Enrico Maria Salerno

Enrico Maria Salerno was born in Milan on 18 September 1926, son of Antonino Salerno, an Italian lawyer originally from Erice (in province of Trapani, Sicily) and Milka Storff, a Yugoslav violinist. At only 17, he joined the Italian Social Republic as an officer cadet of the National Republican Guard. With the fall of the Italian Social Republic is imprisoned in the concentration camp of Coltano, near Pisa. Actually the real name of the actor was Enrico. It was during the first theatrical experiences that he decided to place the name of Mary alongside his name, probably as an affectionate tribute to his mother Milka (corresponding to the Italian Maria). Among the most representative figures of the Italian show in the second half of the twentieth century, in his acting career he plays 102 theatrical performances, he shoots 92 films as performer, 3 as director, countless tv-movies, hundreds of hours of TV broadcasts, hundreds of hours of Radio. After a small collaboration with Piccolo Teatro di Milano, from 1954 to 1955 (and more years) he worked in Teatro Stabile in Genoa, with Fyodor Dostoevsky, Pirandello, William Shakespeare, Vittorio Alfieri and Giraudoux successful stage adaptations. In 1960, with Ivo Garrani and Giancarlo Sbragia, he founded the stage company "Nuova Compagnia degli Associati". In 1963 he starred in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? by Edward Albee, co-starring Sarah Ferrati, stage direction by Franco Zeffirelli. In 1966 he was the star of Byron's Manfred, in the role of an actor reciting the musical score by Schumann, conducted by Claudio Abbado, directed by Mauro Bolognini. In 1970 he made his direction film debut with the love drama box office and award-winning film The Anonymous Venetian. He was directed by many great film directors, as Mario Monicelli, Roberto Rossellini, Valerio Zurlini, Florestano Vancini, Dino Risi, Dario Argento, Luigi Comencini, Luigi Magni, Antonio Pietrangeli. In 1991 he acted as the father of Six Characters in Search of an Author by Pirandello, directed by Franco Zeffirelli.

He had four children, Giovanbattista, Edoardo, Pietruccio and Nicola, with his first wife Fioretta Pierella. He then married Laura Andreini. He had a long relationship with Valeria Valeri, with whom he had a daughter, Chiara Salerno, also a dubbing actress. He was a former boyfriend of actress and Silvio Berlusconi's ex-wife Veronica Lario. He was also romantically involved with Alice Kessler. He had three brothers: Giovanbattista (artist & art professor), Fernando (music composer) and Vittorio (film director).

Salerno died in Rome of lung cancer on 28 February 1994 at the age of 67. After his death, an award in support of contemporary drama was dedicated to his memory.