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Pippo Franco (pseudonym of Franco Pippo) was born 2 September 1940 and is an Italian actor, comedian, television presenter, and singer. He made his name first as a musician in the early 1960s, and in the late 1960s began a career in film, starring in a great number of '' commedia sexy all'italiana'', the "sexy comedy" subgenre of
Italian comedy (; ; ) was an early form of professional theatre, originating from Italian theatre, that was popular throughout Europe between the 16th and 18th centuries. It was formerly called Italian comedy in English and is also known as , , and . Charact ...
. In the 1970s he expanded into television, acting in TV movies and presenting variety shows. His type of comedy borrows heavily from
cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dinin ...
. Throughout his career he continued to sing, appearing many times at the
Sanremo Festival The Sanremo Music Festival, officially the Italian Song Festival () and commonly known as just (), is the most popular Italian song contest and awards ceremony, held annually in the city of Sanremo, Liguria. It is the longest-running annual ...
. He has made children's music as well, and has co-written three books on (linguistic) humor.


Biography

Franco was born in Rome to an Irpinian family, who had moved to Rome from
Vallata Vallata (Irpino: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Avellino, Campania, Italy. Located in the Apennines between the Ufita Valley and Daunian Mountains, the town is part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Ariano Irpino-Lacedonia. Its terr ...
, in the
Province of Avellino The Province of Avellino ( it, Provincia di Avellino) is a province in the Campania region of Southern Italy. The area is characterized by numerous small towns and villages scattered across the province; only two towns have a population over 20,0 ...
.


Cinema

Franco's first role in a box office hit was 1969's ''Nell'anno del Signore'', directed by Luigi Magni and starring "an exceptional cast of actors" including Franco, Nino Manfredi and
Claudia Cardinale Claude Joséphine Rose "Claudia" Cardinale (; born 15 April 1938) is an Italian actress. She has starred in some of the most iconic European films of the 1960s and 1970s, acting in Italian, French, and English. Born and raised in La Goulette, a ...
. In the 1970s and 1980s he starred in a large number of Italian comedies, many of them erotic comedies such as the 1972 Mariano Laurenti production ''
Quel gran pezzo dell'Ubalda tutta nuda e tutta calda ''Quel gran pezzo dell'Ubalda tutta nuda e tutta calda'', internationally released as ''Ubalda, All Naked and Warm'' (though translated to Spanish as "''Ubalda la hermosa, ardiente y fogosa''") is a 1972 Italian comedy film directed by Mariano L ...
'', a semi-medieval erotic spoof (a "decamerotic" film) distributed in the US as ''Ubalda, all naked and warm'', in which Franco starred (with "undeniable comic verve") alongside Edwige Fenech, the Algerian-born last "popular incarnation of the 'sex bombs' so in vogue twenty years earlier." The success of ''Ubalda'' was followed by another successful movie with Franco and Edwige,
Sergio Martino Sergio Martino (born 19 July 1938) is an Italian film director and producer, notable for his contributions to the giallo genre. Martino is the brother of the late producer Luciano Martino (who died in 2013). They collaborated frequently in their ...
's '' Giovannona Coscialunga disonorata con onore'' (1973). Franco again worked with Martino and Fenech in 1980 in ''Zucchero, miele e peperoncino'' and in 1982 in ''Ricchi, ricchissimi... praticamente in mutande'', though Franco and Fenech did not share any scenes in these anthologies. In 1972 he had a part in
Billy Wilder Billy Wilder (; ; born Samuel Wilder; June 22, 1906 – March 27, 2002) was an Austrian-American filmmaker. His career in Hollywood spanned five decades, and he is regarded as one of the most brilliant and versatile filmmakers of Classic Holl ...
's Italian/American comedy '' Avanti!'' alongside
Jack Lemmon John Uhler Lemmon III (February 8, 1925 – June 27, 2001) was an American actor. Considered equally proficient in both dramatic and comic roles, Lemmon was known for his anxious, middle-class everyman screen persona in dramedy pictures, leadin ...
and Juliet Mills. He directed his first movie in 1981, ''La gatta da pelare'', for which he also wrote the score and the script.


