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Vitali rarely left Kubrick’s side during the latter half of his career, helping the director with everything from casting to post-production.
Leon Vitali, Stanley Kubrick’s longtime collaborator who starred in “Barry Lyndon” and “Eyes Wide Shut” in addition to assisting the director throughout his career, has died at the age of 74. The news was revealed by the official Twitter account of Kubrick’s estate.
The official statement read: “It is with great sadness that we have to inform you that the foundation of countless Kubrick films, Leon Vitali, passed away peacefully last night. Our thoughts are with his family and all who knew and loved him. July 26, 1948 – August 20, 2022
Vitali began his acting career after attending the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. He had small guest spots in various television shows in the early 1970s before turning to feature films in 1973. He starred in the Italian film Super Bitch, which was directed by Sergio Leone’s longtime cinematographer Massimo Dalamano, but his big break came when Stanley Kubrick cast him as Lord Bullington in Barry Lyndon.
Mesmerized by Kubrick after working with him, Vitaly asked him if he could observe the director’s editing process after filming was complete. Kubrick complied, and this marked the beginning of an off-screen partnership between the two men that would last for the rest of Kubrick’s life. When Kubrick set out to adapt Stephen King’s The Shining as his next film, he sent Vitali a copy of the book and asked him to help with the production. Vitali was billed as the film’s “personal assistant to the director” and is known for playing Danny Lloyd, the actor who played the young Danny Torrance in the film.
Vitali became something of Kubrick’s right-hand man, helping with everything from casting to set logistics to post-production on each of his subsequent films. In addition to his assistant title, Vitali is credited as casting director on both “Full Metal Jacket” and “Eyes Wide Shut.” His work ethic played a major role in enabling Kubrick to realize his famously precise visions. “I would work 14, 16-hour shifts, seven days a week,” Vitali said in “Filmworker,” Tony Ziera’s documentary about his life. “It wasn’t like that some of time. It was just normal.”
For Kubrick’s final film, Eyes Wide Shut, Vitali stepped in front of the camera again to play the infamous Red Cloak. His villainous performance serves as a reminder of the acting ability that made Kubrick cast him in the first place. After Kubrick died just days after the film’s completion, Vitali largely retired from film production, although he helped launch the directorial career of his Eyes Wide Shut co-star Todd Field. He spent many of his remaining years overseeing restorations of Kubrick films and giving interviews about the director’s life and work.
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