Gigi Proietti

Italian actor, dubber, comedian, singer and television presenter (1940–2020)

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|

Gigi Proietti

Proietti in La Tosca (1973)

Born|

Luigi Proietti

(1940-11-02)2 November 1940

Rome, Italy

Died| 2 November 2020(2020-11-02) (aged 80)

Rome, Italy

Occupations|

* Actor
* voice actor
* comedian
* singer
* director
* transformist
* television presenter

Years active| 1955–2020
Partner| Sagitta Alter (1962–2020)
Children| 2
Musical career
Genres|

* Pop
* cabaret

Instruments|

* Vocals
* guitar
* piano
* accordion
* double bass

Labels|

* RCA Italiana
* BMG

Website| www.gigiproietti.it

Musical artist

Luigi "Gigi" Proietti (2 November 1940 – 2 November 2020) was an Italian actor, dubber, comedian, singer and television presenter.

## Early life

[edit]

He was born in Rome to Romano Proietti, originally from Umbria, and Giovanna Ceci, a housewife.[1] During his youth, he was keen on singing and playing guitar, piano, accordion, and double bass at several Roman nightclubs.[2] He enrolled in the Faculty of Law at La Sapienza University, where he attended the mimicry courses of the University Theatre Centre held by Giancarlo Cobelli, who immediately noticed his talent as a musician and booked him for an avantgarde play.[2]

## Career

[edit]

### Acting

[edit]

After several stage works, in 1966 Proietti debuted both in cinema, in Pleasant Nights, and on television, in the TV series I grandi camaleonti.[2] 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.[2] In 1974, after playing the role of Neri Chiaramantesi in the drama La cena delle beffe, alongside Carmelo Bene and Vittorio Gassman, in 1976, he started a fruitful collaboration with playwright Roberto Lerici, with whom he wrote and directed his stage plays, starting with 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).[2] Initially planned to be performed 6 times, the show exceeded 300 performances, with an average audience of 2,000 per performance.[2]

He took part in several 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 was also a voice dubber of films and television shows into the Italian language.[3] He has dubbed the voices of actors such as Robert De Niro, Sylvester Stallone, Richard Burton, Richard Harris, Dustin Hoffman, Paul Newman, Charlton Heston and Marlon Brando.[2] His credits also include the role of the Genie in the Italian version of the Aladdin film series and Draco in Dragonheart.[2][4] He also provided the Italian voice of Gandalf in The Hobbit film series, replacing the late Gianni Musy, who dubbed Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings, as well as Sylvester from Looney Tunes during the 1960s.

### Music

[edit]

Proietti was interested in music from a young age.[5] 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 [it] alongside Peppino di Capri and Stefano Palatresi. The group was only active from the Sanremo Music Festival 1995 until 1996 and they released only one album. Proietti also enjoyed a successful solo career and he released more than 11 albums and 15 singles.

## Personal life

[edit]

Proietti in 2020

Proietti had been in a relationship since 1962 with Swedish former tour guide Sagitta Alter, with whom he had two daughters, Susanna and Carlotta.[6] His nephew Raffaele has followed him into a voice dubbing career.[7]

## Death

[edit]

On 1 November 2020, Proietti suffered a heart attack whilst in the hospital, having been admitted fifteen days prior for heart-related problems. He was transferred to intensive care where his condition was described as critical.[8] Proietti died the following morning, in the early hours of 2 November 2020, the day of his 80th birthday.[9][10]

After his death, the mayor of Rome, Virginia Raggi, arranged for the Silvano Toti Globe Theatre to be renamed after Proietti.[11] Proietti's funeral took place on 5 November at the Church of the Artists. However, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, no more than 60 people were in attendance.[12] Proietti was cremated at the Cimitero Flaminio and his ashes were placed at Campo Verano.[13]

## Filmography

[edit]

### Cinema

[edit]

