Daniele Luttazzi (; born Daniele Fabbri on 26 January 1961) is an Italian theater actor, writer,

satirist This is an incomplete list of writers, cartoonists and others known for involvement in satire – humorous social criticism. They are grouped by era and listed by year of birth. Included is a list of modern satires. Under Contemporary, 1930-1960 ...

, illustrator and singer. His stage name is an homage to musician and actor

Lelio Luttazzi Lelio Luttazzi (27 April 1923 – 8 July 2010) was an Italian composer, musician, actor, singer, conductor, writer, and television and radio presenter. Born in Trieste, Luttazzi began playing the piano at Radio Trieste and composing his first s ...

. His favourite topics are politics, religion, sex and death.

Biography

Luttazzi was born in

Santarcangelo di Romagna Santarcangelo di Romagna ( rgn, Santarcànzul) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Rimini, Emilia-Romagna, Italy, on the Via Emilia. As of 2009, it had a population of some 21,300. It is crossed by two rivers, the Uso and the Marecchia ...

province of Rimini The province of Rimini ( it, provincia di Rimini) is a province in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. The provincial capital is the eponymous city of Rimini. The province borders the independent Republic of San Marino. As of 2019, the prov ...

. He began his comic career performing satirical monologues in theatre shows and writing comedy books. In 1988, his monologue won an award in a comedy contest held at Rome's

Teatro Sistina The Teatro Sistina is a theatre in Rome, Italy. The building, designed by Marcello Piacentini, was begun in 1946 on the former site of the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Polish Institute. It was inaugurated on 28 December 1949 as a cinema, but later ...

. From 1989, he began working in TV variety shows: ''Fate il vostro gioco'' (1989,

Rai 2 Rai 2 is an Italian free-to-air television channel owned and operated by state-owned public broadcaster RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana. It is the company's second television channel, and is known for broadcasting ''TG2'' news bulletins, tal ...

), ''Banane'' (1989,

Telemontecarlo La7 is an Italian free-to-air television channel owned by Cairo Communication. Until 2013 it was a pay-per-view channel owned by Telecom Italia Media and operated by Telecom Italia. Signal overspill means that parts of Albania, Croatia, Swit ...

), ''Magazine 3'' (1993, 1994,

Rai 3 Rai 3 (formerly Rete 3) is an Italian free-to-air television channel owned and operated by state-owned public broadcaster RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana. It was launched on 15 December 1979 and its programming is centred towards cultural and ...

), ''

Mai Dire Gol ''Mai dire Gol'' was an Italian football television program of featuring Gialappa's Band, which was broadcast on Italia 1 from 18 November 1990 to 25 February 2001. The program was, at the beginning, the footballing version of Gialappa's Band's ...

'' (1996, 1997,

Italia 1 Italia 1 (Italian pronunciation ) is an Italian free-to-air television channel on the Mediaset network, owned by MFE - MediaForEurope. It is oriented at both young and adult people. Italia 1 was launched on 3 January 1982 and, originally, was o ...

). In 1998, he hosts his own late night show, ''Barracuda'' (

). Luttazzi did monologues about recent news, interviews with famous showbiz and political personalities, and skits for adult audiences. The same formula was then adopted for his next TV show, called ''Satyricon'', aired by the public channel

in 2001. In March 2001, Luttazzi interviewed journalist

Marco Travaglio Marco Travaglio (; born 13 October 1964) is an Italian investigative journalist, writer and opinion leader, editor of the independent journal ''Il Fatto Quotidiano''. Biography Travaglio was born in Turin and earned a degree in history from th ...

about "L'odore dei soldi" (The Scent of Money), a book on the mysterious origins of

Silvio Berlusconi Silvio Berlusconi ( ; ; born 29 September 1936) is an Italian media tycoon and politician who served as Prime Minister of Italy in four governments from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006 and 2008 to 2011. He was a member of the Chamber of Deputies ...

's wealth: bank Rasini, a bank largely used by Italian mafia for money laundering. The next year, shortly after Berlusconi's statement on the "criminal use of public television" made by Luttazzi (see Editto Bulgaro), Luttazzi's show was cancelled by

RAI RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana (; commercially styled as Rai since 2000; known until 1954 as Radio Audizioni Italiane) is the national public broadcasting company of Italy, owned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. RAI operates many ter ...

