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Frank Capra

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Frank Capra: Biography

Birth Name: Francesco Rosario Capra
Birth Place: Bisacquino, Sicily, Italy
Date of Birth / Zodiac Sign: 05/18/1897, Taurus
Date of Death: 09/03/1991
Profession: Director; producer; writer

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Frank Capra Fast Facts:

Emigrated from Italy to the U.S. with his family when he was 6.
Enlisted in the Army during World War I (where he taught mathematics), but was discharged after becoming ill during the 1918 Spanish-flu pandemic.
Made his professional directorial debut in 1922 with a one-reel adaptation of the Rudyard Kipling poem Fultah Fisher's Boarding House.
Helped establish the fledgling Columbia Pictures as a major player in the movie industry with a string of successful films.
It Happened One Night (1934) was the first movie to win all five major Academy Awards: best film, director (Capra), screenplay (Robert Riskin), actor (Clark Gable) and actress (Claudette Colbert).
Served as president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences from 1935 to 1939.
An Army colonel during World War II, he made a series of documentaries for the government titled Why We Fight. The first, Prelude to War, won a Best Documentary Oscar for 1942.
Formed the independent production company Liberty Films, which produced the seasonal classic It's a Wonderful Life, before eventually selling it to Paramount.
Released his autobiography, The Name Above the Title, in 1971.
Received the AFI's Life Achievement Award in 1982.

Frank Capra Relationships:
Antonia Capra - Sister
Benedetto Capra - Brother
Frank Capra Jr. - Son
Giuseppa Capra - Sister
Giuseppe Capra - Brother
Helen Howell - Ex-wife
Ignazia Capra - Sister
Lucille Capra - Daughter
Lucille Rayburn Warner Capra - Wife (deceased)
Rosaria Nicolosi Capra - Mother
Salvatore Capra - Father
Thomas Capra - Son
Tony Capra - Brother
Frank Capra Awards:
1933 Oscar: Best Achievement in Directing - Nominee
1934 Oscar: Best Achievement in Directing - Winner
1936 Oscar: Best Achievement in Directing - Winner
1938 Oscar: Best Achievement in Directing - Winner
1939 Oscar: Best Achievement in Directing - Nominee
1946 Oscar: Best Achievement in Directing - Nominee
1982 Emmy: Outstanding Informational Special - Nominee
1947 Golden Globe: Best Director - Motion Picture - Winner
College:
Throop College of Technology, Pasadena, CA (BS in Chemical Engineering, 1918)

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