by Hal Erickson
biography
Walter Chiari was a renowned Italian athlete before entering show business in 1948. A specialist in light comedy, Chiari came to prominence in the atypical role of a callous seducer in Visconti's Bellissima. Though he spent most of his career in Italian films, he was prominently cast in such "outside" productions as Preminger's Bonjour Tristesse (1957) and Welles' Chimes at Midnight(1967). He also was a composer of note, and a frequent visitor to the world of musical comedy, briefly appearing in the Broadway tunefest The Gay Life. Walter Chiari spent his last decade as a character actor in films and TV.
