Giorgio Faletti

Giorgio Faletti (; 25 November 1950 – 4 July 2014) was an Italian writer, musician, actor and comedian. Born in Asti, Piedmont, he lived on Elba Island. His books have been translated into 25 languages and published with great success in Europe, South America, China, Japan, Russia and the United States.

Biography

Comedian

After graduating from law school, Faletti began his career as a comedian during the 1970s at the Milanese Club "Derby". During the same period he shared the stage with the local circle of actors: Diego Abatantuono, Teo Teocoli, Massimo Boldi, Paolo Rossi and Francesco Salvi. In 1983, he appeared on Antenna 3 Lombardia and alongside Raffaella Carrà in ''Pronto Raffaella''. In 1985, he was cast as a comedian in Antonio Ricci's successful variety show '' Drive In''.Aldo Grasso, Massimo Scaglioni. ''Enciclopedia della Televisione''. Garzanti, Milano, 1996–2003. . Other television successes followed, on variety shows such as ''Emilio'', '' Fantastico'' and ''Stasera mi butto... e tre!''.

Music

Approaching in the meantime the world of music, in 1988 he released the mini-album ''Colletti bianchi'', the soundtrack of the TV series of the same name in which he was one of the main actors. In 1991 he released his second album, ''Disperato ma non serio'', launched by the single ''Ulula'', and he composed the song "Traditore", included in Mina's album ''Caterpillar''. In 1992, he participated, for the first time, at the Sanremo Music Festival in tandem with Orietta Berti with the song "Rumba di Tango".

In 1994, Faletti got his main success as a singer-songwriter with the song "Signor Tenente", inspired by massacres of Capaci and Via D'Amelio, ranking second at the Sanremo Music Festival and also winning the Critics' Award. The subsequent album, ''Come un cartone animato'', was a platinum album.

In 1995, at the Sanremo Festival he sang "L'assurdo mestiere", a sort of prayer-thanks to the Lord, revealing a melancholic and reflective side. In the same festival, as part-author of the song sung by Gigliola Cinquetti, "Giovane vecchio cuore".

He has also written songs for Fiordaliso, as well as two songs from the album ''Cammina, Cammina'' (1996), and the whole album ''Il dito e la luna'' (1998), both by Angelo Branduardi. In 2000, he released ''Nonsense'', his sixth and last album. In 2007, Faletti back at the Sanremo Festival, as author of the song "The Show Must Go On", sung by Milva, ranking tenth position. The song was part of the album in ''Territorio nemico'', entirely written (lyrics and music) by Faletti. In 2009 he composed the song "Gli anni che non hai", included in Marco Masini's album ''L'Italia... e altre storie''.

Writer

Faletti was a motorracing enthusiast. In the early 1990s he regularly wrote a column about Rally and Formula One for the Italian weekly magazine ''Autosprint''.

Faletti's debut as an author was the 1994 humorous book ''Porco il mondo che ciò sotto i piedi!'', published by Baldini & Castoldi, which recounts the exploits of his most famous character, Vito Catozzo, whom he had launched in '' Drive In''.

In 2002, Faletti surprised critics and audience with his first thriller novel, ''I Kill'' (''Io uccido''), which sold more than four million copies.

At the end of 2002 he suffered a minor stroke. In 2004, his second novel, ''The Killer In My Eyes'' (''Niente di vero tranne gli occhi''), sold three million and a half copies.

Jeffery Deaver said of Faletti: ''"In my neck of the woods, people like Faletti are called larger than life, living legends."'' In November 2005, Giorgio Faletti received from the President of the Italian Republic the De Sica Prize for Literature.

In 2006, Faletti released his novel "Outside of an Evident Destiny" ''Fuori da un evidente destino''; the same year he starred in the film ''Notte prima degli esami'' being nominated for the David di Donatello Award for best supporting actor. He also appeared in the sequel, ''Notte prima degli esami – Oggi'' (2007). Also in 2007, he played the villain in '' Cemento armato''.

In 2008, Faletti published his first collection of short stories, entitled A few useless hiding places ''Pochi inutili nascondigli'', followed by the novels ''I Am God'' (''Io sono Dio'', 2009), ''Appunti di un venditore di donne'' (2010), and ''Tre atti e due tempi'' (2011).

His commitment and his achievements in the field of literature led him to be appointed president of the Astense Library in September 2012.

He was a supporter of Juventus FC.

Death

Faletti died of lung cancer on 4 July 2014, aged 63.

He received the ''America Award'' in memory, from the Italy-USA Foundation in 2019.

Further reading

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References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Faletti, Giorgio
1950 births
2014 deaths
People from Asti
Italian male singer-songwriters
Italian male film actors
Italian male stage actors
Italian male television actors
Italian stand-up comedians
Italian mystery writers
Deaths from lung cancer in Piedmont
Italian male novelists
Italian television personalities
20th-century Italian male singers