Francesco Salvi (born 7 February 1953) is an Italian actor, singer, screenwriter, and director.

Biography

Born in the northern town of

Luino Luino (Western Lombard: ''Lüin'') is a small town and ''comune'' near the border with Switzerland on the eastern shore of Lake Maggiore, in the Province of Varese (Lombardy, northern Italy). Luino received the honorary title of city with a presid ...

, near the Italian border with

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, Salvi started his career in the mid-1980s. His performances over the years have included but are not limited to: cabaret, cinema, animated cinema, music, writing, theatre and television, with varying degrees of success. During 1985–1987, Francesco Salvi was one of the main characters of the satirical TV variety show '' Drive In''. From 1988 to 1989, Salvi hosted his own television program, ''MegaSalviShow'';. The title song of the show, ''C'è da spostare una macchina'' (Gotta Move a Car), of which Salvi was author and singer, gained a great commercial success, topping the Italian hit parade. In 1989 he also made his directorial debut with the film ''Vogliamoci troppo bene'' (Let's love too much) and took part in the

Sanremo Music Festival The Sanremo Music Festival, officially the Italian Song Festival () and commonly known as just (), is the most popular Italian song contest and awards ceremony, held annually in the city of Sanremo, Liguria. It is the longest-running annual ...

with the song ''Esatto'' (Correct), which obtained critical and commercial success. He later took part to three more editions of the Festival between 1990 and 1996. In 1991, he took part to the

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...

''L'Odissea'', a satirical music show inspired from

Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...

Odyssey The ''Odyssey'' (; grc, Ὀδύσσεια, Odýsseia, ) is one of two major Ancient Greek literature, ancient Greek Epic poetry, epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by moder ...

, aired by

Canale 5 Canale 5 () is an Italian free-to-air television channel of Mediaset, owned by MFE - MediaForEurope. It was the first private television network to have a national coverage in Italy in 1980. On 4 December 2012, Mediaset launched Canale 5 HD, a s ...

and directed by Beppe Recchia. Salvi interpreted

Telemachus Telemachus ( ; grc, Τηλέμαχος, Tēlemakhos, lit=far-fighter), in Greek mythology, is the son of Odysseus and Penelope, who is a central character in Homer's ''Odyssey''. When Telemachus reached manhood, he visited Pylos and Sparta in se ...

and

Polyphemus Polyphemus (; grc-gre, Πολύφημος, Polyphēmos, ; la, Polyphēmus ) is the one-eyed giant son of Poseidon and Thoosa in Greek mythology, one of the Cyclopes described in Homer's ''Odyssey''. His name means "abounding in songs and lege ...

, while Andrea Roncato played

Ulysses Ulysses is one form of the Roman name for Odysseus, a hero in ancient Greek literature. Ulysses may also refer to: People * Ulysses (given name), including a list of people with this name Places in the United States * Ulysses, Kansas * Ulysse ...

and pornographic actress

Moana Pozzi Anna Moana Rosa Pozzi (; 27 April 1961 – 15 September 1994), also known mononymously as Moana, was an Italian pornographic actress, television personality and politician. Early life Pozzi was born in Genoa, Liguria, Italy, the daughter of Alf ...

played

Penelope Penelope ( ; Ancient Greek: Πηνελόπεια, ''Pēnelópeia'', or el, Πηνελόπη, ''Pēnelópē'') is a character in Homer's ''Odyssey.'' She was the queen of Ithaca and was the daughter of Spartan king Icarius and naiad Periboea. Pe ...

. The same year Salvi starred in another satirical musical show, inspired by

Alexandre Dumas Alexandre Dumas (, ; ; born Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie (), 24 July 1802 – 5 December 1870), also known as Alexandre Dumas père (where '' '' is French for 'father', to distinguish him from his son Alexandre Dumas fils), was a French writer ...

The Three Musketeers ''The Three Musketeers'' (french: Les Trois Mousquetaires, links=no, ) is a French historical adventure novel written in 1844 by French author Alexandre Dumas. It is in the swashbuckler genre, which has heroic, chivalrous swordsmen who fight f ...