's management. Since then, Luttazzi has been often cited by the European press (i.e. ''

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Econo ...

'', ''

Le Monde ''Le Monde'' (; ) is a French daily afternoon newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average circulation of 323,039 copies per issue in 2009, about 40,000 of which were sold abroad. It has had its own website si ...

'', ''

El País ''El País'' (; ) is a Spanish-language daily newspaper in Spain. ''El País'' is based in the capital city of Madrid and it is owned by the Spanish media conglomerate PRISA. It is the second most circulated daily newspaper in Spain . ''El Pa ...

'') as proof of Mr. Berlusconi's censorship of the opposition. After television, Luttazzi toured Italy doing theatre shows and wrote books. He returned on TV in 2007 with the new satirical program "Decameron: Politica, Sesso, Religione e Morte" (Decameron: Politics, Sex, Religion and Death) for the private channel

La7 La7 is an Italian free-to-air television channel owned by Cairo Communication. Until 2013 it was a pay-per-view channel owned by Telecom Italia Media and operated by Telecom Italia. Signal overspill means that parts of Albania, Croatia, Swi ...

. Eventually his show was suspended after a controversial joke on journalist Giuliano Ferrara (who was working for La7 too). 2012: Luttazzi wins his legal battle against La7. La7 shall pay Luttazzi 1 million 2 hundred thousand euros. In 2009 he opens a satire gym on his blog. The authors of '' Lercio.it'' are trained at his school.

Allegations of plagiarism

In 1994,

Susanna Tamaro Susanna Tamaro (; born 12 December 1957) is an Italian novelist and film director. She is an author of novels, stories, magazine articles, and children's literature. Her novel ''Va' dove ti porta il cuore'' (''Follow your Heart'') was a bestseller ...

, bestselling author of "Va' dove ti porta il cuore", sued Luttazzi for

plagiarism Plagiarism is the fraudulent representation of another person's language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions as one's own original work.From the 1995 '' Random House Compact Unabridged Dictionary'': use or close imitation of the language and thought ...

after his parody "Va' dove ti porta il clito". Luttazzi won the trial: it was ruled a parody, not plagiarism. Since then, Luttazzi has been further accused of plagiarism. In 2001 the Italian progressive newspaper ''

La Repubblica ''la Repubblica'' (; the Republic) is an Italian daily general-interest newspaper. It was founded in 1976 in Rome by Gruppo Editoriale L'Espresso (now known as GEDI Gruppo Editoriale) and led by Eugenio Scalfari, Carlo Caracciolo and Arnoldo ...

'' noticed the similarities between Luttazzi TV show ''Barracuda'' and the

David Letterman Show ''The David Letterman Show'' is an American morning talk show that was hosted by David Letterman on NBC. It originally aired from June 23 to October 24, 1980. Originally, the series lasted 90 minutes, then 60 minutes from August 4 onward. Back ...

. Luttazzi replied that the actual model of David Letterman is, in turn,

Johnny Carson John William Carson (October 23, 1925 – January 23, 2005) was an American television host, comedian, writer and producer. He is best known as the host of ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' (1962–1992). Carson received six Pr ...

's ''

Tonight Show ''The Tonight Show'' is an American late-night talk show that has aired on NBC since 1954. The show has been hosted by six comedians: Steve Allen (1954–1957), Jack Paar (1957–1962), Johnny Carson (1962–1992), Jay Leno (1992–2009 and 2010� ...

'' and stated that all jokes and texts were original. In 2007, Christian Rocca, a journalist from "

Il Foglio ''Il Foglio'' (English: "The Paper") is an Italian centrist daily newspaper with circulation around 25.000 copies per day (with an overall spread of 47.000). It was founded in 1996 by the Italian journalist and politician Giuliano Ferrara after ...

