Lelio Luttazzi (27 April 1923 – 8 July 2010) was an Italian composer, musician, actor, singer, conductor, writer, and television and radio presenter. Born in

Trieste Trieste ( , ; ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital and largest city of the Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, as well as of the Province of Trieste, ...

, Luttazzi began playing the piano at Radio Trieste and composing his first songs when he was student in law at the

University of Trieste The University of Trieste (, or UniTS, Formerly Regia Università degli Studi or The Royal University of Studies) is a public research university in Trieste in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region in northeast Italy. The university consists of 10 ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. After the war, he had from

SIAE The Italian Society of Authors and Publishers (SIAE) is a non-profit collective management organization in the form of a public economic entity with an associative basis, responsible for protecting intellectual works and managing copyright int ...

a gain of 350,000 lire, a considerable sum for the time, so he decided to become a full-time composer and in 1948 he moved to Milan where he began working with fellow Teddy Reno at the record company CGD. He was among the first composers to place

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

structures in the Italian songs. A multifaceted artist, he worked in

revue A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatre, theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketch comedy, sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural pre ...

s and cinema as actor and composer of soundtracks. He was also a successful television and radio presenter, reaching the peak of his popularity with the radio program ''Hit parade'', one of the longest radio programs broadcast in Italy. In the early 1970s Luttazzi was involved together with

Walter Chiari Walter Annicchiarico (8 March 1924 – 20 December 1991), known as Walter Chiari , was an Italian stage and screen actor, mostly in comedy roles. Biography Walter Annicchiarico was born in Verona, Italy on 8 March 1924 to a family originall ...

in drug dealing; Luttazzi went to prison for a month before being acquitted due to lack of evidence. From then on, he became semi-retired, leading a reserved life and rarely returning to the spotlight.

Selected filmography

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Luttazzi, Lelio 1923 births Italian male film actors Italian male writers Italian television presenters 2010 deaths Italian radio presenters Italian composers Italian male composers Italian male conductors (music) Italian jazz pianists 20th-century Italian pianists 20th-century Italian conductors (music) 20th-century Italian male musicians Italian male jazz pianists