Antonio Cantafora

Italian film and television actor (1944–2024)

Antonio Cantafora
Cantafora as Coby in Carambola's Philosophy: In the Right Pocket, 1975
Born	(1944-02-02)2 February 1944 Crotone, Italy
Died	20 April 2024(2024-04-20) (aged 80) Rome, Italy
Other names	Michael Coby

Antonio Cantafora (2 February 1944 – 20 April 2024), also known professionally as Michael Coby, was an Italian film and television actor.

Life and career

Born in Crotone, Cantafora studied acting with Alessandro Fersen, then he made his film debut in 1967.^[1] Between 1973 and 1977, he made a series of films with Paul L. Smith, a couple formed with the purpose of copying the successful films of the duo Terence Hill and Bud Spencer.^[2]^[3] Smith played Bud Spencer-like characters, while Coby was thanks to a vague resemblance a Terence Hill lookalike.^[4] ^[1]^[5] Later Cantafora continued his career mainly as a character actor, working with prominent directors such as Federico Fellini, Jerzy Skolimowski, Bruno Barreto, Alberto Lattuada, Mauro Bolognini.^[1] Cantafora died of a heart attack in Rome on 20 April 2024, at the age of 80.^[6]^[7]

Partial filmography

The Dirty Outlaws (1967) - (uncredited)
Lo stato d'assedio (1969) - Umberto
Ombre roventi (1970)
And God Said to Cain (1970) - Dick Acombar
Shoot Joe, and Shoot Again (1971) - Jack's Man
Black Killer (1971) - Ramon O'Hara
Baron Blood (1972) - Peter Kleist
Decameron proibitissimo (Boccaccio mio statte zitto) (1972) - Fra' Domenico
Novelle galeotte d'amore (1972)
Bounty Hunter in Trinity (1972) - Pizarro
Metti lo diavolo tuo ne lo mio inferno (1973) - Ricciardetto
L'affaire Crazy Capo (1973) - Antonio Marchesi
Supermen Against the Orient (1973) - Max
...e continuavano a mettere lo diavolo ne lo inferno (1973) - Ricciardo
Carambola! (1974) - Toby
La badessa di Castro (1974) - Giulio Branciforti
Carambola's Philosophy: In the Right Pocket (1975) - Coby
Convoy Buddies (1975) - Toby
We Are No Angels (1975) - Angel
The Diamond Peddlers (1976) - Matteo / Butch
La casa (1976) - Philip
Carioca tigre (1976) - Carlo Parodi
Sahara Cross (1977)
Enfantasme (1978) - Flavio, le hippy
Midnight Blue (1979) - Pier Luigi
Supersonic Man (1979) - Paul
The Bitch (1979) - Nico Cantafora
The Cricket (1980) - Alberto 'Cipria' Antonelli
Gabriela (1983) - Tonico Bastos
Scream for Help (1984) - Man At Motel
Demons 2 (1986) - Ingrid's Father
Puro cashmere (1986) - Jody
Intervista (1987) - Spouse
Il coraggio di parlare (1987) - Caporale
Der Commander (1988) - Nick De Carlo
Donna d'ombra (1988) - Vincenzo
Torrents of Spring (1989) - Richter
Vacanze di Natale '90 (1990) - Pippo
Il ritorno del grande amico (1990)
In camera mia (1992) - Mannari
Giovanni Falcone (1993) - Totuccio Inzerillo
Power and Lovers (1994) - Toto
A spasso nel tempo (1996) - Casanova
Marquise (1997)
Il decisionista (1997)
Hammamet Village (1997)
Buck and the Magic Bracelet (1998) - Sergeant O'Connor
The Card Player (2004) - Vice Squad Chief Marini
I Viceré (2007)
Uno di famiglia (2018) - Cicciuzzo

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Enrico Lancia,Roberto Poppi. Gli attori. Gremese Editore, 2003.
^ Hughes 2004, p. 238.
^ Paolo Mereghetti. Il Mereghetti - Dizionario dei film. B.C. Dalai Editore, 2010. ISBN 8860736269.
^ Heger, Christian (2019). Die rechte und die linke Hand der Parodie - Bud Spencer, Terence Hill und ihre Filme (in German). Marburg, Germany: Schüren Verlag GmbH. p. 113. ISBN 978-3-7410-0333-2.
^ Marco Bertolino, Ettore Ridola. Bud Spencer & Terence Hill. Gremese Editore, 2002.
^ "Si è spento a Roma Antonio Cantafora, attore e pittore crotonese" (in Italian). il Crotonese. 20 April 2024. Retrieved 20 April 2024.
^ Redazione (20 April 2024). "Morto l'attore Antonio Cantafora. Recitò con Fellini, Lattuada e Bolognini". Esperia Tv (in Italian). Retrieved 22 April 2024.