" (a

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

newspaper controlled by

's family) accused Luttazzi of plagiarizing jokes from American comedians; and in 2010 several Italian newspapers reported of anonymous bloggers accusing him of having plagiarised many jokes from comedians such as

George Carlin George Denis Patrick Carlin (May 12, 1937 – June 22, 2008) was an American comedian, actor, author, and social critic. Regarded as one of the most important and influential stand-up comedians of all time, he was dubbed "the dean of countercul ...

Mitch Hedberg Mitchell Lee Hedberg (February 24, 1968 – March 30, 2005) was an American stand-up comedian known for his surreal humor and deadpan delivery. His comedy typically featured short, sometimes one-line jokes mixed with absurd elements and non seq ...

Eddie Izzard Edward John Izzard (; born 7 February 1962) is a British stand-up comedian, actor and activist. Her comedic style takes the form of what appears to the audience as rambling whimsical monologues and self-referential pantomime. Izzard's stand- ...

Chris Rock Christopher Julius Rock (born February 7, 1965) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and filmmaker. Known for his work in comic film, television and stage, he has received multiple accolades, including three Grammy Awards for best come ...

Bill Hicks William Melvin Hicks (December 16, 1961 – February 26, 1994) was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, satirist, and musician. His material—encompassing a wide range of social issues including religion, politics, and philosophy—wa ...

and

Robert Schimmel Robert George Schimmel (January 16, 1950 – September 3, 2010) was an American Stand-up comedy, stand-up comedian who was known for his blue comedy.Wilson, Eric (September 4, 2010)Robert Schimmel, 60, Provocative Comic, Dies.''New York Times'' ...

. The accusation of plagiarism, according to Luttazzi, is a misleading half-truth. Five years before those allegations, Luttazzi himself told about his scheme on his personal blog: he wrote that he adds famous comedians' material to his work as a defense against the million-euro lawsuits he has to face because of his satire. Luttazzi calls his ruse "the

Lenny Bruce Leonard Alfred Schneider (October 13, 1925 – August 3, 1966), known professionally as Lenny Bruce, was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, and satirist. He was renowned for his open, free-wheeling, and critical style of comedy which ...

trick" after a similar trick played by his hero, Lenny Bruce. Luttazzi asks his readers to find out the original jokes. He awards a prize to anyone who finds a "nugget", i.e. a reference to famous jokes: he calls the game "treasure hunt". Luttazzi also calls the allegations "naive", explaining why those jokes are not "plagiarized", but "

calque In linguistics, a calque () or loan translation is a word or phrase borrowed from another language by literal word-for-word or root-for-root translation. When used as a verb, "to calque" means to borrow a word or phrase from another language wh ...

d", which is a fair use of original material. He used a joke by

Emo Philips Emo Philips (born Philip Soltanec February 7, 1956) is an American actor, stand-up comedian, writer and producer. His stand-up comedy persona makes use of paraprosdokians spoken in a wandering falsetto tone of voice. The confused, childlike deli ...

to prove that the meaning of a joke depends on its context. Luttazzi's blog lists all the comedians and writers quoted in his works. In 2012, Luttazzi won the first step of a legal battle against La7 broadcasting company, which in 2007 abruptly closed his late show "Decameron", accusing him, among other charges, of plagiarism from Bill Hicks. La7 was sentenced to pay 1,200,000 Euros as compensation. In 2014, an academic paper explained why Luttazzi's jokes are his own and not "plagiarised" ones.

Reactions

In 2010, a few commentators, after the first batch of news which did not mention Luttazzi's 2005 post in his blog about the "Lenny Bruce trick", said Luttazzi did what web aggregators do. Others, such as

Wu Ming Wu Ming, Chinese for "anonymous", is a pseudonym for a group of Italian authors formed in 2000 from a subset of the Luther Blissett community in Bologna. Four of the group earlier wrote the novel '' Q'' (first edition 1999). Unlike the open n ...

, pointed out that as a result, many former fans were turning into angered detractors of Luttazzi, with the risk of denying Luttazzi's original artistic and cultural contributions and deep renovation of Italian satire. In Luttazzi's defense, film director

Roberto Faenza Roberto Faenza (born 21 February 1943) is an Italian film director. Born in Turin in 1943, Faenza received a degree in Political Science and a diploma at the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia. Career Faenza made his directing debut in 1968 ...

quoted

Roberto Benigni Roberto Remigio Benigni (; born 27 October 1952) is an Italian actor, comedian, screenwriter and director. He gained international recognition for writing, directing and starring in the Holocaust comedy-drama film ''Life Is Beautiful'' (1997), f ...

