Carlo Ponti | |
|---|---|
Ponti in 1951 | |
| Born | Carlo Fortunato Pietro Ponti 11 December 1912 Magenta, Lombardy, Kingdom of Italy |
| Died | 10 January 2007 (aged 94) Geneva, Switzerland |
| Alma mater | University of Milan |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 4; including Carlo Jr. and Edoardo |
| Relatives |
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| Honours | Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (1st Class) |
Carlo Fortunato Pietro Ponti Sr. Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI (11 December 1912 – 10 January 2007) was an Italian movie producer. He made over 140 movies. He and Dino De Laurentiis were important in making Italian cinema popular again after World War II. He made some of the most important and successful Italian movies in the 1950s and 1960s.
Ponti worked with many important Italian directors in the era. He worked with Federico Fellini, Michelangelo Antonioni, and Vittorio De Sica. He also worked with international directors like Agnès Varda and David Lean. He helped his wife's career, Sophia Loren.
Ponti won the Academy Award for Best Foreign-Language Film for La Strada (1954). He was nominated for Best Picture for producing Doctor Zhivago (1965). In 1996, he became a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic.
Ponti was born in Magenta, Lombardy. His grandfather was the mayor of Magenta. Ponti studied law at the University of Milan. He then joined his father's law firm in Milan. He negotiated many contracts in the movie business.