Franco Diogene (20 October 1947 – 27 May 2005) was an Italian actor and comedian.

Life and career

Born Concetto Francesco Diogene in

Catania Catania (, , , Sicilian and ) is the second-largest municipality on Sicily, after Palermo, both by area and by population. Despite being the second city of the island, Catania is the center of the most densely populated Sicilian conurbation, wh ...

, he was the son of a Sicilian father and a

Liguria Liguria (; ; , ) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is roughly coextensive with ...

n mother. At 5 years old, Diogene moved to

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

with his family. In Genoa he completed his studies, and also started acting in a little theater of a parish. Since the early 1970s, he was one of the most active

character actor A character actor is an actor known for playing unusual, eccentric, or interesting character (arts), characters in supporting roles, rather than leading ones.28 April 2013, The New York Acting SchoolTen Best Character Actors of All Time Retrie ...

s in Italian cinema, often cast in humorous roles. He was also cast in several international productions, such as '' Midnight Express'' (in the role of Yesil, the Turkish

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

who unsuccessfully defended Billy Hayes in court) and ''

The Name of the Rose ''The Name of the Rose'' ( ) is the 1980 debut novel by Italian author Umberto Eco. It is a historical fiction, historical murder mystery set in an Italian monastery in the year 1327, and an intellectual mystery combining semiotics in fiction, ...

'', mainly thanks to his foreign language skills. Diogene was also active as a stand-up comedian, and he was the organizer of the beauty contest "Miss Top Model Universe". Diogene died of a heart attack, aged 57 years old.

Selected filmography

* '' Due mafiosi contro Al Capone'' (1966) - Night club Announcer * ''Maria Rosa la guardona'' (1973) * '' Teresa the Thief'' (1973) * ''Il colonnello Buttiglione diventa generale'' (1974) * ''

Kidnap Kidnapping or abduction is the unlawful abduction and confinement of a person against their will, and is a crime in many jurisdictions. Kidnapping may be accomplished by use of force or fear, or a victim may be enticed into confinement by frau ...

'' (1974) - Nino * '' Ante Up'' (1974) - Peppino il Barbiere * ''Buttiglione diventa capo del servizio segreto'' (1975) - Tenente Parisi * '' The Suspicious Death of a Minor'' (1975) - Pesce's Lawyer (uncredited) * '' Nude per l'assassino'' (1975) - Maurizio * '' Teasers'' (1975) - Monica's Lover * ''La collegiale'' (1975) - Carlo De Marchi * '' Il giustiziere di mezzogiorno'' (1975) - Vigile Corrotto * '' Sex with a Smile'' (1976) - Ignazio, her husband (segment "I soldi in banca") * '' La madama'' (1976) - Fruttivendolo * '' As of Tomorrow'' (1976) - Garage Owner (uncredited) * '' Roma, l'altra faccia della violenza'' (1976) - Lawyer * ''

Goodnight, Ladies and Gentlemen ''Goodnight, Ladies and Gentlemen'' (, ) is a 1976 French-Italian satirical comedy anthology film. It comprises twelve episodes on themes of corruption in various Italian institutions, each by a different writer and director collectively credi ...

'' (1976) - Grocer (uncredited) * ''Cuginetta, amore mio!'' (1976) - Sciaccaluga * ''

Tentacles In zoology, a tentacle is a flexible, mobile, and elongated organ present in some species of animals, most of them invertebrates. In animal anatomy, tentacles usually occur in one or more pairs. Anatomically, the tentacles of animals work main ...

'' (1977) - Chuck * '' Taxi Girl'' (1977) - Sheik Abdul Lala * '' Midnight Express'' (1978) - Yesil * ''

Gardenia ''Gardenia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the coffee family, Rubiaceae, native to the tropical and subtropical regions of Africa, Asia, Madagascar, Pacific Islands, and Australia. The genus was named by Carl Linnaeus and John Ellis after ...

