Ugo Tognazzi

Early life

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, Tognazzi 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 when 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.

Career

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.

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 have sex with him (the "old-fashioned" way, not the psycho-cardiopathic way of their future).

In 1981, Tognazzi 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.

Personal life and death

Tognazzi had various relationships during his life. He was married to actresses Margarete Robsahm and later Franca Bettoia. He had four children from three different women: his sons Ricky (born 1955) and Gianmarco (born 1967) are actors; another son, Thomas (born 1964), is a film director and producer; his daughter, Maria (born 1971), is also a film director.

Tognazzi died on 27 October 1990, aged 68, in Rome, from a intracerebral hemorrhage. There were rumors that his chronic depression led to suicide. He is buried in the cemetery of Velletri.

Filmography

Director

Il mantenuto (1961)

Il fischio al naso (1967)

Dismissed on His Wedding Night (1968)

Cattivi pensieri (1976)

I viaggiatori della sera (1979)