Nino Manfredi

Nino Manfredi, an Italian film star who appeared in some of the finest Italian comedies of the 1960s and 1970s, died June 4. He was 83.

Mr. Manfredi suffered a stroke months ago and had since been hospitalized in Rome.

Mr. Manfredi worked with some of the greatest Italian directors, including Dino Risi and Ettore Scola, appearing in more than 100 productions during a 54-year screen career that began in 1949.

He was " perhaps the last of the great actors of an unrepeatable period of our cinema, " Rome Mayor Walter Veltroni said.

Premier Silvio Berlusconi said, " We will all remember his performances, always full of humanity and irony. "

In 1968, he starred in " Straziami, Ma di Baci Saziami " ( " Torture Me But Kill Me with Kisses " ) by Risi; and a year later in " Nell ' Anno del Signore " ( " The Conspirators " ) by Luigi Magni, a period piece about political intrigue in Rome in the 1800s, which also starred Alberto Sordi and Claudia Cardinale.

In the 1973 film " Pane e Cioccolata " ( " Bread and Chocolate " ) by Franco Brusati, Mr. Manfredi played an Italian immigrant seeking to be accepted in Switzerland.

One of his greatest successes came a year later with " C ' eravamo Tanto Amati " ( " We All Loved Each Other So Much " ) by Scola, also starring Stefania Sandrelli and Vittorio Gassman.

Italian President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi praised Mr. Manfredi for " portraying the evolution of Italian society with irony and working-class wisdom. "

Born Saturnino Manfredi in Castro dei Volsci, about 50 miles south of Rome, he graduated in law but soon moved to acting.

He started his career as a stage actor, working with Italian theatrical legend Edoardo de Filippo, among others. Soon he shifted to the big screen, where he became a mainstay in many " commedia all ' italiana " films.

In the early 1970s, Mr. Manfredi won a place in the heart of many Italians with a TV performance as Geppetto, the puppet maker who creates Pinocchio, in one of the most successful adaptations of Carlo Collodi ' s novel.

Mr. Manfredi also tried his hand at directing. His 1971 film " Per Grazia Ricevuta " ( " Between Miracles " ) was acclaimed by critics and won the award for best first work at the Cannes Film Festival. In 2003, the Venice Film Festival gave him a lifetime achievement award, but Mr. Manfredi, already ailing, could not go to the Lido.

Mr. Manfredi is survived by his wife, Erminia Ferrari, and three children, Roberta, Luca and Giovanna, the Apcom news agency said.