Gigi Proietti

Luigi "Gigi" Proietti (born 2 November 1940) is an Italian actor, voice actor, comedian, director, musician, singer and television presenter.[1]

Gigi Proietti
Proietti in La Tosca (1973)
Background information
Birth nameLuigi Proietti
Born (1940-11-02) 2 November 1940
Rome, Italy
GenresPop, cabaret
Occupation(s)Actor, voice actor, comedian, singer, musician, television presenter
InstrumentsVocals, guitar, piano, accordion, double bass
Years active1955–present
LabelsRCA Italiana, BMG
Websitehttps://www.gigiproietti.it

Biography

Early life

He was born in Rome to Romano Proietti, a man from Umbria, and Giovanna Ceci, a housewife.[2] During his youth he was keen on singing and on playing guitar, piano, accordion and double bass in several Roman nightclubs.[3] He enrolled in the Faculty of Law at the La Sapienza University, where he started to attend the mimicry courses of the University Theater Center held by Giancarlo Cobelli, who immediately noticed his qualities as a musician and booked him for an avantgarde play.[3]

Acting career

After several stage works, in 1966 Proietti debuted both in cinema, in Pleasant Nights, and on television, in the TV-series I grandi camaleonti.[3] His first personal success came in 1971, when he replaced Domenico Modugno in the stage musical Alleluja brava gente by Garinei & Giovannini, starring alongside Renato Rascel.[3]

After playing in 1974 the role of Neri Chiaramantesi in the drama La cena delle beffe, alongside Carmelo Bene and Vittorio Gassman, in 1976 started a fruitful collaboration with playwright Roberto Lerici, with whom he wrote and directed his stage plays, starting from the one-man show A me gli occhi, please (Give me your eyes, please, 1976, reported on the scene in 1993, 1996 and 2000, in a memorable performance at the Olympic Stadium in his hometown).[3] The show achieves a sensational success; initially planned to be represented 6 times, it exceeded 300 replicas, with an average of 2,000 spectators for every representation.[3]

He took part in some international movies, including The Appointment (1969), directed by Sidney Lumet, A Wedding (1978), directed by Robert Altman, and Who Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe? (1978), directed by Ted Kotcheff.

Proietti is also a dubber of films and television shows into the Italian language. He has dubbed several famous actors including Robert De Niro, Sean Connery, Sylvester Stallone, Richard Burton, Richard Harris, Dustin Hoffman, Paul Newman, Charlton Heston and Marlon Brando.[3] His credits include the role of the Genie in the Italian version of the Aladdin film series and Draco in Dragonheart.[3] He also provided the Italian voice of Gandalf in The Hobbit film series, replacing the late Gianni Musy, who dubbed him in The Lord of the Rings, as well as Sylvester from Looney Tunes during the 1960s.

Music career

Proietti has been interested in music since a young age.[4] During his time singing in nightclubs and outdoor bars, he was initially not interested in pursuing an acting career. Proietti starred in and performed the opening and closing theme song for Il circolo Pickwick which aired on Rai 1 in 1968 and at that time, he met Lucio Battisti, who was signed with the record label Dischi Ricordi.

In the mid-1990s, Proietti was a member of Trio Melody alongside Peppino di Capri and Stefano Palatresi. The group was active since Sanremo Music Festival 1995 until 1996 and they only released one album. Proietti has also ventured out on a solo career and he released over 11 albums and 15 singles.

Personal life

Proietti has been married to Swedish tour guide Sagitta Alter since 1967 and they have two daughters, Susanna and Carlotta. His nephew Raffaele also follows a dubbing career.

On 30 September 2013, Proietti received honorary citizenship from the city of Viterbo.

Partial filmography

Cinema
Year Title Director Role
1964 Let's Talk About Women Ettore Scola Omero
1966 Pleasant Nights Armando Crispino
Luciano Lucignani		 Mario Di Colli
1967 Catch as Catch Can Franco Indovina Make-up man
1968 A Complicated Girl Damiano Damiani Pietro
1969 The Appointment Sidney Lumet Fabre
The Libertine Pasquale Festa Campanile Sandro Maldini
1970 Brancaleone at the Crusades Mario Monicelli Death / Pattume / Colombino
Dropout Tinto Brass Cieco
The Howl Tinto Brass Carlo "Coso"
1971 Lady Liberty Mario Monicelli Michael Bruni
Bubù Mario Bolognini Giulio the thief
1972 Gli ordini sono ordini Franco Giraldi Mario Pasini
1973 La Tosca Luigi Magni Mario Cavaradossi
Property Is No Longer a Theft Elio Petri Paco
1974 Le farò da padre Alberto Lattuada Saverio Mazzacolli
1975 Conviene far bene l'amore Pasquale Festa Campanile Professor Enrico Coppola
1976 Febbre da cavallo Steno Bruno "Mandrake" Fioretti
House of Pleasure for Women Pupi Avati Ivano Zuccoli
The Inheritance Mauro Bolognini Pippo Ferramonti
Languid Kisses, Wet Caresses Alfredo Angeli Orfeo Scardamazzi
1977 Beach House Sergio Citti Gigi
1978 A Wedding Robert Altman Dino Corelli I
Who Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe? Ted Kotcheff Ravello
1979 Happy Hobos Sergio Citti The Hotel Keeper
1980 I Don't Understand You Anymore Sergio Corbucci Alberto Spinelli
1983 "FF.SS." Renzo Arbore Curtatone
1993 Mille bolle blu Leone Pompucci Narrator
1994 Revenge of the Musketeers Bertrand Tavernier Cardinal Mazarin
1999 Dirty Linen Mario Monicelli Professor Rodolfo Melchiorri
2002 Febbre da cavallo - La mandrakata Carlo Vanzina Bruno "Mandrake" Fioretti
2004 The Jokes Carlo Vanzina God / Waiter / Mexican Singer / Farmer
Lawyer and his client / Conductor
2008 Un'estate al mare Carlo Vanzina
Enrico Vanzina		 Giulio
2009 Un'estate ai Caraibi Carlo Vanzina Alberto
2011 All at Sea Matteo Cerami Nino
Box Office 3D: The Filmest of Films Ezio Greggio Professor Silenzio
2013 Indovina chi viene a Natale? Fausto Brizzi Leonardo Sereni
2017 The Prize Alessandro Gassmann Giovanni Passamonte
2019 Pinocchio Matteo Garrone Mangiafuoco

Television

Dubbing roles

Animation

Live action

Awards and Nominations

References
  1. "Gigi Proietti's dubbing contributions". Antoniogenna.net. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
  2. Gigi Proietti. Tutto sommato: Qualcosa mi ricordo. Rizzoli. ISBN 8858662687.
  3. Enrico Lancia, Roberto Poppi. Dizionario del cinema italiano: Gli artisti. Gli attori dal 1930 ai giorni nostri. Gremese Editore, 2003. ISBN 8884402697.
  4. "Gigi Proietti – Attore – Biografia e Filmographia – Ecodelcinema". ecodelcinema.com. Retrieved 15 December 2019.

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