: Benigni compares Luttazzi's copying to the greatest artists' copying, writers like

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: t ...

Ovid Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the th ...

Dante Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian poet, writer and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called (modern Italian: '' ...

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

Buster Keaton Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton (October 4, 1895 – February 1, 1966) was an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is best known for his silent film work, in which his trademark was physical comedy accompanied by a stoic, deadpan expression ...

Eduardo De Filippo Eduardo De Filippo (; 24 May 1900 – 31 October 1984), also known simply as ''Eduardo'', was an Italian actor, director, screenwriter and playwright, best known for his Neapolitan works ''Filumena Marturano'' and '' Napoli Milionaria''. Consid ...

, and

Woody Allen Heywood "Woody" Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American film director, writer, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades and multiple Academy Award-winning films. He began his career writing ...

Works

Books

* '' 101 cose da evitare a un funerale'', Modena, Comix, 1993. * ''Locuste. Come le formiche, solo più cattive'', Modena, Comix, 1994. ''Le 101 locuste sono poi state incluse nelle prime edizioni di'' CRAMPO * ''Sesso con Luttazzi'', Modena, Comix, 1994. ; Milano, Mondadori, 2000. * '' Adenoidi'', Milano, Bompiani, 1995. ; Milano, Rizzoli, 1999. * ''Va' dove ti porta il clito'', Modena, Comix, 1995. ; 1996. * ''C.R.A.M.P.O. Corso Rapido di Apprendimento Minimo per Ottenebrati'', Modena, Comix, 1996. ''Le prime edizioni contenevano in appendice'' Locuste * ''Gioventù Cannibale'', con altri, Torino, Einaudi, 1996. * ''Tabloid", Modena, Comix, 1997. ; 1997. * ''Teatro. Rettili & roditori, Scene da un adulterio'', Modena, Comix, 1998. * ''Cosmico! Una valida alternativa all'intrattenimento intelligente'', Milano, Mondadori, 1998. * ''Barracuda'', Milano, Mondadori, 1999. * ''Luttazzi Satyricon'', Milano, Mondadori, 2001. * ''Benvenuti in Italia'', Milano, Feltrinelli, 2002. * ''Capolavori'', Milano, Feltrinelli, 2002. * ''La castrazione e altri metodi infallibili per prevenire l'acne'', Milano, Feltrinelli, 2003. * ''Bollito misto con mostarda'', Milano, Feltrinelli, 2005. include ''I giardini dell'epistassi'' * ''Lepidezze postribolari, ovvero Populorum progressio'', Milano, Feltrinelli, 2007. * '' La guerra civile fredda'', Milano, Feltrinelli, 2009. * ''La quarta necessità'', (disegni di Massimo Giacon), Milano, Rizzoli, 2011. * '' Lolito. Una parodia'', Roma, Il Fatto Quotidiano, 2013; Milano, Chiarelettere, 2013. * '' Bloom Porno-Teo-Kolossal'', Roma, Il Fatto Quotidiano, 2015.

Translations and prefaces

* ''Translation'' of

Daniel Clowes Daniel Gillespie Clowes (; born April 14, 1961) is an American cartoonist, graphic novelist, illustrator, and screenwriter. Most of Clowes's work first appeared in '' Eightball'', a solo anthology comic book series. An ''Eightball'' issue typical ...

, ''L'antologia ufficiale di Lloyd LLewellyn'', Bologna, Telemaco, 1992. * ''Introduction'' to

Francesca Ghermandi Francesca is an Italian female given name, derived from the Latin male name ''Franciscus'' meaning 'the Frenchman' It is widely used in most Romance languages, including Italian language, Italian, French language, French and Catalan language, Cata ...

, ''Hiawata Pete'', Bologna, Granata Press, 1993. Nuova edizione: Coconino Press, 2008. * ''Preface'' to

Daniele Brolli Daniele is an Hebrew male given name, the cognate of the English name Daniel. Danièle is a French female given name, an alternative spelling of Danielle. Men with the given name Daniele * Daniele Bracciali (born 1978), Italian tennis player ...

