Born into poverty in Sora (Frosinone[?]), he began his career as a theatre actor in the early 1920s and joined Tatiana Pavlova[?]'s theatre company in 1923.
In 1933 he founded his own company with his wife Giuditta Rissone[?] and Sergio Tofano. The company performed mostly light comedies, but they also staged plays by Beaumarchais, and worked with famous directors like Luchino Visconti.
His meeting with Cesare Zavattini was a very important event: they wrote together some of the most celebrated films of the neorealistic age, like Sciuscià[?] (Shoeshine) and Ladri di biciclette (The Bicycle Thief).
One of his best-received is La Ciociara[?] (Two Women) (1961): Sophia Loren won the Oscar for her performance, and critics widely regard the film a classic. De Sica died in Paris on November 13, 1974.
Notable films:
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