Corrade Gaipa – Biography & Facts

Corrado Gaipa (March 13, 1925 – September 21, 1989) was an Italian actor and dubbing actor.^[[1]​^[[2]​^[[3]​^[[4]​

Renowned performer in cinema, radio and television in his country, he achieved international fame for his role as Don Tommasino in The godfather (1972) by Francis Ford Coppola,^[[5]​ in addition to his extensive work as an Italian voice for renowned Hollywood actors.

Born in Palermo, Gaipa studied acting at the Accademia Nazionale d’Arte Drammatica Silvio d’Amico, where he graduated in 1946. He began his career in theater companies in Rome and participated in radio plays broadcast throughout Italy.^[[6]​^[[7]​

In film, he debuted in the late 1960s with A wonderful November (1969), establishing himself as a character actor in Italian and European productions.^[[6]​

His portrayal of Don Tommasino in The godfather It gave him notoriety outside Italy. At the same time, he was one of the most recognized voices in Italian dubbing: he gave voice to emblematic characters such as Obi-Wan Kenobi (played by Alec Guinness) in the original trilogy of Star Warsy Beera The jungle book by Walt Disney. He also voiced figures such as Burt Lancaster, Spencer Tracy, Rod Steiger, Orson Welles, Anthony Quinn and Peter Ustinov.

During the seventies he founded, together with colleagues such as Renato Turi, Giancarlo Giannini, Valeria Valeri and Oreste Lionello, a company dedicated to professional dubbing. His versatility allowed him to alternate between theater, film and television for more than four decades.

In his last years he suffered serious health problems that forced him to travel in a wheelchair. He died in Rome on September 21, 1989, aged 64. Shortly before his death he had signed on to reprise the role of Don Tommasino in The Godfather III,^[[8]finally played by Vittorio Duse.

• A wonderful November (1969)
• Metellus (1970)
• The godfather (1972)
• The Pisciotta case (1972)
• Illustrious Corpses (1976)
• Marco Polo (1982)
• Ginger y Fred (1986)