Esther Cunico Minciotti (born May 20, 1888, in Turin, Italy – died April 15, 1962, in New York, United States) was an Italian actress.
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Biography
Esther Cunico and her husband – Silvio Minciotti (1882–1961), also an actor of Italian origin – emigrated to the United States and settled in New York. There, she played on Broadway in two plays, the first from November 1949 to January 1950, the second (alongside her husband) in October 1956 (see the "Theatre" section below).
In the cinema, she collaborated in only eight American films (see the complete filmography which follows), between 1949 and 1956. Her best known role is undoubtedly that of Theresa Piletti, Ernest Borgnine's mother, in Marty (1955) by Delbert Mann. The following year (1956), she is this time the mother of Henry Fonda, in The Wrong Man directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Note that her husband Silvio Minciotti appears in five of these films (including four minor uncredited roles, including that of Marty's boss).
On television, Esther Minciotti participated in five series in the 1950s. In particular, she created the role of Theresa Piletti, with Rod Steiger playing Marty, in an episode (same title; also directed by Delbert Mann) of The Philco Television Playhouse broadcast in 1953, on an original screenplay by Paddy Chayefsky, 2 years before the film adaptation.
Filmography
Film
1949: Shockproof (by Douglas Sirk) - Mrs. Marat
1949: The Undercover Man (by Joseph H. Lewis) - Maria Rocco
1949: House of Strangers (by Joseph L. Mankiewicz) - Theresa Monetti
1951: Strictly Dishonorable (by Melvin Frank and Norman Panama) - Mme. Maria Caraffa
1955: Marty (by Delbert Mann) - Mrs. Teresa Piletti
1955: Murder in Villa Capri (by Otto Simetti) - Mama Flumeri
1956: The Wrong Man (by Alfred Hitchcock) - Mama Balestrero
1956: Full of Life (by Richard Quine) - Mama Colletta Rocco
Television
1950: Studio One (Season 2, episode: "The Man who had Influence", by Franklin J. Schaffner) - Mrs. Cassini
1951: Armstrong Circle Theatre (Season 1, episode: "Johnny Pickup", by Ted Post) - Mme. Maria Caraffa
1953: The Philco Television Playhouse, Season 5, episode: "Marty", by Delbert Mann) - Mrs. Pilletti - Mother
1957: Playhouse 90 (Season 2, episode: "The Death of Manolete", by John Frankenheimer) - Augustias
1958: Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse (Season 1, episode: "My Father, the Fool", by Jerry Thorpe) - Mama (final appearance)
Theatre
Plays performed on Broadway
1949–1950: That Lady by Kate O'Brien, produced by Katharine Cornell, with Henry Daniell, Henry Stephenson, Torin Thatcher, Joseph Wiseman, Katharine Cornell
1956: The Best House in Naples Eduardo De Filippo, adapted by F. Hugh Herbert, music by George Bassman, with Katy Jurado, Silvio Minciotti
