Farewell to Gigi Proietti. The popular actor and comedian passes away


The great theater, film and TV actor Gigi Proietti passes away. Just today he would have celebrated his 80th birthday.

Popular actor Gigi Proietti passed away tonight in Rome. Just today he had turned 80 years old. He had been hospitalized for 15 days in a Roman clinic due to heart failure and was in very serious condition. Born Luigi Proietti in Rome on November 2, 1940, in addition to being a theater, film, and TV actor, he was a voice actor, stand-up comedian, voice actor, TV host, director, and artistic director. Born into a family originally from Umbria, he had shown an early talent for music from an early age (so much so that, to support himself in his law studies, later not completed, he had debuted as a singer in the capital’s night clubs ), and then enrolled at the Centro Teatro Ateneo, where he studied with Arnold Foà, Giulietta Masina, and Giancarlo Sbragia. In 1963 he made his debut with the play Can Can degli italiani written by Giancarlo Cobelli, the first of a long series of successes in the theater.

His film debut was even earlier, as Proietti was hired as an extra for Vittorio Duse’s Il nostro campione in 1955, but his real debut came in 1966 with Le piacevoli notti, and on television in 1964 with I grandi camaleonti. From there a career of numerous successes: almost fifty years of activity in which Proietti appeared in 42 films, 33 television dramas, 51 stage shows (including 37 as director) and also 10 music albums. He is remembered for his verve, his irony, his pronounced Romanesque accent alternating with an Italian with perfect diction, and some very popular productions such as the films Febbre da cavallo and Le barzellette, the one-man-show Io a modo mio, and the TV show Il maresciallo Rocca. His most recent appearances have been his excursions into documentaries by Alberto Angela, while on film his latest role is as Mangiafuoco in Matteo Garrone’s film Pinocchio.

For Gigi Proietti also a number of awards: a Leggio d’oro for lifetime achievement in 2006 and three silver ribbons, in 1997 as best male dubbing for Robert De Niro in Casino, in 2003 as best leading actor for Febbre da cavallo - La mandrakata, and in 2018 for lifetime achievement. In 1991 he was awarded the title of Commendatore and in 2003 that of Grand Officer of the Italian Republic.

Farewell to Gigi Proietti. The popular actor and comedian passes away
Farewell to Gigi Proietti. The popular actor and comedian passes away


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