Italian silent film actor, director and screenwriter. Born Emilio Luigi Carlo Giuseppe Maria Ghione, best known for being the creator and interpreter of the Za la Mort character. He was one of the most significant personalities of the Italian silent cinema. Son of a painter of considerable quality, Giovanni began as a painter and miniaturist. He made his debut in cinema in 1909, holding positions of stuntman. After working for a short time at the Itala Films, the production company of Giovanni Pastrone, continued his activities at Cines in Rome where in 1911 he had his first significant role in the film “Il poverello d’Assisi” directed by Enrico Guazzoni, playing the part of Saint Francis of Assisi. Ghione is best remembered as an actor for films such as “Idolo infranto” (1913), which was also his directorial debut, “Histoire d’un Pierrot” (1914), “Nelly la gigolette” (1914), where introduced for the first time Za la Mort and “Il triangolo giallo” (1917) in which also appears Za la Vie, the hero’s partner, played by Kally Sambucini. In the early twenties, he moved to Germany where revived the his character of Za la Mort. Returning to his homeland, he offered still some meaningful interpretations such as in the film “La cavalcata ardente” (1925) directed by Carmine Gallone, but the last years of his life were marked by the decline. After a stay in Paris now reduced to penury, Ghione returned to Italy severely ill. He wrote fictionalized autobiography, which was published in installments in the newspaper of Rome “Il Popolo”, two novels, “Za la Mort” (1928), “L’ombra di Za la Mort” (1929) and the essay “Le cinéma en Italie”(1930) which was one of the first attempts to reconstruct the history of Italian silent cinema. (bio by: Ruggero)