Erminio Spalla

Erminio Spalla
Erminio Spalla
	Erminio Spalla in the 1920s
Born	7 July 1897; Borgo San Martino, Italy
Died	14 August 1971 (aged 74); Rome, Italy
Nationality	Italy
Other names	Occhiovivo
	Statistics
Weight(s)	Heavyweight
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Stance	Orthodox
	Boxing record
Total fights	56
Wins	42
Wins by KO	31
Losses	10
Draws	3

Erminio Spalla (7 July 1897 – 14 August 1971) was an Italian professional heavyweight boxer, film actor and singer.

Spalla studied fine arts in Brera, when in 1910 he saw film footage of the world boxing championships and decided to become a professional boxer. He was the first Italian to win a European boxing title, which he did in 1923. He lost it in 1926 to Paulino Uzcudun and retired from boxing the next year, though he briefly returned to the ring in 1934 and won all three of his final bouts.^[1] He returned to art after retiring from the ring.

In October 1937 he debuted as an opera singer in Nel Trovatore in Turin.^[2] In the same year he also worked in sculpture and painting.

In 1939 he acted in his first film, Io, suo padre by Mario Bonnard. This was followed by over fifty films and television series, including the war film Giarabub (1942).^[3] His last film was I fratelli Karamazov by Sandro Bolchi (1969).^[3]

His elder brother Giuseppe was also a boxer.^[2]

Selected filmography

Il match dei 100.000 dollari (1921)
I, His Father (1939) - Romolo Tonelli
The Silent Partner (1939) - Il colonello
Il signore della taverna (1940)
Il ponte dei sospiri (1940) - Scalabrino
La compagnia della teppa (1941) - L'oste Bartolomeo Borghi
The Hero of Venice (1941) - Franco
Captain Tempest (1942) - El Kadur
The Lion of Damascus (1942) - El Kadur
Arriviamo noi! (1942) - Il terzo gestorio del "castello delle streghe"
Giarabub (1942) - Il meccanico "Mago Bakù" Brambilla
I due Foscari (1942) - Oliviero
Il fanciullo del West (1942) - Il fattore dei Carey
Knights of the Desert (1942)
The Champion (1943) - Mario Martini
Harlem (1943) - Franckie Battaglia, l'allenatore
Romulus and the Sabines (1945) - Giovanni, il carrettiere
Senza famiglia (1946) - Vitali
Ogni giorno è domenica (1946) - Stefano
The Devil's Gondola (1946) - Marco, il gondoliere
The Tyrant of Padua (1946) - Un evaso
Sangue a Ca' Foscari (1946)
The Opium Den (1947)
The Adventures of Pinocchio (1947) - Mangiafuoco
Cab Number 13 (1948) - Le marin
Fabíola (1949)
The Pirates of Capri (1949)
Flying Squadron (1949)
Santo disonore (1950) - Oreste
Deported (1950) - Benjamino Barda
Bluebeard's Six Wives (1950) - L'Autista
Miracle in Milan (1951) - Gaetano
O Comprador de Fazendas (1951)
A Flea on the Scales (1953)
A Família Lero-Lero (1953)
Lights Out (1953)
Chéri-Bibi (1955) - Il rosso
The Red Cloak (1955)
Io piaccio (1955) - Man who abducts Roberto Maldi (uncredited)
Torna piccina mia! (1955) - Zoras
Vendicata! (1956)
Wives and Obscurities (1956) - Oste
A Estrada (1956)
Poveri ma belli (1957) - Amico del padre di Giovanna
Addio sogni di gloria (1957)
Song of Naples (1957) - Docker
Solo Dio mi fermerà (1957)
Il Conte di Matera (1958) - Amico di Golia
Angel in a Taxi (1958) - Un saltimbanco
The Naked Maja (1958) - Rojas (the Innkeeper)
The Defeated Victor (1959) - Coach (allenatore)
The Pirate and the Slave Girl (1959) - Malik
Agosto, donne mie non vi conosco (1959)
Il Mattatore (1960) - Un detenuto (uncredited)
Siege of Syracuse (1960) - Taverniere (uncredited)
Minotaur, the Wild Beast of Crete (1960) - Padre Addottivo di Arianna
The Prisoner of the Iron Mask (1961)
The Fury of Achilles (1962) - Nestor
Taur, il re della forza bruta (1963) - Re di Shrupuk
The Sailor from Gibraltar (1967) - Eolo

References

^ Page, Joseph S. (2010). Primo Carnera: The Life and Career of the Heavyweight Boxing Champion. McFarland. p. 15.
^ ^a ^b Erminio Spalla. Boxrec
^ ^a ^b Pisani, Leonardo (24 December 2014). "Erminio Spalla: il primo vero campione del pugilato italiano". boxenews.com (in Italian). Archived from the original on 27 February 2015. Retrieved 25 July 2015.