Television

Franco began a career in television in 1971 with ''Riuscirà il cav. papà Ubu?'', directed by Vito Molinari and Giuseppe Recchia, and from then on played in a number of made-for-television movies. Franco has appeared on numerous Italian TV shows as comic and as presenter. In 1980, he presented the weekly television show of the drawing of the Italian lottery, with Laura Troschel (then his wife) and Claudio Cecchetto. In the 1990s he appeared on the comedy show ''La sai l'ultima?'' with English TV presenter Harold Davies (actor), and in the 2000s he presented the variety show ''Bellissima: Cabaret Anticrisi'', in cooperation with the variety company Il Bagaglino.


Music

Franco began singing and playing guitar at the end of the 1950s, and started writing songs with surreal lyrics. One of his groups, The Penguins, made its debut in 1960 in the '' musicarello'' by Mario Mattoli for '' Appuntamento a Ischia'', and accompanied Mina Mazzini on three songs, "La nonna Magdalena," " Il cielo in una stanza", and "Una zebra a pois." In 1968 he scored a minor hit with the single "Vedendo una foto di Bob Dylan," which made fun of the gap between
beatnik Beatniks were members of a social movement in the 1950s that subscribed to an anti-materialistic lifestyle. History In 1948, Jack Kerouac introduced the phrase "Beat Generation", generalizing from his social circle to characterize the undergr ...
s and their parents. As a singer he recorded more than a dozen albums, including ''Cara Kiri'' (1971), ''Bededè'' (1975), ''Al cabaret'' (1977), ''Praticamente, no?'' (1978), ''Pippo nasone'' and ''Vietato ai minori'' (1981). One of his most famous song is ''Cesso''. His songs were recorded on more than fifteen 45 rpm vinyl records, including several hits like ''La licantropia'' (1969), which participated in Cantagiro 1969. Beginning in the late 1970s, Franco began playing and composing children's music, as well as music for the shows by the Italian lottery. Between 1979 and 1984 he was an annual performer and presenter at the popular music festival in San Remo. He returned there in 2008.


Books

With Antonio Di Stefano he wrote three books with stories and commentaries on (unintentionally) humorous linguistic blunders and mishaps, ''Non prenda niente tre volte al giorno'' (2002), ''Qui chiavi subito'' (2006), and ''L'occasione fa l'uomo ragno. Strafalcioni, cartelli, scritte sui muri e altri capolavori di umorismo involontario'' (2007), all published by
Mondadori Arnoldo Mondadori Editore () is the biggest publishing company in Italy. History The company was founded in 1907 in Ostiglia by 18-year-old Arnoldo Mondadori who began his publishing career with the publication of the magazine ''Luce!''. In ...
.


Politics

In the
2006 Italian general election The 2006 Italian general election was held on 9 and 10 April 2006. Romano Prodi, leader of the centre-left coalition The Union, narrowly defeated the incumbent Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, leader of the centre-right coalition House of Free ...
he was a candidate for the
Italian Senate The Senate of the Republic ( it, Senato della Repubblica), or simply the Senate ( it, Senato), is the upper house of the bicameral Italian Parliament (the other being the Chamber of Deputies). The two houses together form a perfect bicameral sy ...
from the list of Christian Democracy for the Autonomies in Lazio. Despite the publicly stated support of Giulio Andreotti, Pippo Franco's party got only 0.6% of votes in
Lazio it, Laziale , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...
and therefore it was not elected.


