Carlo Ponti, one of Italy's best known film producers and the husband of actress Sophia Loren, has died at the age of 94.
In his 50-year career, Ponti produced more than 260 films, including 'La Strada' in 1954 and 'Dr Zhivago' in 1965.
But he was equally famous for discovering Loren as a teenager and turning her into one of the world's most glamorous film stars. They married in 1957.
"He died overnight," Alessandra Mussolini, grand-daughter of Benito Mussolini and a niece of Loren, said.
"It was a peaceful death, there was not a particular problem," she told Reuters, adding he had been in hospital in Geneva since Christmas.
"His wife and children were with him. Sophia has always been with him throughout."
