Andrea Camilleri

Andrea Camilleri was born in 1925 to harbor official Giuseppe and his wife Carmelina Camilleri. He grew up in the small Sicilian west coast town of Empedocle during the dictatorship of Italy’s fascist dictator Benito Mussolini. He was always an innovative and disruptive child and was expelled from a Catholic School for defacing a crucifix. He went on to finish his schooling at a state school before proceeding to university. Camilleri never finished his university studies as he dropped out in the late 1940s to become an author. He wrote several short stories and poetry and was even shortlisted for some prestigious literary award. By the end of the 40s, he decided that he wanted to become a theater director and attended the Accademia Nazionale d’Arte Drammatica, where he studied direction. He went on to have a successful career directing and producing the works of Samuel Beckett. In 1957, he met and married Rosetta Dello Siesto and got employment with RAI the newly established Italian state broadcaster. At RAI, he executive produced several hit investigative series that included including “Commissioner Maigret’s Inquiries’ that was an adaptation of Georges Simenon’s fictional sleuth. Another popular series he produced was “Le Avventure di Laura Storm” that featured a female sleuth that also had martial arts skills, which made it a groundbreaking series in 1960s Italy.