He was born Mario Pezzetta on January 21st 1922 in Perugia, Italy, the son of a coal merchant. He was married to a classical dancer, dates unknown. He was 1.91m (6’3”) tall.
He studied singing in Rome under the tutorage of Mario Cusmic.
He made his stage debut in 1947 at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan. Three years later he achieved fame playing the lead role in Herbert von Karajan’s production of Mozart’s Don Giovanni for the first time, the role with which he would become most associated. Throughout the 1950’s he toured Italy and Europe and appeared on many recordings and radio and televsion opera adaptations.
In 1960 he began a 5-year second career as a film actor, always in prominant roles, and almost exclusively in peplum and historical productions which were perfectly suited to his larger-than-life portrayals.
Mario died of a stroke on January 26th 1985 in Città della Pieve, Italy, aged 63.
Mario’s daughter, Romana, herself an acclaimed author, published the book “Le serenate del Ciclone” about her life with her father, in 2016.
- La faniculla del West (TV movie) .... Jack Rance (credited)
1958 - Don Giovanni (TV movie) .... Don Giovanni (credited)
1960 - Don Giovanni (TV movie) .... Don Giovanni (credited)
- La regina dei tartari .... Timur (credited)
1961 - Capitani di ventura .... Captain Hans (credited)
- Drakut il vendicatore .... Grand Duke Atanas (credited)
- Ercole alla conquista di Atlantide .... Zenith, priest of Uranus (credited)
- La schiava di Roma .... Lysircos (credited)
1962 - Giulio Cesare contro i pirati .... King Nicomedes (credited)
- Il capitano di ferro .... Commandant Gualtiero Di Rauchwitz (credited)
- Il colpo segreto di d'Artagnan .... Porthos (credited)
- L'ira di Achille .... Agamemnon (credited)
1963 - Il boia di Venezia .... Boia Guarnieri (credited)
- Il segno di Zorro .... Lieutenant Martino (credited)
- L'eroe di Babilonia .... Zairo, King of Persia (credited)
1964 - Ercole contro i tiranni di Babilonia .... Malik, King of Assyria (credited)
- Sandokan alla riscossa .... William Brook (credited)
- Sandokan contro il leopardo di Sarawak .... Sir Charles Brooks (credited)
- Sansone e il tesoro degli Incas .... Jerry Darmon (credited)
- Totò contro il pirata nero .... The Black Pirate (credited)
1965 - Golia alla conquista di Bagdad .... Yassour (credited)