Year  | Title  | Role(s)  | Notes

|
|
|

1964  | Let's Talk About Women | Omero  | Feature film debut
1966  | Pleasant Nights | Mario Di Colli  |
1967  | La ragazza del bersagliere | Cesare Bottazzi  |
Catch as Catch Can | Make up artist  | Cameo appearance
1968  | The Libertine | Sandro Maldini  |
1969  | A Complicated Girl | Pietro  |
The Appointment | Fabre  |
1970  | Brancaleone at the Crusades | Pattume / Colombino  |
The Howl | Coso  |
Dropout | Cieco  |
1971  | Bubù | Giulio "the Thief"  |
Lady Liberty | Michele Bruni  |
1972  | Gli ordini sono ordini | Mario Pasini  |
Meo Patacca | Meo Patacca  |
1973  | La Tosca | Mario  |
Property Is No Longer a Theft | Paco  |
1974  | I'll Take Her Like a Father | Saverio Mazzaccolli  |
1975  | The Sex Machine | Enrico Nobili  |
1976  | House of Pleasure for Women | Ivanhoe Zuccoli  |
Chi dice donna dice donna | Filippo / Sonia  | Segment: "Papà e maman"
The Inheritance | Pippo Ferramonti  |
Febbre da cavallo | Bruno "Mandrake" Fioretti  |
Languid Kisses, Wet Caresses | Orfeo  |
1977  | Beach House | Gigi  |
1978  | A Wedding | Dino Corelli  |
Who Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe? | Ravello  |
1979  | Happy Hobos | Albergatore  |
1980  | I Don't Understand You Anymore | Alberto Spinelli  |
1982  | Di padre in figlio | Himself  | Cameo appearance
1983  | "FF.SS." – Cioè: "...che mi hai portato a fare sopra a Posillipo se non mi vuoi più bene?" | Curtatone  |
1985  | Mi faccia causa | Luigi Marchetti  |
1994  | Revenge of the Musketeers | Giulio Mazarino  |
1999  | Dirty Linen | Rodolfo Melchiorri  |
2002  | Febbre da cavallo – La mandrakata | Bruno "Mandrake" Fioretti  |
2004  | The Jokes | Various roles  |
2008  | Un'estate al mare | Giulio Bonetti  |
2009  | Un'estate ai Caraibi | Alberto  |
2010  | La vita è una cosa meravigliosa | Claudio  |
2011  | All at Sea | Nino  |
Box Office 3D: The Filmest of Films | Mr. Silenzio  |
2013  | Guess Who's Coming for Christmas? | Leonardo Sereni  |
2014  | What's Your Sign? | Giuliano De Marchis  |
2017  | The Prize | Giovanni  |
2019  | Pinocchio | Mangiafuoco |
2021  | Io sono Babbo Natale | Ettore Magni / Santa Claus | Posthumous release

### Television

[edit]

Year  | Title  | Role(s)  | Network  | Notes

|
|
|
|

1964  | I grandi camaleonti | Moureau  | Rai 1 | Episode: "Episodio 8"
1965  | La maschera e il volto | Luciano Spina  | TV film
1967  | Missione Wiesenthal | Dieter Von Wisliczeny  | TV film
1968  | Il circolo Pickwick | Jingle  | 4 episodes
Piccoli borghesi | Nil  | TV film
Il mondo di Pirandello | Ciro Colli  | Episode: "Camere d'affitto"
1970  | La fantastica storia del Don Chisciotte della Mancia | Don Quixote | TV miniseries
1974  | Sabato sera dalle nove alle dieci | Himself / Host  | Variety show
1975  | Fatti e fattacci | Himself / co-host  | Variety/musical show
1981  | Fregoli | Leopoldo Fregoli  | Lead role
1982  | Attore amore mio | Himself / Host  | Variety show
1983–1984  | Fantastico | Himself / Host  | Variety show (season 4)
1985  | Sogni e bisogni | Pompeo  | Rai 2 | Episode: "Micio micio"
1986  | Io a modo mio | Himself / Host  | Rai 1 | Variety show
1987  | American Playhouse | Unknown  | PBS | Episode: "The Innocents Aboard"
1989  | I 7 re di Roma | Romulus / Numa Pompilius / Tullus Hostilius / Ancus Marcius / Tarquinius Priscus / Servius Tullius / Tarquinius Superbus | Rai 1 | TV film
1990  | Villa Arzilla | The Gardener  | Rai 2 | Main role (also creator and director)
1990–1991  | Club 92 | Himself / co-host  | Variety show
1992  | Un figlio a metà | Sandro Giacomelli  | TV film
1993–1994  | Passioni | Fra' João  | Canale 5 | Lead role
1994  | Italian Restaurant | Giulio Broccoli  | Rai 1 | Lead role (also creator and producer)
1996–2008  | Il maresciallo Rocca | Marshal Giovanni Rocca  | Lead role
1997  | Un nero per casa | Lorenzo Paradisi  | Canale 5 | TV film
1997–2000  | L'avvocato Porta | Lawyer Antonio Porta  | Lead role
1998  | Carramba! Che sorpresa | Himself / Guest  | Rai 1 | Also performer
1999  | 2000 Today | Himself / co-host  | Special
2004  | Mai storie d'amore in cucina | Marcello  | TV film
2005  | Il veterinario | Gigi Carulli  | TV film
2010  | Saint Philip Neri: I Prefer Heaven | Philip Neri | TV miniseries
2013  | L'ultimo Papa Re | Romeo Colombo da Priverno  | TV film
2014–2018  | Una pallottola nel cuore | Bruno Palmieri  | Lead role
2015  | Tale e quale show | Himself / Judge  | Talent show (season 5)

