Ada Colangeli was born on 5 March 1913 in Rome, Italy. A ubiquitous presence in Italian cinema of the 1940s and 50s, she specialized in playing simple women such as maids, nuns, gossiping neighbors or peasant women. Though very expressive and sympathetic, she was always relegated to small and usually uncredited roles, though she always made the most of her screen-time and usually crops up in films by highly esteemed directors such as Federico Fellini, Luigi Comencini, Luigi Zampa and especially Alessandro Blasetti, who was also her personal friend. Ada Colangeli vanished from Italian movie screens at the end of the 1950s. She passed away at the age of 78 on 29 February 1992 in Rome.
Source for biographical informations: Dizionario del cinema italiano: Le attrici (2003).
FILMOGRAPHY
- Un'avventura di Salvator Rosa (uncredited) .... A woman of the people
1940 - Centomila dollari (uncredited) .... Francesca, the airport guardian's wife
1941 - La corona di ferro (uncredited) .... Spectator at the tournament
1942 - 4 passi fra le nuvole (uncredited) .... Anna
1943 - Apparizione (uncredited) .... Maid
- Dagli Appennini alle Ande (uncredited) .... Nun
- Nessuno torna indietro (uncredited) .... Maid
1946 - Un giorno nella vita (credited) .... Nun
1949 - Anselmo ha fretta a.k.a. La sposa non può attendere (credited) .... Sister Celeste
- Campane a martello (credited) .... Francesca
1950 - Benvenuto reverendo! (uncredited) .... Woman in church
- È arrivato il cavaliere (uncredited) .... Woman waiting to see the minister
- È più facile che un cammello... (uncredited) .... School directress
1951 - Anna (uncredited) .... Seamstress
- Maracatumba... ma non è una rumba! (credited) .... The count's maid
- Signori, in carrozza! (uncredited) .... Assunta, the concierge
- Una bruna indiavolata (uncredited) .... Caterina, the maid
1952 - Il romanzo della mia vita (uncredited) .... Woman watching Luciano sing in the trattoria
- Il tenente Giorgio (uncredited) .... Caterina, the maid
- La prigioniera della torre di fuoco (credited?) .... The maid
- Processo alla città (uncredited) .... Maid at boarding house
- Wanda, la peccatrice (uncredited) .... Concierge
1953 - La voce del silenzio (uncredited) .... Nun
- Lo scocciatore (Via Padova 46) (uncredited) .... Tenant chatting in the doorway
- Pane, amore e fantasia (uncredited) .... Nosy village woman
- Una di quelle (uncredited) .... Nun (uncertain ID)
1954 - Cronache di poveri amanti (credited) .... Signora Fidalma
- Disonorata senza colpa (uncredited) .... Amedeo's mother
- L'arte di arrangiarsi (uncredited) .... Maid
- La Luciana (credited) .... Ada, the maid
- La romana (credited) .... Mino's maid
- Papà Pacifico (uncredited) .... Concierge
- Peccato che sia una canaglia (uncredited) .... Woman at the police station
- Questa è la vita - segment "Marsina stretta" (uncredited) .... Nosy woman chatting with the doorman
- Tempi nostri - segment "Casa d'altri" (credited) .... Woman at the clergy house
1955 - Bravissimo (uncredited) .... A mother
- Buonanotte... avvocato! (uncredited) .... Woman in the procession
- Il bidone (uncredited) .... Shanty dweller
- L'intrusa (uncredited) .... Caterina, the maid
- La bella di Roma (uncredited) .... Gracco's maid
- Le signorine dello 04 (uncredited) .... Concierge
- Prigionieri del male (uncredited) .... Rosa, the maid
- Ragazze d'oggi (uncredited) .... Maid
1956 - Difendo il mio amore (uncredited) .... Signora Dosti's maid
- Il bigamo (uncredited) .... Peasant woman who gets a ride with Mario
- La fortuna di essere donna (uncredited) .... Concierge
1957 - Le notti di Cabiria (uncredited) .... Woman in the religious procession
- Marisa la civetta (uncredited) .... Woman dancing in the tavern
1958 - Ladro lui, ladra lei (uncredited) .... Woman of the people
1959 - Nel blu dipinto di blu (uncredited) .... Sor Napoleone's wife
FOTOROMANZI
- "Ben Hur" (Published in Incanto D'Amore from November 1958 to March 1959) - credited
FILMOGRAPHY TO BE VERIFIED
- Santo disonore (1950) .... Woman of the people
- Strano appuntamento (1951)
- Carne inquieta (1952)
- Er fattaccio (1952)
- Una croce senza nome (1952)
- Anni facili (1953)
- Scampolo '53 (1953)
- I calunniatori (1956)