Lino Banfi Explained

Lino Banfi
Birth Name:Pasquale Zagaria
Birth Date:9 July 1936
Birth Place:Andria, Kingdom of Italy
Yearsactive:1960–present
Children:2, including Rosanna

Lino Banfi (born Pasquale Zagaria; 9 July 1936) is an Italian actor and screenwriter. Since 1960 he has appeared in more than 100 films.

Biography

Banfi was born in the Apulian city of Andria, and at the age of three he moved to Canosa di Puglia. He started his career as a local singer and as a fotoromanzi actor.[1] In 1954, determined to realize his aspiration to be an actor, he moved to Milan, where he encountered great economic and work difficulties, before moving to Rome in 1957, where he eventually started his professional stage career. Initially performing as Lino Zaga, he was part of numerous avanspettacolo companies, including those led by Alberto Sorrentino and Beniamino Maggio.[2]

Banfi made his film debut playing a minor role in Lucio Fulci's Howlers in the Dock. On the set of Fulci's Two Escape from Sing Sing he befriended the comedy duo Franco and Ciccio, and for several years he became a regular character actor in their films.[3] In 1968, he embraced stand-up comedy, replacing Enrico Montesano at the Lando Fiorini's cabaret club Puff.

Lino Banfi became one of the most well-known actors in Italian "sexy comedies" in the 1970s. In the 1980s he reached the peak of his fame by appearing in movies such as Italian: [[L'allenatore nel pallone]], Italian: [[Vieni avanti cretino]], Italian: [[Il commissario Lo Gatto]] and Italian: [[Occhio, malocchio, prezzemolo e finocchio]]; he later portrayed in Italian TV series Italian: [[Un medico in famiglia]].

During his career, nearly all of Lino Banfi's characters spoke with the distinctive pronunciation of the Bari dialect. Banfi and his wife Lucia Lagrasta were married since 1962 until her death in February 2023; they have two children: Walter and Rosanna, who is also an actress. In 2000, Lino Banfi became a Goodwill ambassador for the Italian National Committee for UNICEF.[4]

Filmography

Films

TV

Books

Honours

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. Book: Cappa . Felice . Gelli . Piero . Mattarozzi . Marco . Dizionario dello spettacolo del '900 . 1998 . . 978-88-8089-295-3 . it . Banfi, Lino.
  2. Book: Lancia . Enrico . Dizionario del cinema italiano. Gli artisti : Vol. 3, Gli attori dal 1930 ai giorni nostri : T. 1. A - L . 2003 . Gremese Editore . 978-88-8440-213-4 . 45–6 . it . Banfi, Lino.
  3. News: Lino Banfi: "La gavetta con Franco e Ciccio e la nostra combriccola sicilian-pugliese. Che tempi" . 18 October 2024 . Chronist . 3 April 2023 . it-IT.
  4. Web site: Lino Banfi UNICEF goodwill ambassador. UNICEF .
  5. Web site: Le onorificenze della Repubblica Italiana . October 24, 2022. www.quirinale.it.

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