Luigi "Gigi" Proietti (2 November 1940 – 2 November 2020) was an Italian actor, dubber, comedian, singer and television presenter.

Early life

He was born in Rome to Romano Proietti, originally from

Umbria Umbria ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region of central Italy. It includes Lake Trasimeno and Cascata delle Marmore, Marmore Falls, and is crossed by the Tiber. It is the only landlocked region on the Italian Peninsula, Apennine Peninsula. The re ...

, and Giovanna Ceci, a housewife. During his youth, he was keen on singing and playing guitar, piano,

accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German language, German ', from '—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a Reed (mou ...

, and

double bass The double bass (), also known as the upright bass, the acoustic bass, the bull fiddle, or simply the bass, is the largest and lowest-pitched string instrument, chordophone in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding rare additions ...

at several Roman nightclubs. He enrolled in the Faculty of Law at La Sapienza University, where he attended the mimicry courses of the University Theatre Centre held by

Giancarlo Cobelli Giancarlo Cobelli (12 December 1929 – 16 March 2012) was an Italian actor and stage director. He was considered one of the most important directors of Italian theatre. Life and career Born in Milan, Cobelli studied acting at Giorgio Strehl ...

, who immediately noticed his talent as a musician and booked him for an avantgarde play.

Career

Acting

After several stage works, in 1966 Proietti debuted both in cinema, in '' Pleasant Nights'', and on television, in the TV series ''I grandi camaleonti''. His first personal success came in 1971, when he replaced Domenico Modugno in the stage musical ''Alleluja brava gente'' by Garinei & Giovannini, starring alongside

Renato Rascel Renato Ranucci (; 27 April 1912 – 2 January 1991), known by the stage name Renato Rascel (), was an Italian film actor and singer. He appeared in 50 films between 1942 and 1972. He represented in the Eurovision Song Contest 1960 with t ...

. In 1974, after playing the role of Neri Chiaramantesi in the drama ''La cena delle beffe'', alongside

Carmelo Bene Carmelo Pompilio Realino Antonio Bene (1 September 1937 – 16 March 2002) was an Italian actor, poet, film director, and screenwriter. He was an important exponent of the Italian avant-garde theatre and cinema. In 1968, his movie Our Lady ...

and

Vittorio Gassman Vittorio Gassman (; born Gassmann; 1 September 1922 – 29 June 2000), popularly known as , was an Italian actor, director, and screenwriter. He is considered one of the greatest Italian actors, whose career includes both important producti ...

, in 1976, he started a fruitful collaboration with playwright Roberto Lerici, with whom he wrote and directed his stage plays, starting with the one-man show ''A me gli occhi, please'' (''Give me your eyes, please'', 1976, reported on the scene in 1993, 1996 and 2000, in a memorable performance at the

Olympic Stadium ''Olympic Stadium'' is the name usually given to the main stadium of an Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports ...

in his hometown). Initially planned to be performed 6 times, the show exceeded 300 performances, with an average audience of 2,000 per performance. He took part in several international movies, including '' The Appointment'' (1969), directed by

Sidney Lumet Sidney Arthur Lumet ( ; June 25, 1924 – April 9, 2011) was an American film director. Lumet started his career in theatre before moving to film, where he gained a reputation for making realistic and gritty New York City, New York dramas w ...

, '' A Wedding'' (1978), directed by

Robert Altman Robert Bernard Altman ( ; February 20, 1925 – November 20, 2006) was an American film director, screenwriter, and film producer, producer. He is considered an enduring figure from the New Hollywood era, known for directing subversive and sat ...

, and '' Who Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe?'' (1978), directed by Ted Kotcheff. Proietti was also a voice dubber of films and television shows into the Italian language. He has dubbed the voices of actors such as

Robert De Niro Robert Anthony De Niro ( , ; born August 17, 1943) is an American actor, director, and film producer. He is considered to be one of the greatest and most influential actors of his generation. De Niro is the recipient of List of awards and ...

Sylvester Stallone Sylvester Gardenzio "Sly" Stallone (; born July 6, 1946) is an American actor and filmmaker. In a Sylvester Stallone filmography, film career spanning more than fifty years, Stallone has received List of awards and nominations received by Syl ...

Richard Burton Richard Burton (; born Richard Walter Jenkins Jr.; 10 November 1925 – 5 August 1984) was a Welsh actor. Noted for his mellifluous baritone voice, Burton established himself as a formidable Shakespearean actor in the 1950s and gave a memor ...

Richard Harris Richard St John Francis Harris (1 October 1930 – 25 October 2002) was an Irish actor and singer. Having studied at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, he rose to prominence as an icon of the British New Wave. He received numerous a ...

Dustin Hoffman Dustin Lee Hoffman (born August 8, 1937) is an American actor. As one of the key actors in the formation of New Hollywood, Hoffman is known for Dustin Hoffman filmography, his versatile portrayals of antiheroes and emotionally vulnerable charac ...

Paul Newman Paul Leonard Newman (January 26, 1925 – September 26, 2008) was an American actor, film director, race car driver, philanthropist, and activist. He was the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Paul Newman, numerous awards ...

Charlton Heston Charlton Heston (born John Charles Carter; October 4, 1923 – April 5, 2008) was an American actor. He gained stardom for his leading man roles in numerous Cinema of the United States, Hollywood films including biblical epics, science-fiction f ...

and

Marlon Brando Marlon Brando Jr. (April 3, 1924 – July 1, 2004) was an American actor. Widely regarded as one of the greatest cinema actors of the 20th century,''Movies in American History: An Encyclopedia''

. His credits also include the role of the

Genie GEnie (General Electric Network for Information Exchange) was an online service provider, online service created by a General Electric business, GEIS (now GXS Inc., GXS), that ran from 1985 through the end of 1999. In 1994, GEnie claimed around ...

in the Italian version of the ''

Aladdin Aladdin ( ; , , ATU 561, 'Aladdin') is a Middle-Eastern folk tale. It is one of the best-known tales associated with '' One Thousand and One Nights'' (often known in English as ''The Arabian Nights''), despite not being part of the original ...

