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Raffaele "Raf" Vallone (17 February 1916 – 31 October 2002) was an Italian footballer, actor and an international film star. Born in Tropea, Calabria, the son of a lawyer, Vallone attended Liceo classico Cavour in Turin, and studied Law and Philosophy at the University of Turin and entered his father's law firm. He played professional Football at a young age, playing in Serie A for Torino. He won the Coppa Italia with his team in season 1935-1936. Subsequently, he became the editorial head of the culture section of L'Unità, then the official newspaper of the Italian Communist Party, and... MORE

Raffaele "Raf" Vallone (17 February 1916 – 31 October 2002) was an Italian footballer, actor and an international film star. Born in Tropea, Calabria, the son of a lawyer, Vallone attended Liceo classico Cavour in Turin, and studied Law and Philosophy at the University of Turin and entered his father's law firm. He played professional Football at a young age, playing in Serie A for Torino. He won the Coppa Italia with his team in season 1935-1936. Subsequently, he became the editorial head of the culture section of L'Unità, then the official newspaper of the Italian Communist Party, and also a film and drama critic for the Turin newspaper La Stampa. During World War II, Vallone served with the Communist resistance. His first film appearance was as a sailor in We the Living (1942), but Vallone was not interested in an acting career. Nevertheless, he was cast as a soldier competing with Vittorio Gassman for the love of Silvana Mangano in Riso amaro (Bitter Rice) (1949). The film became a neo-realist classic and Vallone was launched on an international career. In 2001 he published his autobiography, L'alfabeto della memoria, with Gremese (Rome). Vallone was married to the actress LESS