Italian children actor Enzo Staiola, famous son Bruno Ricci at the age of 9, in Vittorio de Sica's 1948 Neo-Realist masterpiece in 1948 Bicycle thief ((Bicycle thief), already dead. He is 85 years old.

RepublicItalian newspapers first reported on Wednesday about the death of Staiola, known for her role in the Oscar-winning drama. There is no cause of death.

Staiola's co-star Bicycle thief His poor father, Antonio Ricci, was the magician Lamberto Maggiorani, the factory workers transformation magician, because De Sica wanted to do the working class authenticity for his humanist drama. Antonio drags the movie with his son, searching for a thief and his stolen bicycle, without which he can't work and feed his young family.

For the lonely father, the loss of the bicycle proved to be a corpse, and he roamed the streets of Rome without any consequence. Once, a desperate Antonio himself stole a bicycle and was caught by someone nearby. The top father felt ashamed before his son when they showed mercy to him.

This classic Italian neo-realistic film makes Staiola forever engraved in celluloid history, and like Bruno Ricci, his unforgettable big eyes toward childhood innocence, as the little boy follows his painful father through the streets of post-war Rome.

Born on November 15, 1939 in an interview in July 2023 Republic The first meeting of famous Italian director De Sica was recalled, and he apparently saw him coming home from school.

"I came back from school, and at some point I noticed the cart following me." "Then, the gentleman, dressed in white hair, was dressed up, walked out and asked me, 'What's your name?', and I kept silent. He said, 'But you don't speak?' "I don't want to speak.

Staiola eventually got a part of Bruno, and his uncle took him to De Sica's studio for a reintroduction. Despite success Bicycle thiefWinning the Oscar for Best Foreign Film, Staiola never worked with the famous Italian director again.

He recalled in an interview in 2023: "De Sica is like this; he found you, that's it. Maybe if he followed me and made other suggestions, I would be an actor for my life."

Staiola, after he breaks through the role Bicycle thief (Sometimes famous for titles Bicycle thief), continues in several other films, including Joseph L Mankeiwicz barefoot contessa In the 1954 drama, he also starred in Humphrey Bogart and Ava Gardner. His honors include Italian films from the 1950s Heart without boundaries, Varcano, the inner gui is not mine and A story of five women. He was in 1977 at Flavio Mogherini Girl in yellow pajamas.

However, after early success, Staiola retreated from the film and became a math teacher and long-time land registration office clerk. And he seems to regret becoming an Italian film star.

"In the end, it's the real pain of the butt," he told Republic. "As a kid, I could never play with my friends because if I left a mark on my face, I would never be able to make a movie again. It was also a bit boring, and the time for movies was long."