Enzo Staiola, child actor in Bicycle Thieves, dies at 85

Enzo Staiola, child actor in Bicycle Thieves, dies at 85
Enzo Staiola, child actor in the iconic film Bicycle Thieves (1948), passed away on June 4 at a hospital in Rome, Italy. He was 85 years old. Enzo Staiola played the role of Bruno Ricci, the 8-year-old son of the film's lead character Antonio Ricci (played by Lamberto Maggiorani), in the Italian neorealist drama. The film was directed by Vittorio De Sica.
According to The Washington Post, Emanuele Carioti, an Italian journalist and friend of Mr. Staiola's family, confirmed his death. He also shared that the cause of death was due to complications from a fall. Enzo Staiola made his acting debut with Bicycle Thieves. He worked in films until the age of 15 before calling it quits. Bicycle Thieves received an Academy Honorary Award (most outstanding foreign language film) in 1950.
In a 2023 interview with La Repubblica, an Italian newspaper, Enzo Staiola had shared his first meeting with director Vittorio De Sica and how he was cast in the film after the filmmaker spotted him on a walk home from school. He recalled that the director followed him home. He said, 'He sat at the table in our house and tried to convince [my parents] to let me act in his new film. But they didn't want to.' Enzo Staiola was taken to the film studio by his uncle and he was cast in the film without giving an audition.
Bicycle Thieves follows the story of Antonio Ricci and his son Bruno Ricci. Antonio finds a job pasting posters of American films around Rome and relies on his bicycle to travel across the city. However, one day, his bicycle is stolen, which is his means of livelihood. The film then follows Antonio and Bruno as they journey around Rome searching for the stolen bicycle, all the while encountering the hardships of post-war life, witnessing poverty, and facing humiliation.

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