His family held close ties to the town of Casalbuttano ed Uniti, where the elder Cervi would eventually be buried.

He shared great understanding and friendship with co-star Fernandel during the 15 years playing their respective roles in Don Camillo movies.

[1] He was a stage actor, particularly known for his interpretations of Shakespeare,[2] and co-founded the Teatro Eliseo's stable company with Paolo Stoppa and Rina Morelli in 1939.

[4] Cervi was also a voice actor, and dubbed into Italian the films of Laurence Olivier (Henry V, 1944; Hamlet, 1948; Richard III, 1955),[5] Orson Welles, Clark Gable (It Happened One Night, 1934), and James Stewart (Harvey, 1950).

He dubbed Alec Guinness' voice in the Italian version of Brother Sun, Sister Moon (1972) and Charles Boyer in Lucky to Be a Woman (1956).