'' film series and Draco in ''

Dragonheart ''Dragonheart'' (stylized as ''DragonHeart'') is a 1996 fantasy adventure film directed by Rob Cohen and written by Charles Edward Pogue, based on a story created by him and Patrick Read Johnson. The film stars Dennis Quaid, David Thewlis, ...

''. He also provided the Italian voice of

Gandalf Gandalf is a protagonist in J. R. R. Tolkien's novels ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. He is a Wizards (Middle-earth), wizard, one of the Istari order, and the leader of the Company of the Ring. Tolkien took the name "Gandalf" fr ...

in ''

The Hobbit ''The Hobbit, or There and Back Again'' is a children's fantasy novel by the English author J. R. R. Tolkien. It was published in 1937 to wide critical acclaim, being nominated for the Carnegie Medal and awarded a prize from the ...

'' film series, replacing the late Gianni Musy, who dubbed

in ''

The Lord of the Rings ''The Lord of the Rings'' is an Epic (genre), epic high fantasy novel written by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's book ''The Hobbit'' but eventually d ...

'', as well as

Sylvester Sylvester or Silvester is a name derived from the Latin adjective ''silvestris'' meaning "wooded" or "wild", which derives from the noun ''silva'' meaning "woodland". Classical Latin spells this with ''i''. In Classical Latin, ''y'' represented a ...

from ''

Looney Tunes ''Looney Tunes'' is an American media franchise produced and distributed by Warner Bros. The franchise began as a series of animated short films that originally ran from 1930 to 1969, alongside its spin-off series ''Merrie Melodies'', during t ...

'' during the 1960s.

Music

Proietti was interested in music from a young age. During his time singing in nightclubs and outdoor bars, he was initially not interested in pursuing an acting career. Proietti starred in and performed the opening and closing theme song for ''Il Circolo Pickwick'' which aired on

Rai 1 Rai 1 () is an Italian free-to-air television channel owned and operated by state-owned public broadcaster RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana. It is the company's Flagship (broadcasting), flagship television channel and is known for broadcasting ...

in 1968 and at that time, he met Lucio Battisti, who was signed with the record label Dischi Ricordi. In the mid-1990s, Proietti was a member of alongside Peppino di Capri and Stefano Palatresi. The group was only active from the Sanremo Music Festival 1995 until 1996 and they released only one album. Proietti also enjoyed a successful solo career and he released more than 11 albums and 15 singles.

Personal life

Proietti had been in a relationship since 1962 with Swedish former tour guide Sagitta Alter, with whom he had two daughters, Susanna and Carlotta. His nephew Raffaele has followed him into a voice dubbing career.

Death

On 1 November 2020, Proietti suffered a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

whilst in the hospital, having been admitted fifteen days prior for heart-related problems. He was transferred to intensive care where his condition was described as critical. Proietti died the following morning, in the early hours of 2 November 2020, the day of his 80th birthday. After his death, the mayor of Rome, Virginia Raggi, arranged for the Silvano Toti Globe Theatre to be renamed after Proietti. Proietti's funeral took place on 5 November at the Church of the Artists. However, because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, no more than 60 people were in attendance. Proietti was cremated at the Cimitero Flaminio and his ashes were placed at Campo Verano.

Filmography

Cinema

Television

Voice work

Dubbing

Films (Animation, Italian dub)

Films (Live action, Italian dub)

Television (Animation, Italian dub)

Honors

* On 30 September 2013, Proietti received honorary citizenship from the city of

Viterbo Viterbo (; Central Italian, Viterbese: ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in the Lazio region of Italy, the Capital city, capital of the province of Viterbo. It conquered and absorbed the neighboring town of Ferento (see Ferentium) in ...

. * On 14 May 2021, asteroid 7916 Gigiproietti, discovered by astronomers Henri Debehogne and Giovanni de Sanctis at ESO's

La Silla Observatory La Silla Observatory is an astronomical observatory in Chile with three telescopes built and operated by the European Southern Observatory (ESO). Several other telescopes are also located at the site and are partly maintained by ESO. The observato ...

in 1981, was by the Working Group for Small Bodies Nomenclature in his memory.

Awards and nominations

* Nastro d'Argento Awards ** 1997: Nastro d'Argento for Best Male Dubbing for dubbing

in ''

Casino A casino is a facility for gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shops, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos also host live entertainment, such as stand-up comedy, conce ...

'' ** 2003: Nastro d'Argento for Best Actor for '' Febbre da cavallo - La mandrakata'' ** 2018: Nastro d'Argento Lifetime Achievement Award

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Proietti, Gigi 1940 births 2020 deaths Male actors from Rome Comedians from Rome Singers from Rome Mass media people from Rome Sapienza University of Rome alumni People of Umbrian descent Italian male comedians Italian male stage actors Italian male voice actors Italian male film actors Italian male television actors Italian male radio actors Italian television presenters Italian cabaret performers Italian theatre directors Italian television directors Italian artistic directors Nastro d'Argento winners Commanders of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic Burials in the Protestant Cemetery, Rome 20th-century Italian male actors 21st-century Italian male actors 20th-century Italian male singers 21st-century Italian male singers 20th-century Italian comedians 21st-century Italian comedians