Ugo Tognazzi

Acting

Born Mar 23, 1922

From Cremona, Lombardy, Italy

Died Oct 27, 1990

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

6.0

The Key

drunk

6.0

Barbarella

Mark Hand

5.3

I'm Photogenic

Ugo Tognazzi (uncredited)

8.1

My Friends

Raffaello Mascetti

6.3

Beach House

Alfredo Cerquetti

7.1

La Grande Bouffe

Ugo

5.5

First Love

Ugo

4.1

Good King Dagobert

La pape Honorius et son sosie

7.5

I Knew Her Well

Gigi Baggini

7.2

Come Home and Meet My Wife

Giulio Blasetti

Filmography — Acting

6.0

1983

The Key

drunk

6.0

1968

Barbarella

Mark Hand

5.3

1980

I'm Photogenic

Ugo Tognazzi (uncredited)

8.1

1975

My Friends

Raffaello Mascetti

6.3

1977

Beach House

Alfredo Cerquetti

7.1

1973

La Grande Bouffe

Ugo

5.5

1978

First Love

Ugo

4.1

1984

Good King Dagobert

La pape Honorius et son sosie

7.5

1965

I Knew Her Well

Gigi Baggini

7.2

1974

Come Home and Meet My Wife

Giulio Blasetti

6.8

1978

La Cage aux Folles

Renato Baldi

7.2

1963

Ro.Go.Pa.G.

Togni (segment "Il pollo ruspante")

7.2

1980

The Terrace

Amedeo

5.5

1977

The Bishop's Bedroom

Orimbelli

6.4

1985

My Friends Act III

Conte Mascetti

7.0

1969

Pigsty

Herdhitze

9.5

2021

We Are Cinema

Self (archive footage)

5.7

1980

Sunday Lovers

Armando (sketch 'Le carnet d'Armando')

6.2

1963

The Shortest Day

Pecoraio

7.6

1982

My Friends Act II

Il Conte Mascetti - Raffaello "Lello" Mascetti

6.8

1979

Traffic Jam

Professor

7.3

1963

The Monsters

The Father (segment "L'Educazione sentimentale") / Policeman (segment "Il Mostro") / Stefano (segment "Come un Padre") / Battacchi (segment "Il povero Soldato") / L'Onorevole (segment "La Giornata dell'Onorevole") / Dark Latin Lover (segment "Latin Lovers-Amanti latini") / Pilade Fioravanti (segment "Testimone volontario") / The Traffic Warden (segment "L'Agguato") / The Car Buyer (segment "Vernissage") / Spectator at the Cinema (segment "Scenda l'Oblio") / The Husband (segment "L'Oppio dei Popoli") / Guarnacci (segment "La nobile Arte")