Ponti was an Italian photographer and optician of Swiss descent. He lived for some years in Paris, France, where he worked with the optician Chauchois and learnt the technique of photography. He moved to Venice, Italy, towards 1852. He began to photograph the city in 1854-1855 and published an album of 160 photographs of Venetian architecture. Ponti published and edited the photographs of Carlo Naya from 1857 to 1868 when a dispute ended the alliance. He collaborated with the photographer Antonio Perini (1830-1879) and the painter and photographer Domenico Bresolin (1813-1899), whose archive he took over in 1864. Ponti photographed Rome, Italy, from 1860 to 1865. Ponti was associated with the Architectural Photographic Association. Ponti was an Italian photographer and optician of Swiss descent. He lived for some years in Paris, France, where he worked with the optician Chauchois and learnt the technique of photography. He moved to Venice, Italy, towards 1852. He began to photograph the city in 1854-1855 and published an album of 160 photographs of Venetian architecture. Ponti published and edited the photographs of Carlo Naya from 1857 to 1868 when a dispute ended the alliance. He collaborated with the photographer Antonio Perini (1830-1879) and the painter and photographer Domenico Bresolin (1813-1899), whose archive he took over in 1864. Ponti photographed Rome, Italy, from 1860 to 1865. Ponti was associated with the Architectural Photographic Association.
Father of Edoardo Ponti
Father (by 2nd wife Sophia Loren ) of Carlo Ponti Jr.. Father (by 1st wife) of producer Alex Ponti and of lawyer Guendalina Ponti.
Member of the jury at the Cannes Film Festival in 1959
Earned a law degree from the University of Milan. Practiced law in Milan in the late 1930s.
Studied law at the University of Milan.
Got to know his future wife Sofia Villone Scicolone at the "Miss Rome" competition and gave her the stage name Sophia Loren (1952).
After he had divorced from Giuliana Fiastri in Mexico, he married Sophia Loren in 1957. As the divorce was not legalized in Italy, he was accused of bigamy and his marriage to Loren was annulled in 1962. Thus, the couple and Pontis first wife acquired French citizenship, so that he and Loren could marry again in 1966.
Founded the production company "Ponti-De Laurentiis" together with Dino De Laurentiis , which produced Tot a colori (1952) , the first Italian movie in color.
The controversy surrounding his first marriage to Sophia Loren, was that he was still legally married to his first wife Giuliana Fiastri at that time in the eyes of Cathoilc Italy, even though they had already divorced by 1957. In order to marry Loren he obtained a divorce in Mexico where they also got married by proxy, but this was not recognized back in Italy where Ponti was condemned and told he would be charged with bigamy should he return. Thus Ponti and Loren lived in exile in the States for a while until matters could be resolved. In the end the solution was for all three: Ponti, Loren and his ex-wife Fiastri to adopt French citizenship so that he and Fiastri could be legally divorced, and he and Loren could be legally married.
Is portrayed by Joseph Long in The Life and Death of Peter Sellers .
Was considered for the role of Vito Corleone in The Godfather despite the fact that he was not an actor.
Produced every motion picture made at Lux Films in Rome between 1945 and 1949.
During the shooting of Claude Chabrol s Landru , he was so appalled by Stphane Audran s performance that he asked whos that slut whos playing Fernande? Chabrol (who was already engaged to Audran) slapped Ponti in the face and screamed thats my woman! The director and the actress married one year later.