Filmography


Movies

* 1968 – '' Chimera'', directed by Ettore Maria Fizzarotti * 1969 – '' Nell'anno del Signore'', directed by Luigi Magni * 1969 - ''
Hate Is My God ''Hate Is My God'' ( it, L'odio è il mio Dio, german: Il Nero - Haß war sein Gebet, also known as ''Hatred of God'') is a 1969 Italian-German Spaghetti Western film directed by Claudio Gora. Cast * Tony Kendall: "Il Nero" / Carl * Carlo ...
'', directed by Claudio Gora * 1969 - '' Zingara'', directed by Mariano Laurenti * 1969 - ''
Il giovane normale ''Normal Young Man'' ( it, Il giovane normale) is a 1969 Italian comedy film directed by Dino Risi. It is based on the novel with the same name written by Umberto Simonetta. Cast * Lino Capolicchio: Giordano * Janet Agren: Diana * Eugene Walt ...
'', directed by
Dino Risi Dino Risi (23 December 1916 – 7 June 2008) was an Italian film director. With Mario Monicelli, Luigi Comencini, Nanni Loy and Ettore Scola, he was one of the masters of '' commedia all'italiana''. Biography Risi was born in Milan. He had an ...
* 1969 – '' Pensiero d'amore'', directed by Mario Amendola * 1970 – '' Basta guardarla'', directed by
Luciano Salce Luciano Salce (25 September 1922 – 17 December 1989) was an Italian film director, comedian, tv host, producer, actor and lyricist. His 1962 film ''Le pillole di Ercole'' was shown as part of a retrospective on Italian comedy at the 67th Ve ...
* 1970 – '' W le donne'', directed by Aldo Grimaldi * 1970 – ''Il debito coniugale'', directed by Franco Prosperi * 1971 – ''Mazzabubù... Quante corna stanno quaggiù?'', directed by Mariano Laurenti * 1972 – ''
Boccaccio Giovanni Boccaccio (, , ; 16 June 1313 – 21 December 1375) was an Italian writer, poet, correspondent of Petrarch, and an important Renaissance humanist. Born in the town of Certaldo, he became so well known as a writer that he was some ...
'', directed by Bruno Corbucci * 1972 – '' Ubalda, All Naked and Warm'', directed by Mariano Laurenti * 1972 – '' Avanti!'', directed by
Billy Wilder Billy Wilder (; ; born Samuel Wilder; June 22, 1906 – March 27, 2002) was an Austrian-American filmmaker. His career in Hollywood spanned five decades, and he is regarded as one of the most brilliant and versatile filmmakers of Classic Holl ...
* 1973 - '' Rugantino'', directed by
Pasquale Festa Campanile Pasquale Festa Campanile (28 July 1927 – 25 February 1986) was an Italian screenwriter, film director and novelist, best known as a prominent exponent of the commedia all'italiana genre. Life and career Born at Melfi, in the province o ...
* 1973 - ''Furto di sera bel colpo si spera'', directed by Mariano Laurenti * 1973 – ''Patroclooo! E il soldato Camillone, grande grosso e frescone'', directed by Mariano Laurenti * 1973 – ''
Giovannona Long-Thigh ''Giovannona Coscialunga disonorata con onore'' (internationally released as ''Giovannona Long-Thigh'') is a 1973 commedia sexy all'italiana directed by Sergio Martino. The film reteams the two main actors of the 1972 film '' Quel gran pezzo dell' ...
'', directed by
