Antonio Vellani, 62; American Film Institute Director Emeritus

Antonio (Toni) Vellani, director emeritus of the American Film Institute’s Center for Advanced Film and Television Studies, has died of heart failure. He was 62.

The Italian-born Vellani died Monday at UCLA Medical Center, AFI spokesman Joe Sutton said.

Vellani joined the AFI in 1968 and led the Center for Advanced Film and Television Studies for nine years. He resigned as filmmaker-in-residence in June because of health problems, Sutton said.

After studying law in Bologna, his birthplace, he came to the United States and studied film at USC. He headed documentary film production for the U.S. Information Agency before joining AFI.

Vellani’s professional career included the role of associate producer on George Stevens Sr.’s five-year project “The Greatest Story Ever Told,” a 1965 epic.

He worked in creative and executive capacities on more than 100 documentary and dramatic films, including “Robert Kennedy Remembered,” “Valley Forge” and “George Stevens: A Filmmaker’s Journey,” George Stevens Jr.’s tribute to his late father.

Vellani’s survivors include his wife, Sonia, and a daughter.