Antonio Cantafora

Antonio Cantafora
Cantafora in Carambola's Philosophy: In the Right Pocket (1975)
Born(1944-02-02)2 February 1944
Crotone, Calabria, Italy
Died20 April 2024(2024-04-20) (aged 80)
Rome, Lazio, Italy
Other nameMichael Coby

Antonio Cantafora (2 February 1944 – 20 April 2024) was an Italian actor, also credited under the stage name Michael Coby.

Life and career

Born in Crotone, Calabria, Cantafora studied acting with Alessandro Fersen, then he made his film debut in 1967's The Dirty Outlaws. He appeared in a string of Spaghetti Westerns, including opposite Klaus Kinski in And God Said to Cain (1970) and Black Killer (1971). He took on a number of leading man roles, including in Mario Bava's horror film Baron Blood (1972) and in the Italian-Hong Kong co-production Supermen Against the Orient (1973).

Between 1973 and 1977, he made a series of films with American actor Paul L. Smith, a couple formed with the purpose of copying the successful films of the duo Terence Hill and Bud Spencer. Smith played Bud Spencer-like characters, while Cantafora (under the new stage name 'Michael Coby') was thanks to a vague resemblance a Terence Hill lookalike. In Italy, these films were known as the Simone and Matteo [it] cycle, after the names of their titular characters.

Later Cantafora continued his career mainly as a character actor, working with prominent directors such as Federico Fellini, Dario Argento, Jerzy Skolimowski, Bruno Barreto, Alberto Lattuada, and Mauro Bolognini. He largely retired from acting by the late 2000s, save for a brief comeback in the 2018 comedy One of the Family.

Personal life

After retirement, Cantafora took up painting, and worked with the Calabria Film Commission. At the time of his death, he was developing a project about Pythagoras.

Death

Cantafora died of a heart attack in Rome on 20 April 2024, aged 80.

Partial filmography

References

  1. 1 2 3 Enrico Lancia, Roberto Poppi. Gli attori. Gremese Editore, 2003.
  2. ↑ Hughes 2004, p. 238.
  3. ↑ Paolo Mereghetti (2010). Il Mereghetti - Dizionario dei film. B.C. Dalai Editore, 2010. ISBN 978-8860736260.
  4. ↑ 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.
  5. ↑ Marco Bertolino, Ettore Ridola. Bud Spencer & Terence Hill. Gremese Editore, 2002.
  6. 1 2 "Crotone in lutto, muore a Roma il pittore-attore Antonio Cantafora". Gazzetta del Sud (in Italian). 20 April 2024. Retrieved 4 October 2026.
  7. ↑ "Si è spento a Roma Antonio Cantafora, attore e pittore crotonese" (in Italian). il Crotonese. 20 April 2024. Retrieved 20 April 2024.
  8. ↑ Redazione (20 April 2024). "Morto l'attore Antonio Cantafora. Recitò con Fellini, Lattuada e Bolognini". Esperia Tv (in Italian). Retrieved 22 April 2024.

Sources