De Filippo, Eduardo (1900–84), Italian actor and dramatist, illegitimate son of the Neapolitan actor Eduardo Scarpetta, in whose company he and his brother
Peppino (1903–80) and sister
Titina [Anastasia] (1898–1963) acted as children. In 1932 they opened their own playhouse in Naples—the Teatro Umoristico—and soon achieved a great reputation for their productions in the style of the
commedia dell'arte. Many of their plays were the work of Eduardo. In 1945 Peppino left to found his own company, with which he was seen in London during the
World Theatre Season of 1964, while Titina remained with Eduardo until her death, appearing in many of his comedies, including
Filumena Marturano (1946), in which a prostitute pretends to be dying so that her lover will marry her. Other outstanding works were
Napoli milionaria! (1945), with which Eduardo visited the 1972 World Theatre Season,
La paura numero uno (
Terror Number One, 1950), and
Bene mio e core mio (
My Goods and My Heart, 1955). Always topical, his plays are usually set in Naples, their language reflecting the evolving Neapolitan dialect and the vocabulary of modern life.
Zeffirelli directed productions in English of
Saturday,
Sunday,
Monday (1959), about a family quarrel spread over a weekend (
National Theatre, 1973; NY, 1974), and
Filumena (1977; NY, 1980).
Le voci di dentro (1948) was produced as
Inner Voices (1983) at the National Theatre, which also staged
Napoli Milionaria! in 1991.
