Renzo Cesana
Encyclopedia
Renzo Cesana was an actor, writer, composer, and songwriter most famed for his title role on the American television show The Continental
. He was also known as Renato Cesana.
Cesana was the grandson of Gian Cesana, publisher of one of Rome's largest daily newspapers. He emigrated to America as a screenwriter in 1929, to adapt Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
"talkies
" for Italian audiences. After a failed attempt at becoming a film star, he appeared on radio in San Francisco, then became the U.S. advertising director for a prominent Italian wine, eventually opening his own advertising agency
. He returned to Italy to co-write and appear in childhood friend Roberto Rossellini
's film Stromboli
(1950), then returned to America in 1949 to begin a film and television acting career in Hollywood
.
In an era when advertisers and advertising agencies played major roles in program creation and sponsorship, Cesana created The Continental as a radio program that he produced, wrote, and starred in for a Los Angeles station in 1951, where it directly followed The Lonesome Gal, in which a female disk jockey talked soothingly to male listeners. After a brief and unsuccessful run, Cesana convinced a local television station to broadcast a video version of The Continental, which was picked up by the CBS television network in 1952.
The program led to a recording contract with Capitol Records
, in which the non-singer Cesana would recite the lyrics of romantic songs to a musical accompaniment.
The Continental (TV)
The Continental was a 1952 CBS television series starring Renzo Cesana in the title role. The 15-minute program was shown on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 11:15pm, at the end of the night's prime time schedule....
. He was also known as Renato Cesana.
Cesana was the grandson of Gian Cesana, publisher of one of Rome's largest daily newspapers. He emigrated to America as a screenwriter in 1929, to adapt Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
"talkies
Sound film
A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decades would pass before sound motion pictures were made commercially...
" for Italian audiences. After a failed attempt at becoming a film star, he appeared on radio in San Francisco, then became the U.S. advertising director for a prominent Italian wine, eventually opening his own advertising agency
Advertising agency
An advertising agency or ad agency is a service business dedicated to creating, planning and handling advertising for its clients. An ad agency is independent from the client and provides an outside point of view to the effort of selling the client's products or services...
. He returned to Italy to co-write and appear in childhood friend Roberto Rossellini
Roberto Rossellini
Roberto Rossellini was an Italian film director and screenwriter. Rossellini was one of the directors of the Italian neorealist cinema, contributing films such as Roma città aperta to the movement.-Early life:Born in Rome, Roberto Rossellini lived on the Via Ludovisi, where Benito Mussolini had...
's film Stromboli
Stromboli (film)
Stromboli is a 1950 Italian-American film directed by Roberto Rossellini and featuring Ingrid Bergman...
(1950), then returned to America in 1949 to begin a film and television acting career in Hollywood
Cinema of the United States
The cinema of the United States, also known as Hollywood, has had a profound effect on cinema across the world since the early 20th century. Its history is sometimes separated into four main periods: the silent film era, classical Hollywood cinema, New Hollywood, and the contemporary period...
.
In an era when advertisers and advertising agencies played major roles in program creation and sponsorship, Cesana created The Continental as a radio program that he produced, wrote, and starred in for a Los Angeles station in 1951, where it directly followed The Lonesome Gal, in which a female disk jockey talked soothingly to male listeners. After a brief and unsuccessful run, Cesana convinced a local television station to broadcast a video version of The Continental, which was picked up by the CBS television network in 1952.
The program led to a recording contract with Capitol Records
Capitol Records
Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
, in which the non-singer Cesana would recite the lyrics of romantic songs to a musical accompaniment.
Further reading
- "Renzo Cesana", Biography Index. Volume 2. New York: H.W. Wilson Co., 1953.
- "Renzo Cesana", The ASCAP Biographical Dictionary. Third edition. New York: American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, 1966.
External links
- "Latin Lover", Time magazine, 1951.
- Renzo Cesana at the Internet Movie Database.