Cesare Gravina

Cesare Gravina (23 January 1858 – 16 September 1954) was an Italian actor of the silent era who appeared in more than 70 films between 1911 and 1929. Born in Naples, Gravina was an orchestra conductor in his native Italy. As the conductor at La Scala, among the noted vocalists he worked with were Mary Garden and Enrico Caruso. At some point he left music to become a character actor, sharing his reasons for the career change with no one. As the owner of many theaters in South America, Gravina was financially secure enough to retire from motion pictures by 1924, but he preferred to remain in acting.