De Sica, Vittorio

(born July 7, 1901, Sora, Italy—died Nov. 13, 1974, Paris, France) Italian film director and actor. He joined an acting company in 1923 and soon became a matinee idol. He appeared on screen as a leading man in a series of light comedies, and he excelled in a dramatic role in Roberto Rossellini's General della Rovere (1959). He directed his first film in 1940 and, working with screenwriter Cesare Zavattini, made a major contribution to the Neorealism of the postwar Italian cinema with Shoeshine (1946, Academy Award) and The Bicycle Thief (1948, Academy Award). His later films include Umberto D. (1952), Two Women (1961), Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow (1963, Academy Award), and The Garden of the Finzi-Continis (1971, Academy Award).

Source: Encyclopedia Britannica