Screenwriter. In a long career, she authored the scripts for well over 100 Italian films. Born Giovanna Cecchi to a distinguished artistic family, she was quickly renamed "Susanna", which eventually got shortened to "Suso"; after education in Switzerland and England, she worked as a government secretary and translator, and in 1938 married journalist Fedele D'Amico (deceased 1990). After being forced into hiding during World War II, she was a literary translator, then began screenwriting around 1945. Her first "official" credit, the 1946 "Professor My Son", was to be followed by a steady succession of works both comic and dramatic. Learning as she went along, she used a clear style with concise dialogue, earning gratitude from both actors and directors. She co-wrote 1948's "The Bicycle Thief", the classic tale of a poor man's search through Rome for his stolen bicycle. D'Amico worked with most of the postwar Italian directors, notably maintaining a long association with Luchino Visconti, starting with 1951's "Bellissima". She wrote all but two of his film scripts, her work including "Rocco and His Brothers" (1960), "The Leopard" (1963), and 1976's "The Innocent". For Mario Monicelli, she penned "Big Deal on Madonna Street" (1958), "Casanova 70" (1965) and other pieces; she is even said to have helped start Sophia Loren's career by refusing to sell the script for "Too Bad She's Bad" (1954) until Miss Loren was cast in the lead. Her trips to Hollywood were rare (she helped give an Italian flavour to 1953's "Roman Holiday"), as she preferred to work in her native land, though she did earn an Oscar nomination for "Casanova 70". D'Amico received a 1994 lifetime achievement award from the Venice Film Festival, and had her final screen credit with "The Roses of the Desert" (2006). When asked about how she found her way into the film business, she said simply: "I tried, I liked it and I had fun, so I continued".
Screenwriter. In a long career, she authored the scripts for well over 100 Italian films. Born Giovanna Cecchi to a distinguished artistic family, she was quickly renamed "Susanna", which eventually got shortened to "Suso"; after education in Switzerland and England, she worked as a government secretary and translator, and in 1938 married journalist Fedele D'Amico (deceased 1990). After being forced into hiding during World War II, she was a literary translator, then began screenwriting around 1945. Her first "official" credit, the 1946 "Professor My Son", was to be followed by a steady succession of works both comic and dramatic. Learning as she went along, she used a clear style with concise dialogue, earning gratitude from both actors and directors. She co-wrote 1948's "The Bicycle Thief", the classic tale of a poor man's search through Rome for his stolen bicycle. D'Amico worked with most of the postwar Italian directors, notably maintaining a long association with Luchino Visconti, starting with 1951's "Bellissima". She wrote all but two of his film scripts, her work including "Rocco and His Brothers" (1960), "The Leopard" (1963), and 1976's "The Innocent". For Mario Monicelli, she penned "Big Deal on Madonna Street" (1958), "Casanova 70" (1965) and other pieces; she is even said to have helped start Sophia Loren's career by refusing to sell the script for "Too Bad She's Bad" (1954) until Miss Loren was cast in the lead. Her trips to Hollywood were rare (she helped give an Italian flavour to 1953's "Roman Holiday"), as she preferred to work in her native land, though she did earn an Oscar nomination for "Casanova 70". D'Amico received a 1994 lifetime achievement award from the Venice Film Festival, and had her final screen credit with "The Roses of the Desert" (2006). When asked about how she found her way into the film business, she said simply: "I tried, I liked it and I had fun, so I continued".
Bio by: Bob Hufford
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