Sergio Martino Sergio Martino (born 19 July 1938) is an Italian film director and producer, notable for his contributions to the giallo genre. Martino is the brother of the late producer Luciano Martino (who died in 2013). They collaborated frequently in their ...
* 1974 – ''
La via dei babbuini ''La via dei babbuini'' is a 1974 Italian commedia all'italiana film written and directed by Luigi Magni.Franco Montini, Piero Spila, ''Il mondo di Luigi Magni : avventure, sogni e disincanto''. Rai Eri, 2000. . Plot Fiorenza, a young bourge ...
'', directed by Luigi Magni * 1974 – '' La sbandata'', directed by Alfredo Malfatti and Salvatore Samperi * 1976 – ''Hanno ucciso un altro bandito'', directed by Guglielmo Garroni * 1976 – ''Remo e Romolo – Storia di due figli di una lupa'', directed by Mario Castellacci and Pier Francesco Pingitore * 1977 – '' Nerone'', directed by Mario Castellacci and Pier Francesco Pingitore * 1978 – ''L'inquilina del piano di sopra'', directed by Ferdinando Baldi * 1978 – ''Scherzi da prete'', directed by Pier Francesco Pingitore * 1979 – ''Tutti a squola'', directed by Pier Francesco Pingitore * 1979 – '' L'imbranato'', directed by Pier Francesco Pingitore * 1980 – ''
Arrivano i bersaglieri ''Arrivano i bersaglieri'' is a 1980 Italian historical-comedy film written and directed by Luigi Magni. The film is set during the days of the capture of Rome (1870), an event that marked the Italian unification and the end of the Papal States ...
'', directed by Luigi Magni * 1980 – '' Il casinista'', directed by Pier Francesco Pingitore * 1980 – '' Ciao marziano'', directed by Pier Francesco Pingitore * 1980 - '' Il ficcanaso'' (also known as ''La profesora se desnuda''), directed by Bruno Corbucci * 1980 - '' Sugar, Honey and Pepper'', directed by Sergio Martino * 1981 - '' La gatta da pelare'', directed and scored by Pippo Franco * 1982 – ''
Don't Play with Tigers ''Don't Play with Tigers'' ( Italian: ''Ricchi, ricchissimi... praticamente in mutande'') is a 1982 Italian comedy film directed by Sergio Martino. Plot Three segments. Cesare Domenichini is a poor man who, to bring the family to the sea, bui ...
'', directed by Sergio Martino * 1982 - ''Attenti a quei P2'', directed by Pier Francesco Pingitore * 1983 - ''Sfrattato cerca casa equo canone'', directed by Pier Francesco Pingitore * 1983 – ''Due strani papà'', directed by Mariano Laurenti * 1983 – ''
Il tifoso, l'arbitro e il calciatore ''Il tifoso, l'arbitro e il calciatore'' (''The Supporter, the Referee and the Footballer'') is a 1983 Italian comedy film written and directed by Pier Francesco Pingitore. Cast ; Segment ''L'arbitro e il calciatore'' *Alvaro Vitali as Alvaro ...
'', directed by Pier Francesco Pingitore * 1992 – ''Gole ruggenti'', directed by Pier Francesco Pingitore * 2010 – ''Il Numero 2'', directed by Vito Cea * 2016 – ''Tiramisù'', directed by
Fabio De Luigi Fabio De Luigi (born 11 October 1967) is an Italian actor, voice actor, comedian, film director, television presenter, and former basketball player. Biography Great-grandson of Tonino Guerra; has a son, Dino, born in 2007, and a daughter, Lola ...