## Voice work

[edit]

Year  | Title  | Role  | Notes

|
|
|

1993  | Mille bolle blu | Narrator  |
2000  | Chi ha paura...? | Yorick  | Animated film
2012  | Stelle | Narrator  | Short film

### Dubbing

[edit]

#### Films (Animation, Italian dub)

[edit]

Year  | Title  | Role(s)  | Ref

|
|
|

1992  | Aladdin | Genie | [14]
1994  | The Return of Jafar | [15]
1996  | Aladdin and the King of Thieves | [16]
1998  | Quest for Camelot | Devon and Cornwall  |
2011  | Happy Feet Two | Bryan  |

#### Films (Live action, Italian dub)

[edit]

Year  | Title  | Role(s)  | Original actor  | Ref

|
|
|
|

1966  | Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? | George  | Richard Burton |
Any Wednesday | Cass Henderson  | Dean Jones |
La Grande Vadrouille | Augustin Bouvet  | Bourvil |
1967  | Action Man | Jim Beckley  | Robert Stack |
Lucky, the Inscrutable | Lucky  | Ray Danton |
Reflections in a Golden Eye | Major Weldon Penderton  | Marlon Brando |
Camelot | King Arthur | Richard Harris |
The Producers | Lorenzo St. DuBois  | Dick Shawn |
Death Rides a Horse | Walcott  | Luigi Pistilli |
The Hellbenders | Jeff  | Gino Pernice |
1968  | Firecreek | Bob Larkin  | Henry Fonda |
Danger: Diabolik | Inspector Ginko  | Michel Piccoli |
The Stalking Moon | Sam Varner  | Gregory Peck |
The Girl Who Couldn't Say No | Franco  | George Segal |
1969  | The Undefeated | Colonel James Langdon  | Rock Hudson |
1970  | Julius Caesar | Mark Antony | Charlton Heston |
A Man Called Horse | John Morgan / Shunkawakan  | Richard Harris  |
There Was a Crooked Man... | Paris Pitman Jr.  | Kirk Douglas |
1973  | Mean Streets | John "Johnny Boy" Civello  | Robert De Niro | [17]
1974  | Lenny | Lenny Bruce | Dustin Hoffman | [18]
1976  | Salon Kitty | Helmut Wallenberg  | Helmut Berger |
Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson | Buffalo Bill | Paul Newman |
The Last Tycoon | Monroe Stahr  | Robert De Niro  |
Fellini's Casanova | Giacomo Casanova | Donald Sutherland |
Rocky | Rocky Balboa | Sylvester Stallone | [19]
1978  | F.I.S.T. | Johnny Kovak  | [20]
1993  | The Visitors | Godefroy de Montmirail  | Jean Reno |
1995  | Casino | Sam "Ace" Rothstein  | Robert De Niro  | [21]
1996  | Dragonheart | Draco  | Sean Connery | [22]
Hamlet | Player King  | Charlton Heston  |
2012  | Hitchcock | Alfred Hitchcock | Anthony Hopkins |
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey | Gandalf | Ian McKellen | [23]
2013  | The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug | [24]
2014  | The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies | [25]
2019  | Aladdin | The Sultan | Navid Negahban | [26]
The Art of Racing in the Rain | Enzo  | Kevin Costner |

