Paolo Villaggio leaves us

Actor and writer Paolo Villaggio (he was born in Genoa in 1932) passed away in Rome at the age of eighty-four. He was announced by his daughter Elisabetta in a Facebook post.

Author, in 1971, of the book Fantozzi, from which the film of the same name (and the following saga) that made him popular was based, Paolo Villaggio was one of the greatest Italian comedians: with his books and films he gave life to a comedy that, always through the expedient ofhyperbole, sketched in a finely ironic, and in some ways still topical, manner the vices and virtues of the average Italian. Alongside his best-known comic films, Paolo Villaggio has since successfully played leading roles in dramatic films: notably, his performances in Ermanno Olmi’s Il segreto del bosco vecchio, Denis Rabaglia’s Azzurro, and Markus Imboden’s Heidi (where he plays the role of the grandfather of the famous shepherdess). In 1990 he also acted for Federico Fellini in the film La voce della luna, which won him the David di Donatello for best leading actor. His awards also include the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achie vement from the Venice Film Festival, obtained in 1992, and again the Silver Ribbon as best leading actor for Il segreto del bosco vecchio (1994) and the David di Donatello for Lifetime Achievement (2009).

Only one film he has directed as a director(Fantozzi contro tutti in 1980, directed together with Neri Parenti). Paolo Villaggio has also been active in politics: after joining the Italian Communist Party, he ran in the 1987 general elections as a candidate for Democrazia Proletaria and in the 1994 elections on the Marco Pannella List.

Among the memorable scenes of his bitter and biting comedy, many of which have entered fully into the collective imagination, we have selected the one, taken from the film The Second Tragic Fantozzi, in which he accompanies Duke Count Semenzara on an improbable trip to the Principality of Monaco with Monte Carlo Casino as his objective.

Paolo Villaggio leaves us

Warning: the translation into English of the original Italian article was created using automatic tools. We undertake to review all articles, but we do not guarantee the total absence of inaccuracies in the translation due to the program. You can find the original by clicking on the ITA button. If you find any mistake,please contact us.