Sophia Loren’s Husband and Mentor, Carlo Ponti, Dies

Italian producer Carlo Ponti, who became more famous for discovering and eventually marrying Italian bombshell, Sophia Loren, has died in Geneva, Switzerland at the age of 94.

Mr. Ponti produced more than 100 films, including such Oscar nominees, as “Doctor Zhivago,” “The Firemen’s Ball,” and “The Great Day.” He co-produced 1956’s “La Strada,” which starred Mexican-American actor, Anthony Quinn. “La Strada” won the Academy Award for best foreign film. In 1964, “Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow” did the same.

Ponti’s 1960 film “La Ciociara” — “Two Women” — showcased his wife’s acting talents in a powerful drama of the horrible effects of war on a woman and her daughter. Sophia Loren won a best actress Oscar for her performance in this film.

The controversy surrounding his affair with Sophia Loren, who was a quarter century younger than Carlo, dominated news reports in the 1950s. Carlo Ponti was already married when he met the young Italian spitfire and Italy’s strong stance against divorce wasn’t going to be changed to accommodate their burning love for each other. Already the father of two children by his first wife, Giuliana, annulment was out of the question.

Ponti’s lawyers obtained a divorce in Mexico and in 1957, Carlo Ponti and Sophia Loren were married by proxy in Mexico when two male attorneys stood in their places. Sophia and Carlo learned they were married, at least in other jurisdictions, when the news was broken by society columnist Louella Parsons.

In Italy, however, Carlo was charged with bigamy. Both he and Sophia were threatened with excommunication from the Roman Cathlic Church. Eventually, Ponti and Loren found a way out of their siutation when they became French citizens. Then French President, Georges Pompidou, personally signed the approval and they were married for a second time in 1966.

His marital problems were not the only times Ponti found himself on the wrong side of the law.

Carlo Ponti spent a short time in prison during World War II for producing “Piccolo Mondo Antico,” a film deemed to be anti-German. His 1973 film “Massacre in Rome,” which cast Pope Pius XII in a bad light, led to a 6-month suspended sentence, although the charges were dropped on appeal. He also had financial problems with the authorities that led to criminal charges.

Besides his famous wife, Carlo Ponti leaves four children: Carlo Jr., a noted music conductor, who is music director of the San Bernardino Symphony; film director Edoardo; film producer, Alessandro and a daughter, Guendolina.