Television

* 1971 – ''Riuscirà il cav. papà Ubu?'', directed by Vito Molinari and Giuseppe Recchia * 1973 – ''Dove sta Zazà'', directed by
Antonello Falqui Antonello da Messina, properly Antonello di Giovanni di Antonio, but also called Antonello degli Antoni and Anglicized as Anthony of Messina ( 1430February 1479), was an Italian painter from Messina, active during the Early Italian Renaissance. ...
* 1975 – ''Mazzabubù'', directed by Antonello Falqui * 1978 – ''Il Ribaltone'', directed by Antonello Falqui * 1979 – ''C'era una volta Roma'', directed by Pier Francesco Pingitore * 1979 – ''I racconti di fantascienza di Blasetti'', episode "L'assassino," directed by Alessandro Blasetti * 1990 – ''Senator'', directed by Gianfrancesco Lazotti * 1997 – ''Ladri si nasce'', directed by Pier Francesco Pingitore * 1998 – ''Ladri si diventa'', directed by Pier Francesco Pingitore * 1999 – ''Tre stelle'', directed by Pier Francesco Pingitore * 2000 – ''La casa delle beffe'', directed by Pier Francesco Pingitore * 2007 – ''Di che peccato sei?'', directed by Pier Francesco Pingitore


Discography


Singles

* 1967 – "Vedendo una foto di Bob Dylan"/"Mister Custer," Arc, AN 4111 (7") * 1969 – "Qualsiasi cosa faccia"/"La licantropia," Dischi Ricordi, SRL 10557 (7") * 1976 – "Praticamente no"/"I scherzi stupidi," Cinevox, SC 1086 (7") * 1977 – "Isotta"/"Ninna Nanna Nonna," Cinevox, SC 1103 (7") * 1977 – "Quanto sei bella Roma"/"L'autostop," Cinevox, SC 1099 (7" – single by Laura Troschel featuring Pippo Franco) * 1977 – "Il Bello e la Bestia," Cinevox (7" – single by Laura Troschel featuring Pippo Franco) * 1978 – "Di questo bel terzetto"/"Pippo Nonna," Cinevox, SC 1116 (7") * 1979 – "Mi scappa la pipì, papà"/"Dai compra," Cinevox, SC 1124 (7") * 1979 – "Ammazza quant è bra"/"Andiamocene a Casa,"
Lupus Lupus, technically known as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), is an autoimmune disease in which the body's immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissue in many parts of the body. Symptoms vary among people and may be mild to severe. Commo ...
, LUN 4902 (7" – single from ''C'era una volta Roma'') * 1979 – "Tu per me sei come Roma" (with Laura Troschel), Cinevox, SC 1135 * 1980 – "Dai lupone dai"/"La gente mi vuole male," Cinevox, SC 1141 * 1980 – "La puntura"/"Sono Pippo col naso," Lupus, LUN 4906 (7") * 1980 – "Prendi la fortuna per la coda"/"Aria di festa," Lupus, LUN 4912 * 1980 – "Mandami una cartolina"/"Lezione di inglese," Lupus, LUN 4914 * 1982 – "Che fico!"/"Ma guarda un po," Lupus, LUN 4926 * 1983 – "Chì Chì Chì Cò Cò Cò"/"Caaasa," Lupus, LUN 4943 (7") * 1984 – "Pinocchio Chiò"/"La pantofola," Dischi Ricordi, SRL 11000 (7") * 1986 – "Pepè"/"Pollice," Cinevox, SC 1194 * 1988 – "Il ballo marocchino"/"Strum," Five Record, FM 13206 (7") * 1988 – "Due risate"/"Biberon," LGO Music, N-012190


LP

* 1968 – ''I Personaggi Di Pippo Franco'' * 1971 – ''Cara Kiri'', Dischi Ricordi, SMRL 6085; Cinevox, ORL 8053 * 1975 – ''Bededè'', Cinevox, SC33/22 * 1977 – ''Al cabaret'', Cinevox, SC33/32 (theatrical show with Bombolo and Sergio Leonardi) * 1978 – ''Praticamente no'', Cinevox, ORL8301 * 1979 – ''Busti al Pincio'', Cinevox, CAB2001 (theatrical show) * 1979 – ''C'era una volta Roma'', Cinevox, CAB2005 (theatrical show with Laura Troschel) * 1981 – ''Vietato ai minori'', Lupus, LULP 14905 * 1984 – ''Pippomix'', Dischi Ricordi, TSMRL6319 (collection) * ''Super Pippo Franco Bambini'', WEA, EAN 0008696 (collection of singles and b-sides) Reference: Franco discography


Books

* 1981 – ''Il matto in casa'', Editoriale Due I. * 2001 – ''Pensieri per vivere. Itinerario di evoluzione interiore'', Edizioni Mediterranee. * 2003 – ''Non prenda niente tre volte al giorno. Il lato comico dell'esperienza umana'' (with Antonio Di Stefano),
Mondadori Arnoldo Mondadori Editore () is the biggest publishing company in Italy. History The company was founded in 1907 in Ostiglia by 18-year-old Arnoldo Mondadori who began his publishing career with the publication of the magazine ''Luce!''. In ...
. * 2006 – ''Qui chiavi subito. Insegne, annunci, cognomi e strafalcioni tutti da ridere'' (with Antonio Di Stefano), Mondadori. * 2007 – ''L'occasione fa l'uomo ragno. Strafalcioni, cartelli, scritte sui muri e altri capolavori di umorismo involontario'' (with Antonio Di Stefano), Mondadori.


See also

* Italian cinema


References


Bibliography

* Andrea Jelardi, ''Queer tv, omosessualità e trasgressione nella televisione italiana''. Rome: Croce. * Andrea Jelardi and Giuseppe Farruggio, ''In scena en travesti, Il travestitismo nello spettacolo italiano''.Rome: Croce, 2009.


External links

*
Pippo Franco reciterà nel cinepanettone materano, “Il Numero 2″.Interview with Franco
{{DEFAULTSORT:Franco, Pippo 1940 births Living people Italian male comedians Italian pop singers Italian television presenters Musicians from Rome Italian comedy musicians People of Campanian descent People of Marchesan descent