Domenico "Memo" Benassi (21 June 1886 â 24 February 1957) was an Italian stage and film actor who appeared in more than forty films in a mixture of leading and supporting roles.
Born in Sorbolo, Benassi initially formed as a musician, studying cello at the Parma Conservatory. His professional acting career was launched in the late 1910s by Gualtiero Tumiati, who offered him a role in his stage company after noting him during an amateur theatrical performance. He was later enrolled in several major theater companies of the time, notably working with Eleonora Duse and Emma and Irma Gramatica. In 1925, he formed his own stage company. He made his film debut in 1932, and had main roles in films by Alessandro Blasetti and Max Ophüls, among others. He played the composer Beethoven in the 1942 film Rossini. After the war, he mostly focused on his theatrical career, working with Giorgio Strehler and Luchino Visconti.