Born in Naples, son of the sculptor Filippo Cifariello, Antonio started his career in 1950 as the main actor, credited as Fabio Montale, in La sposa che vestiva di bianco, a film which had several production issues and that was released only in 1953.

[1] In the meanwhile Cifariello appeared in several fotoromanzi using the stage name Mauro Vellani, and enrolled at the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia in Rome, graduating in 1953.

[1] The same year, he was chosen by Federico Fellini to star in Marriage Agency, a segment of the anthology film Love in the City.

[1] Tired of playing stereotypal characters of seducers or boyfriends, in the 1960s Cifariello gradually moved his career towards journalism and television documentaries.

[1][2] On 12 December 1968, during a trip to Zambia for a RAI documentary, Cifariello died in a plane crash.