in the city of Leningrad. Other people (who were around when she died) also learn about it. Thus several people arrive in Leningrad trying to find the treasure, each one for himself/herself. What's worse - the only information they have is that the treasure is under a lion - and it's in Leningrad, a city known by its numerous statues of lions. The story gets even more interesting when the soviet militia (police) learns about the whole thing and send an undercover agent...
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Brigitte, Laura, Ursula, Monica, Raquel, Litz, Florinda, Barbara, Claudia, e Sofia le chiamo tutte... anima mia
Title: Brigitte, Laura, Ursula, Monica, Raquel, Litz, Florinda, Barbara, Claudia, e Sofia le chiamo tutte... anima mia
Character: Filippo Tornabuoni
Released: January 24, 1974
Type: Movie
Insatiable playboy Marco Donati decides to marry his latest flame, the beautiful Francesca. When the news gets into local newspapers, many of his former lovers are annoyed.
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The Lady Has Been Raped
Title: The Lady Has Been Raped
Character: Carini
Released: November 29, 1973
Type: Movie
Good bourgeois damage unintentionally life of a drug-party, during which the mistress of the house is raped without recognizing the aggressor. Both she and her husband come into crisis and try to figure out who it was. The truth comes to the surface slowly, and it is unexpected.
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Blume in Love
Title: Blume in Love
Character: Older Man
Released: June 17, 1973
Type: Movie
Lawyer Stephen Blume, specialized in divorces, lives a paradoxical situation when, having his own marriage break up, is still in love with his ex-wife.
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Giovannona Long-Thigh
Title: Giovannona Long-Thigh
Character: Commendatore La Noce
Released: April 12, 1973
Type: Movie
When a judge shuts down a high profile cheese factory for violating pollution standards, the owner bribes a monsignor to fix the problem. After they discover the judge has a predilection for married women, the owner employs a prostitute to pose as his wife in an attempt to seduce the judge.
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Increase and Multiply
Title: Increase and Multiply
Character: Dottore
Released: March 15, 1973
Type: Movie
Italian comedy
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Blessed Are the Rich
Title: Blessed Are the Rich
Character: Commendatore
Released: August 30, 1972
Type: Movie
Two brothers-in-law, a smuggler and the other traffic policeman, get hold of a large sum of money, destined for illegal exportation to Switzerland, after the courier is killed in a fire fight with the border police. The owners of the money, which occupy an important social position, try in every way to recover it, also leveraging the weakness of the policeman. After the petty betrayal of his brother-in-law, the smuggler decides to keep all the money and flee to Switzerland.
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Black Turin
Title: Black Turin
Character: Marinotti
Released: May 22, 1972
Type: Movie
Mino and Lello, two sons of a worker wrongly accused of murder, try to find out evidence of his innocence and begin to investigate mafia business in Torino.
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1001 Nights of Pleasure
Title: 1001 Nights of Pleasure
Character: Genie in Lamp
Released: February 8, 1972
Type: Movie
Sultan Almamud suddenly becomes powerless, unable to enjoy his beautiful Zumurud. The councillors then call people who can excite them by telling stories. At the end of their tales, he will finally be able to enjoy her.
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Snow Job
Title: Snow Job
Released: February 2, 1972
Type: Movie
A famous skier, his mistress and a ski instructor rob a bank in the Alps and hide the loot in a crevasse.
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Trastevere
Title: Trastevere
Character: Count
Released: November 13, 1971
Type: Movie
A retired actor's search for his stray pet strings together this episodic portrait of the ancient Roman quarter.
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Roma bene
Title: Roma bene
Character: Vitozzi
Released: October 8, 1971
Type: Movie
A parade of corrupt and sleazy characters in the high society of Rome.
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Do Not Commit Adultery
Title: Do Not Commit Adultery
Character: Padre Spiridione
Released: September 13, 1971
Type: Movie
Pino is a young man who lives in Assisi with his father Damiano, a communist revolutionary, and his partner Nadine. One day Pino sees Maria Teresa studying Latin and starts giving her some lessons. Soon they fall in love.
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No One Will Notice You're Naked
Title: No One Will Notice You're Naked
Character: Silvio Borelon
Released: August 12, 1971
Type: Movie
Rosario Trapanese is determined to show he is not the typical old-fashion Sicilian. When his firm sends him to Denmark, a more sexual liberated nation than Italy, he immediately adopts the Danish "free-sexual-taboo" way of life. He meets and married Karen and succeeded to come back in Italy. Once here, he discovers Karen did a porn movie and his determination on being open minded is over. The typical Sicilian jealousy drives him crazy. Anyway, after a while, Rosario understands that what his wife did before to meet him it has not to be an issue for him. Karen confesses Rosario she signed a contract for a second movie and she could refuse only by paying a fine. The couple doesn't have enough money so they need to find a solution. And what a solution!
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Lady Caliph
Title: Lady Caliph
Character: Il principe industriale
Released: December 31, 1970
Type: Movie
La Califfa's husband was killed during the strikes so she takes the side of the strikers. Her conflict with the plant owner Doverdo gradually turns into a love relationship.
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Kill the Fatted Calf and Roast It
Title: Kill the Fatted Calf and Roast It
Character: Il medico
Released: February 2, 1970
Type: Movie
After many years of living abroad, a troubled young man returns home due to the death of his father (who he suspects was actually murdered). He attempts to untangle that mystery while still carrying an unhealthy obsession toward his mother, who committed suicide ten years ago. This obsession then draws in his attractive cousin and takes a sexual turn.
