Lino Banfi
Lino Banfi | |
|---|---|
 Banfi in 2022 | |
| Born | Pasquale Zagaria 9 July 1936 |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1960–present |
| Spouse |
Lucia Lagrasta
(m. 1962; died 2023) |
| Children | 2, including Rosanna |
Lino Banfi Knight Grand Cross OMRI (born Pasquale Zagaria; 9 July 1936) is an Italian actor and screenwriter. Since 1960 he has appeared in more than 100 films.
Biography
Banfi was born in the Apulian city of Andria, and at the age of three he moved to Canosa di Puglia. He started his career as a local singer and as a fotoromanzi actor.[1] In 1954, determined to realize his aspiration to be an actor, he moved to Milan, where he encountered great economic and work difficulties, before moving to Rome in 1957, where he eventually started his professional stage career.[1] Initially performing as Lino Zaga, he was part of numerous avanspettacolo companies, including those led by Alberto Sorrentino and Beniamino Maggio.[2]
Banfi made his film debut playing a minor role in Lucio Fulci's Howlers in the Dock.[2] On the set of Fulci's Two Escape from Sing Sing he befriended the comedy duo Franco and Ciccio, and for several years he became a regular character actor in their films.[3] In 1968, he embraced stand-up comedy, replacing Enrico Montesano at the Lando Fiorini's cabaret club Puff.[2]
Lino Banfi became one of the most well-known actors in Italian "sexy comedies" in the 1970s. In the 1980s he reached the peak of his fame by appearing in movies such as L'allenatore nel pallone, Vieni avanti cretino, Il commissario Lo Gatto and Occhio, malocchio, prezzemolo e finocchio; he later portrayed Grandpa Libero in Italian TV series Un medico in famiglia.
During his career, nearly all of Lino Banfi's characters spoke with the distinctive pronunciation of the Bari dialect. Banfi and his wife Lucia Lagrasta were married since 1962 until her death in February 2023; they have two children: Walter and Rosanna, who is also an actress. In 2000, Lino Banfi became a Goodwill ambassador for the Italian National Committee for UNICEF.[4]
Filmography
Film
TV
- Il giornalino di Gian Burrasca (1964)
- Il triangolo rosso (1969)
- Arrivano i mostri (1977)
- Il superspia (1977)
- Se Parigi... (1982)
- Il vigile urbano (1989, Rai 1)
- Aspettando Sanremo (1990, Rai 1)
- Un inviato molto speciale (1992, Rai 2)
- Nuda proprietà vendesi (1997, Rai 1)
- Vola Sciusciù (2000, Rai 1 - subject also)
- Piovuto dal cielo (2000, Rai 1)
- Angelo il custode (2001, Rai 1)
- Un difetto di famiglia (2002, Rai 1)
- Il destino ha 4 zampe (2002, Rai 1)
- Un posto tranquillo (2003, Rai 1)
- Raccontami una storia (2004, Rai 1)
- Un posto tranquillo 2 (2005, Rai 1)
- Il mio amico Babbo Natale (2005, Canale 5)
- Il padre delle spose (2006, Rai 1)
- Il mio amico Babbo Natale 2 (2006, Canale 5)
- Scusate il disturbo (2009, Rai 1)
- Un medico in famiglia (1998–2016, Rai 1)
- Tutti i padri di Maria (2010, Rai 1)
- Il commissario Zagaria (2011, Canale 5)
Books
- Alla grande! (1991)
- Una parola è troppa... Nonno Libero racconta (2004)
- C'era una volta Nonno Libero (2004)
- Ti racconto una storia. Ricordi di vita e di scena (2006)
- Il chèlcio[a] secondo Oronzo Canà (2009)
Honours
Italy: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (27 December 1998)[5]
Notes
- ↑ Chèlcio stands for calcio ('football' or 'soccer') pronounced with a heavy Bari accent.
References
- 1 2 Cappa, Felice; Gelli, Piero; Mattarozzi, Marco (1998). "Banfi, Lino". Dizionario dello spettacolo del '900 (in Italian). Baldini & Castoldi. ISBN 978-88-8089-295-3.
- 1 2 3 Lancia, Enrico (2003). "Banfi, Lino". Dizionario del cinema italiano. Gli artisti : Vol. 3, Gli attori dal 1930 ai giorni nostri : T. 1. A - L (in Italian). Gremese Editore. pp. 45–6. ISBN 978-88-8440-213-4.
- ↑ "Lino Banfi: "La gavetta con Franco e Ciccio e la nostra combriccola sicilian-pugliese. Che tempi"". Chronist (in Italian). 3 April 2023. Retrieved 18 October 2024.
- ↑ "Lino Banfi UNICEF goodwill ambassador". UNICEF.
- ↑ "Le onorificenze della Repubblica Italiana". www.quirinale.it. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
Further reading
External links
- Lino Banfi at IMDb