'Umbrellas of Cherbourg' Star Nino Castelnuovo Dies at 84

Nino Castelnuovo, the handsome Italian movie idol best remembered for his work in the classic "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg," died Monday at 84, Italy's La Repubblica reported.

His death came on the same day as French icon Jean-Paul Belmondo's passing.

Nino, born Francesco, Castelnuovo was born in Lecco, Italy, on October 28, 1936. A jack-of-all-trades who initially earned a living as a mechanic and by painting houses, he studied acting in Milan in the 1950s, making his TV debut as a mime on a children's TV show in 1957.

His first film, "Un maledetto imbroglio" (1959), soon followed, and he built steam with highly regarded works like Luchino Visconti's 1960 film "Rocco and His Brothers."

He was also noted for singing with Disney teen star Annette Funicello in 1962 for a two-part TV show called "Escapade in Florence."

In 1964, he gave the performance that cemented his legacy as a film star, as Guy Foucher in Jacques Demy's Oscar-nominated romantic drama "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg," an entirely sung-through musical (with music by Michel Legrand and with Castelnuovo's voice dubbed by José Bartel) co-starring Catherine Deneuve, who gave her own career-making performance.

Castelnuovo's film career was up and down after that splash, but he was hot on TV in Italy after "I promessi sposi" (1967), and also appeared frequently on European TV as a pitchman.