Emilio Largo (Adolfo Celi)
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Datastream
Actor: Adolfo Celi
Character: Emilio Largo
Movie: Thunderball
Date of Birth: 27 July 1922
Distinguishing Feature: The highest ranking SPECTRE member
aside from Blofeld
Appearance: Tall and fit with rich grey hair, rugged jaw
line and green-grey eyes (the left eye is always covered
by a patch)
Status: Terminated
Organisations And Alliances: SPECTRE, Vargas, Janni, Count Lippe, Francois Derval & Fiona Volpe
Profile
A rich but aging playboy type, Largo is a distinctive figure in a crowed casino.
As SPECTRE's number two, and their most experienced agent, Emilio Largo is
forging a plan to cripple the defences of the Western Superpowers. Largo is
the quiet but callous guardian over Domino -
his beautiful niece with a tragic past. Largo ordered the death of her brother
in order to infiltrate a NATO airbase.
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Largo places no value in the sanctity of life
if it will further his manic cause. Determined to see the successful
end to his meticulous plan, he hides his brooding and spiteful
nature behind the temperate façade of a rich industrialist.
He demands attention and respect and is often the most striking,
if not deadliest man in any room. With a taste for the finer
things in life, every one of Largo's possessions is lavish and
modern. To Largo, failure is a crime, punishable by death.
"You
wish to put the evil eye on me, eh? We have a way to
deal with that where I come from."
Scheme
Bent on raising millions for SPECTRE and terrorising some
of the world's most impregnable defences, Largo arranged
for the hijacking of two atomic warheads from a NATO training
flight. His price? 100 million pounds from the British
government, or else bombs will be detonated in cities in
the UK or USA.
007 is
dispatched to investigate what at first appears to be
a tenuous link
in the Bahamas, and must stop Largo from triggering the
bombs
and
causing
a
nuclear meltdown on the shores of Miami. Largo's manic
plan is nevertheless immaculately conceived to the last
detail, and even with 007 hot on his tail, the super-villain
is often one step ahead of the game.
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I've Been Expecting You
Bond comes face to face with his nemesis over a high-stakes card game in a Nassau
casino. Largo is a regular at the gambling tables, yet 007's bold gambling
style throws him off his game. Bond is provocative and wagers "your spectre
against mine," on spying Largo's SPECTRE signature ring.
Headquarters
Largo is funded by the lucrative SPECTRE, but is in his own right
a millionaire with a flare for the extravagant. The villain
operates out of his luxury estate Palmyra - where 007 joins
him for lunch. With two swimming pools (one for the sharks),
its
own
power generator and a maze of underground rooms, Largo's headquarters
are well equipped to stage a nuclear coup.
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Gadgets & Vehicles
Largo's pride and joy is the Disco
Volante - a luxury super-launch
with a top speed of no less than 20 knots. The Volante
is decked out with spacious cabins, a discreet underwater
hatch and a hydrofoil for fast getaways. For his subaquatic
work, Largo uses a variety of motorised bomb-sleds to
transport the nukes, as well as mini-assault subs - armed
with an arsenal of spears.
"Like your friend you've been a little too clever, and now you are caught!" |
Dress Code
Largo is tailored in rich open-collar cotton shirts for casual attire or an impeccable
white tuxedo for his idealistic nightlife. He supports a black patch over his
left eye to hide a wound best left forgotten.
Goodbye Mr Bond
After 007 has rocked the boat and foiled his plan to use the bombs,
the villain - in a last attempt to regain control of the Disco
Volante - fights Bond for the wheel and almost has him beat until
Domino aims a well-placed spear gun shot for Emilio Largo's heart.
Biography
Born in Sicily, Italy, on the July 27th 1922, Adolfo Celi
is a bilingual writer, director and actor. With over
100 credits to his name, Celi is a familiar face in Italian
cinema. While his talent for languages and his striking
figure won him range of films in the UK and America,
Celi was almost always dubbed when appearing in English
speaking movies.
Prior to his brush with Bond, Adolfo Celi lived and worked in Argentina and Brazil where he made a successful career as a stage actor and director in the 1950s. Celi directed a successful Latin-American production, "Tico-Tico no Fubá" in 1952.
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"Thunderball", Sean Connery's fourth
outing as 007, exploded onto cinema screens in 1965 and Celi
was exposed to Hollywood. In the film, Celi's thick Sicilian
accent was overdubbed
by Anglo-Italian actor Robert Rietty for the final cut.
After winning the role of Largo, Celi came to
the attention of British and American audiences but retained
a slim profile in Hollywood, instead enjoying a full and successful
career as an actor and occasional a director in Europe. Celi
remains a much-loved figure of Italian movie-making. Adolfo Celi's
final credit was in 1987 before passing away after a heart attack
in Rome.