#### Television (Animation, Italian dub)

[edit]

Year  | Title  | Role(s)  | Notes  | Ref

|
|
|
|

1960–1970  | Looney Tunes | Sylvester | Main cast; 1960s redubs  | [27]
Merrie Melodies | Main cast; 1960s redubs

## Honors

[edit]

* On 30 September 2013, Proietti received honorary citizenship from the city of Viterbo.[28]
* On 14 May 2021, asteroid 7916 Gigiproietti, discovered by astronomers Henri Debehogne and Giovanni de Sanctis at ESO's La Silla Observatory in 1981, was named by the Working Group for Small Bodies Nomenclature in his memory.[29]

### Awards and nominations

[edit]

* Nastro d'Argento Awards
* 1997: Nastro d'Argento for Best Male Dubbing for dubbing Robert De Niro in Casino
* 2003: Nastro d'Argento for Best Actor for Febbre da cavallo - La mandrakata
* 2018: Nastro d'Argento Lifetime Achievement Award

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Gigi Proietti (13 November 2013). Tutto sommato: Qualcosa mi ricordo. Rizzoli. ISBN 978-8858662687.
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Enrico Lancia, Roberto Poppi (2003). Dizionario del cinema italiano: Gli artisti. Gli attori dal 1930 ai giorni nostri. Gremese Editore, 2003. ISBN 8884402697.
3. ^ "Gigi Proietti's voice acting and dubbing contributions". Il mondo dei doppiatori, antoniogenna.net (in Italian). Retrieved 15 April 2019.
4. ^ "Dopo la morte di Gigi Proietti, il Genio di Aladdin è rimasto senza voce". Cinema Fanpage (in Italian). cinema.fanpage.it. 2 November 2020. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
5. ^ "Gigi Proietti – Attore – Biografia e Filmographia – Ecodelcinema". ecodelcinema.com. 25 November 2013. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
6. ^ Renato Franco (2 November 2020). "Sagitta Alter, "moglie" mai sposata di Gigi Proietti. Con l'ex guida turistica svedese 58 anni insieme e due figlie" [Sagitta Alter, Gigi Proietti's de facto wife. 58 years together and two daughters with the former Swedish tour guide]. Corriere della Sera (in Italian). Retrieved 2 November 2020.
7. ^ "La pagina di Raffaele Proietti". antoniogenna.net (in Italian).
8. ^ "Gigi Proietti ricoverato: è gravissimo dopo attacco cardiaco. In clinica da 15 giorni". www.ilmessaggero.it (in Italian). November 2020. Retrieved 22 November 2020.
9. ^ "Morto Gigi Proietti, addio al grande mattatore della scena italiana". La Repubblica. 2 November 2020. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
10. ^ "Addio al grande attore e doppiatore Gigi Proietti" (in Italian). Il mondo dei doppiatori. 2 November 2020. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
11. ^ "Gigi Proietti, il suo nome per il Globe Theatre di Roma" (in Italian). tg24.sky.it. 3 November 2020. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
12. ^ "I funerali di Proietti: Roma e Gigi, l'ultimo abbraccio (a distanza). Al Globe anche Veltroni e Brignano" (in Italian). roma.repubblica.it. 5 November 2020. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
13. ^ "Le ceneri andranno al Cimitero del Verano" (in Italian). lastampa.it. 27 May 2021.
14. ^ "Aladdin Italian voice cast". Antoniogenna.net. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
15. ^ "The Return of Jafar Italian voice cast". Antoniogenna.net. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
16. ^ "Aladdin and the King of Thieves Italian voice cast". Antoniogenna.net. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
17. ^ "Mean Streets Italian voice cast". Antoniogenna.net. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
18. ^ "Lenny Italian voice cast". Antoniogenna.net. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
19. ^ "Rocky Italian voice cast". Antoniogenna.net. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
20. ^ "F.I.S.T. Italian voice cast". Antoniogenna.net. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
21. ^ "Casino Italian voice cast". Antoniogenna.net. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
22. ^ "Dragonheart Italian voice cast". Antoniogenna.net. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
23. ^ "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Italian voice cast". Antoniogenna.net. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
24. ^ "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Italian voice cast". Antoniogenna.net. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
25. ^ "The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies Italian voice cast". Antoniogenna.net. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
26. ^ "Aladdin Italian voice cast". Antoniogenna.net. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
27. ^ "Looney Tunes & Merrie Melodies Italian voice cast". Antoniogenna.net. Retrieved 23 August 2024.
28. ^ "Viterbo piange la morte di Gigi Proietti suo cittadino onorario". tusciaup.com (in Italian). 2 November 2020.
29. ^ "WGSBN Bulletin Archive". Working Group for Small Bodies Nomenclature. 14 May 2021. Retrieved 16 May 2021. (Bulletin #1)

