Ugo Tognazzi

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.

Known For	Acting
Most Rating	1.1963
Birthday	1922-03-23
Place of Birth	Cremona, Lombardy, Italy
Also Known As	Ottavio Tognazzi,

Lady Caliph

La Grande Bouffe

La Cage aux Folles

My Friends

Bertoldo, Bertoldino, and Cacasenno

La Cage aux Folles II

My Friends Act II

My Friends Act III

Barbarella

Tragedy of a Ridiculous Man

The Last Minute

Where Are You Going on Holiday?

The Ape Woman

The Bishop's Bedroom

Il pollo ruspante

Fists, Girls and Sailors

Good King Dagobert

Come Home and Meet My Wife

Sua Eccellenza si fermò a mangiare

The New Monsters

The Monsters

Petomaniac

Duck in Orange Sauce

The Fascist

The Conjugal Bed

Pigsty

We Want the Colonels

The Master and Margarita

Droit de Réponse

The Audience

First Love

It's a Hard Life

Totò in the Moon

Controsesso

Don't Touch the White Woman!

Domenica è sempre domenica

Traffic Jam

Come Have Coffee with Us

Evil Thoughts

Beach House

La cambiale

March on Rome

Complexes

La Cage aux Folles 3

The Terrace

Ro.Go.Pa.G.

Our Husbands

The Woman's Confidant

5 Marines for 100 Girls

Police Chief Pepe

La voglia matta di vivere

Splendori e miserie di Madame Royale

The Wedding March

The Joy of Living

I Mostri [Episodi Inediti]

The Career of a Chambermaid

Crazy Desire

The Baron's Mazurka

Ridere! Ridere! Ridere!

Sunday Lovers

His Women

The Magnificent Cuckold

I tromboni di Fra' Diavolo

Le Olimpiadi dei mariti

Noi siamo 2 evasi

Laughs Italian Style

Stanza 17-17 palazzo delle tasse, ufficio imposte

The Sheriff

Pleasant Nights

The Climax

Arrivederci e grazie

The Payoff

Baby Doll

The Head of the Family

Marinai, donne e guai

L'Incantevole nemica

The Superwitness

Dismissed on His Wedding Night

Psycosissimo

I viaggiatori della sera