Ettore Ribotta (November 14, 1923 – March 27, 2010) was a dependable Italian character actor who enjoyed a prolific career spanning several decades of Italian genre cinema. Born in Sassari, Sardinia, Italy, Ribotta was part of that essential group of professional actors who populated the diverse landscape of Italian film production from the late 1950s through the late 1970s.
Ribotta is most familiar to international audiences for his appearance in the 1964 science-fiction/horror classic The Last Man on Earth. In this adaptation of Richard Matheson’s I Am Legend, he portrayed the TV Reporter—a role that provided vital exposition during the film’s harrowing flashback sequences, helping to ground the fantastical plague in a sense of urgent, media-saturated reality alongside stars Vincent Price and Umberto Raho.
Throughout his career, Ribotta navigated a variety of popular genres, from Gothic horror and “sword-and-sandal” adventures to the gritty “poliziotteschi” (crime) films of the 70s. He appeared in the atmospheric horror film The Doll of Satan (La bambola di Satana, 1969) and the adventure epic The Son of Captain Blood (1962). As the industry shifted toward television in the 1970s, he became a familiar face in popular Italian miniseries, notably the hit mystery Dov’è Anna? (1976) and the supernatural drama La dama dei veleni (1979).
Ettore Ribotta passed away in Rome in 2010 at the age of 86. While often playing supporting roles, his steady presence across more than 100 credits made him a pillar of the Italian studio system during its most creative and internationally influential era.