## External links

[edit]

Media related to Gigi Proietti at Wikimedia Commons

* Gigi Proietti at IMDb
* Gigi Proietti discography at Discogs
* Gigi Proietti at Behind The Voice Actors

* v
* t
* e

Nastro d'Argento Award for Best Actor

1946–1970|

* Andrea Checchi (1946)
* Amedeo Nazzari (1947)
* Vittorio De Sica (1948)
* Massimo Girotti (1949)
* Aldo Fabrizi (1951)
* Totò (1952)
* Renato Rascel (1953)
* Nino Taranto (1954)
* Marcello Mastroianni (1955)
* Alberto Sordi (1956)
* Marcello Mastroianni (1958)
* Vittorio Gassman (1959)
* Alberto Sordi (1960)
* Marcello Mastroianni (1961)
* Marcello Mastroianni (1962)
* Vittorio Gassman (1963)
* Ugo Tognazzi (1964)
* Saro Urzì (1965)
* Nino Manfredi (1966)
* Totò (1967)
* Gian Maria Volonté (1968)
* Ugo Tognazzi (1969)
* Nino Manfredi (1970)

1971–1990|

* Gian Maria Volonté (1971)
* Riccardo Cucciolla (1972)
* Giancarlo Giannini (1973)
* Giancarlo Giannini (1974)
* Vittorio Gassman (1975)
* Michele Placido (1976)
* Alberto Sordi (1977)
* Nino Manfredi (1978)
* Flavio Bucci (1979)
* Nino Manfredi (1980)
* Vittorio Mezzogiorno (1981)
* Ugo Tognazzi (1982)
* Francesco Nuti (1983)
* Carlo Delle Piane (1984)
* Michele Placido (1985)
* Marcello Mastroianni (1986)
* Roberto Benigni (1987)
* Marcello Mastroianni (1988)
* Gian Maria Volonté (1989)
* Vittorio Gassman (1990)

1991–2010|

* Marcello Mastroianni (1991)
* Roberto Benigni (1992)
* Diego Abatantuono (1993)
* Paolo Villaggio (1994)
* Alessandro Haber (1995)
* Sergio Castellitto (1996)
* Leonardo Pieraccioni (1997)
* Roberto Benigni (1998)
* Giancarlo Giannini (1999)
* Silvio Orlando (2000)
* Stefano Accorsi (2001)
* Sergio Castellitto (2002)
* Neri Marcorè / Gigi Proietti (2003)
* Alessio Boni / Fabrizio Gifuni / Luigi Lo Cascio / Andrea Tidona / Roberto Herlitzka (2004)
* Toni Servillo (2005)
* Pierfrancesco Favino / Kim Rossi Stuart / Claudio Santamaria (2006)
* Silvio Orlando (2007)
* Toni Servillo (2008)
* Toni Servillo (2009)
* Elio Germano / Christian De Sica (2010)

2011–present|

* Kim Rossi Stuart (2011)
* Pierfrancesco Favino (2012)
* Aniello Arena (2013)
* Fabrizio Bentivoglio / Fabrizio Gifuni (2014)
* Alessandro Gassmann (2015)
* Stefano Accorsi (2016)
* Renato Carpentieri (2017)
* Marcello Fonte / Edoardo Pesce (2018)
* Pierfrancesco Favino (2019)
* Pierfrancesco Favino (2020)
* Kim Rossi Stuart (2021)
* Pierfrancesco Favino / Silvio Orlando (2022)
* Alessandro Borghi / Luca Marinelli (2023)
* Michele Riondino (2024)

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF
* FAST
* WorldCat

National|

* Germany
* United States
* France
* BnF data
* Italy
* Spain

Artists|

* MusicBrainz
* FID

Other|

* IdRef
* Yale LUX

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