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Una storia d'amore
Title: Una storia d'amore
Character: Borgognini
Released: January 22, 1970
Type: Movie
A married woman falls in love with a playboy dedicated to blackmail, to avoid that reveal his unedifying past, abandons her.
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The Secret of Santa Vittoria
Title: The Secret of Santa Vittoria
Character: Padre Polenta
Released: January 2, 1970
Type: Movie
During World War II, Italian villagers hide their wine from the German army.
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Emma Hamilton
Title: Emma Hamilton
Character: Cardinal Ruffo
Released: November 28, 1968
Type: Movie
The Making of a Lady: The Story of Lady Hamilton is a 1968 historical drama film directed by Christian-Jaque and starring Michèle Mercier, Richard Johnson and John Mills.[1] It was based on the novel La San-Felice by Alexandre Dumas and depicts the love affair between Emma Hamilton and Horatio Nelson. It was a co-production between Italy, West Germany, France and the United States.
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Torture Me But Kill Me with Kisses
Title: Torture Me But Kill Me with Kisses
Character: Engineer
Released: October 4, 1968
Type: Movie
When Marino goes to Rome for an event, he certainly does not imagine meeting Marisa, who will become the love of his life. But once love is found, it is a matter of spreading it and here the difficulties begin: first the father who opposes it; then, after the death of his father, the gossips who make Marino believe that Marisa was a little good, so much so that Marisa runs away. Repentant, Marino searches in vain and then, almost by accident, finds her again, Mrs. Ciceri. But love admits no obstacles, not even that of a deaf and dumb husband.
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Galileo
Title: Galileo
Character: commissario domenicano
Released: September 7, 1968
Type: Movie
A humble scientist from Padua proves that the Earth revolves and that it is not the center of the universe.
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Sunstroke
Title: Sunstroke
Character: Conte Malvezzi
Released: March 24, 1968
Type: Movie
One Sunday in summer a mixed crowd pours on to a beach near Rome. A few tourists who had hoped to spend a relaxing day, find themselves involved in a series of unpleasant experiences instead.
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Title: Il Circolo Pickwick
Character: Nathaniel Winkle
Released: February 4, 1968
Type: TV
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Il fischio al naso
Title: Il fischio al naso
Character: medico
Released: August 6, 1967
Type: Movie
In this unusual offbeat black comedy directed by Ugo Tognazzi, Giuseppe (Tognazzi) is a middle-aged industrialist obsessed with gadgets. When his nose starts to whistle uncontrollably, he checks into a clinic to resolve the problem. What begins as a minor affliction worsens, and Giuseppe is placed on a different floor as his ailments multiply. The sicker he gets, the higher he goes up in the floors of the clinic, until he is near death's door.
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The Man Who Betrayed the Mafia
Title: The Man Who Betrayed the Mafia
Character: Aldo
Released: May 20, 1967
Type: Movie
When an oily attorney dies at the hands of the mafia, a dedicated French detective investigates the man's murder. He soon uncovers a drug-smuggling operation and lets his sawed-off shotgun do the talking to the toughs in this Gallic gangster feature.
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The Climax
Title: The Climax
Character: Don Michele
Released: March 25, 1967
Type: Movie
A violin player is going to be father of a sixth child by his second mistress, Marisa. Quite nervous about that, he does not leave the clinic... except to drive Giulia, his legitimate wife, along with his legitimate kids to the station as they leave for a vacation at the seaside.
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How I Learned to Love Women
Title: How I Learned to Love Women
Character: sir Archibald
Released: October 2, 1966
Type: Movie
An erotic comedy about the many affairs of a young man with different women.
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Pleasant Nights
Title: Pleasant Nights
Character: Luca di Montemerlo
Released: September 23, 1966
Type: Movie
A trilogy of comedic tales set in the Middle Ages.
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The Queens
Title: The Queens
Character: The Priest ("Fata Marta")
Released: April 21, 1966
Type: Movie
Four unrelated short comedies by four different directors. "Queen Sabina" chronicles the sexual misadventures of a teenage girl on the road home. "Queen Armenia" centers on a self-serving opportunistic gypsy babysitter who uses her employer's kids for her own gain. The third episode, "Queen Elena" centers on a husband who learns a lesson about the perils of infidelity after he succumbs to the wiles of the seductive wife next door. The last vignette, "Queen Marta" centers on a wealthy woman who, when drunk, uses her butler as an outlet for her lust.
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The Birds, the Bees and the Italians
Title: The Birds, the Bees and the Italians
Character: Giacinto Castellan
Released: February 10, 1966
Type: Movie
An anthology film that presents three storylines, all set in the Italian town of Treviso. In the first story, a husband pretends to be impotent as a cover for having an affair. In the second, a bank clerk abandons his wife for his mistress, but the rest of the town's husbands become jealous and unite to conspire against them. In the third, men of the town all seduce a promiscuous teenager, but her father eventually reveals that she is underage, and they face prosecution for statutory rape.
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Il morbidone
Title: Il morbidone
Released: September 30, 1965
Type: Movie
Study of a man whose basic sense of inferiority leads him from worse to worse.
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The Maniacs
Title: The Maniacs
Character: Count at the Party (segment "l'hobby") (uncredited)
Released: March 28, 1964
Type: Movie
An anthology of brief comic sketches based on manias, mainly sexual, featuring several figures of Italian society.