Corrado Gaipa (13 March 1925 – 21 September 1989) was an Italian actor and voice actor.[1]
A well known actor of Italian cinema, he was internationally known for his role as Don Tommasino in The Godfather, while his popularity in Italy was also connected to his activity as a voice dubber.[2]
Born in Palermo, Gaipa enrolled in the Silvio d'Amico Academy of Dramatic Arts, where he studied for three years and performed an adaptation of the play You Can't Take It with You. He then graduated in 1946. In 1948, Gaipa joined a theatre group based in Rome and began acting in radio dramas which were broadcast in many cities across Italy such as Turin, Florence and Milan. He also appeared in many films, beginning with That Splendid November (1969).[3] He became well known worldwide playing Don Tommasino in the 1972 film The Godfather, directed by Francis Ford Coppola.
While also active on stage, radio and television, he was heavily active as a voice actor and especially as a dubber: he provided the Italian voice of Obi-Wan Kenobi (portrayed by Alec Guinness) in the Star Wars original trilogy as well as Bagheera in the Italian-Language version of The Jungle Book. He also dubbed over the voices of Lionel Stander, Eli Wallach, Peter Ustinov, Rod Steiger, Orson Welles, Burt Lancaster and Spencer Tracy. Gaipa assisted with the foundation of a dubbing company in the 1970s alongside Renato Turi, Giancarlo Giannini, Valeria Valeri, Oreste Lionello and other historical Italian dubbers.[4]
In Gaipa's later years, he developed serious health problems and went from using a walking stick to a wheelchair, ultimately diyng in Rome on 21 September 1989, at the age of 64.[5] At the time of his death, he had just signed to reprise the role of Don Tommasino in The Godfather Part III, which was instead passed on to Vittorio Duse.
Media related to Corrado Gaipa at Wikimedia Commons