Roberto Baldazzini Roberto Baldazzini (born August 18, 1958) is an Italian illustrator and comics artist who specializes in writing and illustrating black and white and full-color erotic comic books. He received a formal education in commerce, after which he took ...

, ''Trans/Est'', Bologna, Phoenix, 1994. * ''Preface'' to

, ''Come parlare sporco e influenzare la gente'', Milano, Bompiani, 1995. * ''Preface'' to Massimo Giacon, ''Sexorcismo 2000'', Roma, Mare Nero, 2000. * ''Translation and introduction'' to

, ''Effetti collaterali'', Milano, Tascabili Bompiani, 2004. * ''Translation and introduction'' to

, ''Senza piume'', Milano, Tascabili Bompiani, 2004. * ''Translation and introduction'' to

''Rivincite'', Milano, Tascabili Bompiani, 2004. * ''Introduction'' to

Stan Lee Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Publications which ...

John Romita Sr. John V. Romita (; born January 24, 1930) is an American comic book artist best known for his work on Marvel Comics' ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' and for co-creating characters including the Punisher and Wolverine. He was inducted into the Will Eis ...

, ''The complete Spider-Man'', vol. II, ''29/1/1979-11/1/1981'', Modena, Panini comics, 2007.

Music

* 2005 – '' Money for Dope'' (

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...

) * 2007 – '' School Is Boring'' (

EDEL Edel is both a surname and a given name. Notable people with the name include: Surname: * Abraham Edel (1908–2007), North American philosopher and ethicist * Alfred William Edel (c. 1930–2005), American television news presenter * Apoula Ed ...

)

Tv programs

* ''Fate il vostro gioco'', 1989 –

* ''Banane'', 1990 – TMC * ''Magazine 3'', 1994–95 –

* ''

Mai dire gol ''Mai dire Gol'' was an Italian football television program of featuring Gialappa's Band, which was broadcast on Italia 1 from 18 November 1990 to 25 February 2001. The program was, at the beginning, the footballing version of Gialappa's Band's ...

'', 1995–98 –

* ''Barracuda'', 1998–99 –

* ''

Satyricon The ''Satyricon'', ''Satyricon'' ''liber'' (''The Book of Satyrlike Adventures''), or ''Satyrica'', is a Latin work of fiction believed to have been written by Gaius Petronius, though the manuscript tradition identifies the author as Titus Petro ...

'', 2001 –

* ''

Decameron ''The Decameron'' (; it, label=Italian, Decameron or ''Decamerone'' ), subtitled ''Prince Galehaut'' (Old it, Prencipe Galeotto, links=no ) and sometimes nicknamed ''l'Umana commedia'' ("the Human comedy", as it was Boccaccio that dubbed Dan ...

'', 2007 –

Theatrical monologues

* ''Non qui, Barbara, nessuno ci sta guardando'' (1989) Oggi in tutta la mia casa c'è uno splendore nuovo (1990) * ''Chi ha paura di Daniele Luttazzi?'' (1991) * ''Sesso con Luttazzi'' (1993, 1999, 2003, 2008) * ''Va' dove ti porta il clito'' (1995, 2009) * ''Adenoidi'' (1996) * ''Tabloid'' (1997) * ''Barracuda LIVE'' (1998) * ''Satyricon'' (2001) * ''Adenoidi 2003'' (2003) * ''Dialoghi platonici'' (2003) (recitati da attori dello Stabile di Genova e dell'Archivolto, per la regia di Giorgio Gallione) * ''Bollito misto con mostarda'' (2004) * ''Come uccidere causando inutili sofferenze'' (2005) * ''Barracuda 2007'' (2007) * ''Decameron'' (2008)

Music concerts

* ''Songbook'' (2009)

References

External links

Official site
with

blog A blog (a truncation of "weblog") is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Luttazzi, Daniele 1961 births Living people People from Santarcangelo di Romagna Italian male writers Italian stand-up comedians Italian satirists People involved in plagiarism controversies Kabarettists