: ''I Tre Moschettieri'', in which he played

Athos Athos may refer to: Fictional or mythical characters * Athos (character), one of the title characters in the novel ''The Three Musketeers'' (1844) by Alexandre Dumas père * Athos (mythology), one of the Gigantes in Greek mythology * Athos Fadiga ...

. On 1 March 1992, Francesco Salvi appeared in comics in the

comic magazine Comic magazine may refer to: * Comics anthology * ''Comic Magazine'', a 1986 Japanese film * Comic Magazines, the parent company of Quality Comics * Franco-Belgian comics magazines * Japanese manga magazines * A periodical containing comic strips, ...

Topolino ''Topolino'' (from the Italian name for Mickey Mouse) is an Italian digest-sized comic series featuring Disney comics. The series has had a long running history, first appearing in 1932 as a comics magazine. It is currently published by Panini ...

'', issue 1982, in the comic strip ''Pippo e l'ospite d'onore'' ("

Goofy Goofy is a cartoon character created by The Walt Disney Company. He is a tall, Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic dog who typically wears a turtle neck and vest, with pants, shoes, white gloves, and a tall hat originally designed as a rumpled f ...

and the guest star"), which Salvi co-authored. In the same year, he hosted the

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 ...

television show ''La strana coppia'' ("The Odd Couple"), together with fellow Italian comedian

Massimo Boldi Massimo Antonio Boldi (born 23 July 1945) is an Italian stand-up comedian and actor. Biography Boldi was born in Luino on 23 July 1945. In 1955 his family moved to Milan, where he joined evening classes and began working as a window-dresser an ...

. During 1995 and 1996, Salvi worked with

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

for the radio program ''Radiotopogiro'', aired by

Rai Radio 2 Rai Radio 2 (''radio due'') is an Italian radio channel operated by the state-owned public-broadcasting organization RAI and specializing in talk programmes and popular music from Italy and China. History The origins of the channel can be tr ...

. He also took part in Antonio Ricci's satirical television show ''

Striscia la notizia ''Striscia la notizia'' () is an Italian satirical television program on the Mediaset-controlled Canale 5. Founded in 1988, it is meant to be a parody of the daily news, which airs right before the program, but ''Striscia'' also satirizes gover ...

'', both as host and as fake cultural correspondent. In 1997, he voiced the title-character in the

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 ...

animation series ''

Lupo Alberto Lupo Alberto ("Alberto the Wolf") is a famous Italian comic book series created by Guido Silvestri (Silver) in 1974. It details the adventures of Lupo Alberto, a blue wolf. The protagonist of the comic book, Lupo Alberto, takes the shape of the ...

''. In 2001 Salvi played his first dramatic role in the film '' The Comeback'', and was nominated for

Silver Ribbon The Nastro d'Argento, also known by its translated name Silver Ribbon, is an Italian film award awarded each year since 1946 by the Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists (Italian: ''Sindacato Nazionale Giornalisti Cinematografici Italiani ...

for best actor. From 2004 he started working in the successful television series ''

Un medico in famiglia ''Un medico in famiglia'' (English: ''A doctor in the family'') is an Italian television series, based on the format of the Spanish series of Telecinco ''Médico de familia'', produced by Publispei and Rai Fiction. The series aired for ten seaso ...

'', in which he starred for three seasons. In 2006, Francesco Salvi co-hosted the third edition of the reality show '' La Fattoria'' (Italian version of '' The Farm''), set in

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

. In the same year he starred in the television shows ''Suonare Stella'' and ''Comedy Club'' (where he taught comedy to Italian singer

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

) and had a significant role in the crime film '' 10th & Wolf''. In 2008, Salvi was the recipient of the "Penisola Sorrentina Arturo Esposito" Best Male Character Award.
Penisola Sorrentina Arturo Esposito" Award, 2008 edition (PDF, in Italian) Francesco Salvi is the most cited author in Gino e Michele, Gino Vignali and Michele Mozzati's comedy quotes anthology ''Anche le formiche nel loro piccolo si incazzano'' ("Ants also, for their humble part, lose patience").

Filmography

Films

Television

References

External links