'' (1979) - Friend of Gardenia * '' A Policewoman on the Porno Squad'' (1979) - Joe Maccarone * ''I contrabbandieri di Santa Lucia'' (1979) - Achmet * ''Supersexymarket'' (1979) * '' Saturday, Sunday and Friday'' (1979) - The lawyer (segment "Venerdì") * ''Il viziaccio'' (1980) * ''

City of Women ''City of Women'' () is a 1980 fantasy comedy-drama film directed by Federico Fellini, who co-wrote it with Bernardino Zapponi and Brunello Rondi. Amid Fellini's characteristic combination of dreamlike, outrageous, and artistic imagery, Marcel ...

'' (1980) - Party Guest (uncredited) * '' L'insegnante al mare con tutta la classe'' (1980) - Headmaster * '' Delitto a Porta Romana'' (1980) - Busoni - the usurer * ''Trhauma'' (1980) - Bitto * ''Il terno a letto'' (1980) * '' Madly in Love'' (1981) - Capo cameriere * '' Il paramedico'' (1982) - 'Palletta'-The Car Wrecker * '' La casa stregata'' (1982) * ''Attenti a quei P2'' (1982) - Emiro Kashieri * '' Giovani, belle... probabilmente ricche'' (1982) - L'avvocato * '' Grand Hotel Excelsior'' (1980) - Ing. Binotti * '' Attila flagello di Dio'' (1982) - Mercante genovese * '' Heads I Win, Tails You Lose'' (1982) - The soccer team's owner * ''Stesso mare stessa spiaggia'' (1983) - Piero * '' The World of Don Camillo'' (1984) - Binella * '' Il ragazzo di campagna'' (1984) - 1st Recruitment Manager * '' Madman at War'' (1985) - Nitti * ''Killer contro killers'' (1985) - Hagen * '' The Mines of Kilimanjaro'' (1986) - Tai-Ling * ''

'' (1986) - Päpstliche Gesandte #1 * '' 7 chili in 7 giorni'' (1986) - Assessore Turri * ''

Il burbero ''Il burbero'' (''The Gruff'') is a 1986 Italian comedy film directed by Castellano & Pipolo. Plot Mary Cimino, a waitress from New York, receives a call from her Italian husband Giulio, who tells her that he has acquired unexpected wealth and ...

'' (1986) - Controllore vagoni letto * ''Il lupo di mare'' (1987) * ''Russicum - I giorni del diavolo'' (1988) * '' The Big Blue'' (1988) - Receptionist * ''Interzone'' (1989) - Rat * '' There Was a Castle with Forty Dogs'' (1990) - Padre di Violetta * '' The Bachelor'' (1990) * ''Occhio alla perestrojka'' (1990) - Racist Receptionist * ''Fuga da Kayenta'' (1991) - Sheriff Baker * '' Acquitted for Having Committed the Deed'' (1992) * ''Ci hai rotto papà'' (1993) - Colonnello Nardini * ''Piccolo grande amore'' (1993) * ''Caino e Caino'' (1993) - Direttore della Casa di Riposo * '' The House of the Spirits'' (1993) - Man at the Party * ''18000 giorni fa'' (1993) - Dottor Bianchi * ''

Policemen A police officer (also called policeman or policewoman, cop, officer or constable) is a warranted law employee of a police force. In most countries, ''police officer'' is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. In some, the use of t ...

'' (1995) - Bunny * '' The Stendhal Syndrome'' (1996) - Victim's husband * ''Esercizi di stile'' (1996) * ''Con rabbia e con amore'' (1997) - Man with white Mercedes near the beach * ''Il tocco - La sfida'' (1997) - Omaccio * ''Figurine'' (1997) - Mister Atlas * ''La classe non è acqua'' (1997) - Professore siciliano * ''Boom'' (1999) - Coluso (Segment: Il figlio di Claudio Villa) * ''Voci'' (2000) - Libraio * ''Proibito baciare'' (2000) * '' The Bankers of God: The Calvi Affair'' (2002) - Luigi Mennini * ''Il compagno americano'' (2003) - Carboni

References

External links

* 1947 births 2005 deaths Italian male stage actors Italian male film actors Italian male television actors Male actors from Catania 20th-century Italian male actors People of Ligurian descent Italian male comedians {{Italy-film-actor-stub