Ciannelli was born in
Lacco Ameno, on the island of
Ischia, where his father, a doctor, owned a
health spa. He studied surgery at the
University of Naples, and worked briefly as a doctor, but his love of
grand opera and the dramatic stage won out and he became a successful baritone, singing at
La Scala and touring Europe. He went to the United States from the
Port of Naples as a first cabin saloon passenger on board the steamship
San Guglielmo, which arrived at the Port of New York on 19 March 1914. In New York, he appeared on
Broadway in
Oscar Hammerstein II's first musical
Always You and later in
Rose-Marie. He appeared in
Theatre Guild productions in the late 1920s, co-starring with the Lunts (
Alfred Lunt and
Lynn Fontanne), and
Katharine Cornell. During that period, he appeared in
Uncle Vanya,
The Inspector General, and
The Front Page. In 1935, he played Trock Estrella in
Maxwell Anderson's
Winterset on Broadway and repeated his performance in the film version (1936). He played Cauchon in
Shaw's
Saint Joan in 1936, after which he left Broadway permanently, except for one notable occasion when he returned to play in
Dore Schary's play ''The Devil's Advocate'' in 1961 and receive a nomination for the
Tony Award for
Best Featured Actor. ==Career on screen==