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Ugo Tognazzi

Ugo Tognazzi

Actor · 1922 – 1990 · Cremona, Lombardy, Italy

Ottavio "Ugo" Tognazzi (23 March 1922 – 27 October 1990) was an Italian actor, director, and screenwriter. He is considered one of the most important faces of Italian comedy together with Vittorio Gassman, Nino Manfredi, Marcello Mastroianni, and Alberto Sordi. Tognazzi was born in Cremona, in northern Italy but spent his youth in various localities as his father was a travelling clerk for an insurance company. After his return to his native city in 1936, he worked in a cured meats production plant where he achieved the position of accountant. During World War II, he was inducted into the Army and returned home after the Armistice of 8 September 1943, and joined the Black Brigades for a while. His passion for theater and acting dates from his early years, and also during the conflict he organized shows for his fellow soldiers. In 1945, he moved to Milan, where he was enrolled in the theatrical company led by Wanda Osiris. A few years later, he formed his own successful musical revue company. In 1950, Tognazzi made his cinematic debut in The Cadets of Gascony directed by Mario Mattoli. The following year, he met Raimondo Vianello, with whom he formed a successful comedy duo for the new-born RAI TV (1954–1960). Their shows, sometimes containing satirical material, were among the first to be censored on Italian television. After the successful role in The Fascist (Il Federale) (1961), directed by Luciano Salce, Tognazzi became one of the most renowned characters of the so-called Commedia all'Italiana (Italian comedy style). He worked with all the main directors of Italian cinema, including Mario Monicelli (My Friends), Marco Ferreri (La Grande Bouffe), Carlo Lizzani (La vita agra), Dino Risi, Pier Paolo Pasolini (Pigsty), Ettore Scola, Alberto Lattuada, Nanni Loy, Pupi Avati and others. Tognazzi also directed some of his films, including the 1967 film The Seventh Floor. The film was entered into the 17th Berlin International Film Festival. He was a well-known actor in Italy, and starred in several important international films, which brought him fame in other parts of the world. Roger Vadim cast Tognazzi as Mark Hand, the Catchman, in Barbarella (1968). He rescues Barbarella (Jane Fonda) from the biting dolls she encounters, and after her rescue, he requests payment by asking her to make love with him (the "old-fashioned" way, not the psycho-cardiopathic way of their future). In 1981, he won the Best Male Actor Award at the Cannes Film Festival for Tragedy of a Ridiculous Man, directed by Bernardo Bertolucci. While he worked primarily in Italian cinema, Tognazzi is perhaps best remembered for his role as Renato Baldi, the gay owner of a St. Tropez nightclub, in the 1978 French comedy La Cage aux Folles which became the highest grossing foreign film ever released in the U.S. Tognazzi had various relationships during his life, being married to actresses Margarete Robsahm and later Franca Bettoia. He had four children from three different women: his sons Ricky Tognazzi (b. 1955) and Gianmarco Tognazzi (b. 1967) are actors; another son, Thomas Robsahm (b. 1964), is a Norwegian film director and producer; his daughter, Maria Sole Tognazzi (b. 1971), is also a film director. ... Source: Article "Ugo Tognazzi" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA.

Movies24

  • Movie7.3

    La donna scimmia

    The Ape Woman

    1964 · 63 votes

  • Movie6.0

    La chiave

    The Key

    1983 · 456 votes

  • Movie6.0

    Barbarella

    1968 · 878 votes

  • Movie7.1

    La Grande Bouffe

    1973 · 560 votes

  • Movie6.8

    La Cage aux folles

    1978 · 452 votes

  • Movie8.1

    Amici miei

    My Friends

    1975 · 764 votes

  • Movie6.4

    Casotto

    Beach House

    1977 · 75 votes

  • Movie7.5

    Io la conoscevo bene

    I Knew Her Well

    1965 · 188 votes

  • Movie6.4

    Amici miei - Atto III°

    My Friends Act III

    1985 · 219 votes

  • Movie5.7

    Primo amore

    First Love

    1978 · 31 votes

  • Movie7.0

    Porcile

    Pigsty

    1969 · 168 votes

  • Movie7.4

    I mostri

    The Monsters

    1963 · 214 votes

  • Movie6.8

    L'ingorgo

    Traffic Jam

    1979 · 82 votes

  • Movie7.0

    I nuovi mostri

    The New Monsters

    1977 · 235 votes

  • Movie5.6

    La stanza del vescovo

    The Bishop's Bedroom

    1977 · 50 votes

  • Movie6.7

    Signore e signori, buonanotte

    Goodnight, Ladies and Gentlemen

    1976 · 96 votes

  • Movie6.1

    La Cage aux folles II

    1980 · 120 votes

  • Movie7.6

    Amici miei - Atto II°

    My Friends Act II

    1982 · 373 votes

  • Movie6.7
  • Movie5.1

    Telefoni bianchi

    The Career of a Chambermaid

    1976 · 25 votes

  • Movie7.3

    Romanzo popolare

    Come Home and Meet My Wife

    1974 · 50 votes

  • Movie5.8

    Dove vai in vacanza?

    Where Are You Going on Holiday?

    1978 · 82 votes

  • Movie5.2

    La Cage aux folles 3 - « Elles » se marient

    La Cage aux Folles 3

    1985 · 68 votes

  • Movie5.8

    Les Séducteurs

    Sunday Lovers

    1980 · 18 votes

Series8

  • TV5.7

    Sacrée soirée

    1987 · 5 votes

  • TV6.0
  • TV9.5

    Spécial cinéma

    1974 · 2 votes

  • TV8.0

    Le Grand Échiquier

    1972 · 3 votes

  • TV5.0

    Ciné regards

    1978 · 1 votes

  • TV6.0

    Midi trente

    1972 · 1 votes

  • TV7.0

    Sogni e bisogni

    1985 · 1 votes

  • TV8.0