Paolo Villaggio


Paolo Villaggio was an Italian actor, comedian, film director, and writer. He is noted for the characters he created with paradoxical and grotesque characteristics: Professor Kranz, the ultra-timid Giandomenico Fracchia, and the obsequious and meek accountant Ugo Fantozzi, perhaps the favourite character in Italian comedy. He wrote several books, usually of satirical character. He also acted in dramatic roles, and appeared in several movies.
WWW Official Site𝕏 sonovillaggioFB paolovillaggiofanpage

Early life

Paolo Villaggio was born in Genoa, to Ettore Villaggio, a surveyor originally from Palermo, and Maria, originally from Venice, a German-language teacher. Paolo had a twin brother, Piero, who taught at the University of Pisa.
From there, Villaggio was hired for the TV programme Quelli della domenica, in which Fantozzi made his first appearance, introduced his characters, the aggressive "Professor Kranz" and the hypocritical "Giandomenico Fracchia".

Career

Awards

He received several cinema awards, including the David di Donatello, the Nastro d'Argento and the Golden Lion for his entire career.

Fantozzi

After his television experience, Villaggio started writing, for the magazines L'Espresso and L'Europeo, short stories featuring accountant Ugo Fantozzi, a man with a weak character, dogged by misfortune and by the "mega-director" of the "mega-company" where he works. In 1971, the publishing house Rizzoli released the book Fantozzi, a collection of these stories, which sold over a million copies, followed soon by the sequel Il secondo tragico libro di Fantozzi.
The first book received the Gogol Prize in Moscow and led to his 1975 appearance in the film Fantozzi, directed by Luciano Salce. The film's success led to a sequel, Il secondo tragico Fantozzi, with the same director in the following year, in which Fantozzi delivered his most famous line: "Per me... La corazzata Kotiomkin ... è una cagata pazzesca!!!", or roughly "As I see it... Battleship Kotiomkin... is an unbelievable load of crap!!!".
Six sequel books were then released, with the last one published in 2012. Seven other films followed, which ended in 1999, but were often much less based on the short stories and the books.

Other films

Villaggio played in numerous comedies. He was directed by Federico Fellini, Lina Wertmüller, by Ermanno Olmi, by Mario Monicelli, and by Gabriele Salvatores.
Villaggio continued writing while acting in films. He moved to the Mondadori publishing house in 1994. He published Fantozzi saluta e se ne va, Vita morte e miracoli di un pezzo di merda, 7 grammi in 70 anni and his latest, Sono incazzato come una belva in 2004.
He also acted in stage plays, playing Arpagone in L'Avare of Molière in 1996. In 1996 he conducted the satirical news bulletin Striscia la notizia, together with Massimo Boldi. More recently, he participated in the television fiction Carabinieri, in which he played the role of a tramp who often helped the police to solve crimes. Villaggio was also a lyricist. With fellow Genoan Fabrizio De André, he wrote two songs, "Carlo Martello torna dalla battaglia di Poitiers" and "Il fannullone".

Death

Villaggio died on 3 July 2017 from complications of diabetes in Rome at the age of 84.

Films

Theater

  • Avaro, directed by Giorgio Strehler
  • Delirio di un povero vecchio
  • Vita, morte e miracoli
  • Serata d'addio, directed by Andrea Buscemi
  • Il profumo delle lucciole
  • A ruota libera
  • ''La Corazzata Potëmkin''

Awards