Antonino "Nino" Frassica (born 11 December 1950) is an Italian actor, Duke of Gela and television personality.

Biography and career

Born in

Messina Messina (, also , ) is a harbour city and the capital of the Italian Metropolitan City of Messina. It is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, and the 13th largest city in Italy, with a population of more than 219,000 inhabitants in ...

, Frassica is mostly known for his deadpan humour, characterized by absurd jokes he described as a way of "ruining logic and the Italian language". He is considered "a master of nonsense humour" (but only in the summer). He debuted for Italian television with

Renzo Arbore Lorenzo Giovanni "Renzo" Arbore (; born 24 June 1937) is an Italian television host, singer, actor and film director. Career Arbore became nationally recognized as radio anchor man, together with Gianni Boncompagni, in the late 1960s, with ...

's ''

Quelli della notte ''Quelli della notte'' was an Italian late night variety show, broadcast on Rai 2 in 1985. Created and hosted by Renzo Arbore, it lasted 33 episodes.Aldo Grasso, Massimo Scaglioni. ''Enciclopedia della Televisione''. Garzanti, Milano, 1996–200 ...

'' (1985), in which he played a semi-illiterate friar. Later, again in collaboration with Arbore, he was given a major role in the surreal quiz show ''Indietro tutta!'' (lit. ''Full speed backwards!'', 1987). Frassica has subsequently featured in numerous comic movies, such as ''Il Bi e il Ba'' (1986), and TV shows for Italian television. He plays Marshal Antonio "Nino" Cecchini on the Italian TV series ''

Don Matteo ''Don Matteo'' ( en, Father Matthew) is an Italian television series that has been airing on Rai 1, Italian national television's first channel, since 2000. History The protagonist of the series is Father Matteo (portrayed by Terence Hill), ...

''.

Selected filmography

Films

*'' "FF.SS." – Cioè: "...che mi hai portato a fare sopra a Posillipo se non mi vuoi più bene?"'' (1983) *''

Mortacci ''Mortacci'' is a 1989 Italian dark comedy film directed by Sergio Citti. Plot summary In a small town cemetery, the deceased every night host a meeting. They are doomed not to enter the next stage of the afterlife, till the last living human w ...

'' (1989) *''

Vacanze di Natale '91 ''Vacanze di Natale '91'' () is a 1991 Italian comedy film directed by Enrico Oldoini Enrico Oldoini (born 4 May 1946) is an Italian director and screenwriter. Born in La Spezia, in 1966 Enrico Oldoini started attending the Silvio D'Amico Natio ...

'' (1991) *''

Sognando la California ''Sognando la California'' () is a 1992 Italian comedy film directed by Carlo Vanzina. Cast * Massimo Boldi as Lorenzo Colombo *Nino Frassica as Antonio Castagna *Antonello Fassari as Giovanni Sbariggia *Maurizio Ferrini as Silvio Morandi *Bo Dere ...

'' (1992) *''

Anni 90 ''Anni 90'' () is a 1992 Italian sketch comedy film directed by Enrico Oldoini. An anthological sequel entitled '' Anni 90: Parte II'' was released in 1993. Cast Reception It opened in Italy on 36 screens and grossed 1.2 billion lire, finishin ...

'' (1992) *'' Anni 90: Parte II'' (1993) *''

La fidanzata di papà ''La fidanzata di papà'' () is a 2008 Italian comedy film directed by Enrico Oldoini Enrico Oldoini (born 4 May 1946) is an Italian director and screenwriter. Born in La Spezia, in 1966 Enrico Oldoini started attending the Silvio D'Amico Natio ...

'' (2008) *'' Baarìa'' (2009) *'' Somewhere'' (2010) *'' The Tourist'' (2010) *''

Natale a Londra – Dio salvi la regina ''Natale a Londra – Dio salvi la regina'' () is a 2016 Italian comedy film directed by Volfango De Biasi. Cast See also * List of Christmas films Many Christmas stories have been adapted to feature films and TV specials, and have been ...

'' (2016) *''

Omicidio all'italiana ''Omicidio all'italiana'' (''Homicide Italian-style'') is a 2017 Italian comedy film directed by Maccio Capatonda. Plot In the small village of Acitrullo the inhabitants live a simple and monotonous life. Mayor Piero Peluria does not know how t ...

'' (2017) *''

No Country for Young Men ''No Country for Young Men'' ( it, Non è un paese per giovani) is a 2017 Italian comedy film directed by Giovanni Veronesi Giovanni Veronesi (born 1962) is an Italian film screenwriter, actor and director. Born in Prato, he is the brother of ...

'' (2017)

TV series

*''

'' (

Rai 1 Rai 1 () is an Italian free-to-air television channel owned and operated by state-owned public broadcaster RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana. It is the company's flagship television channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream and general ...

, 2000–present) *''

L'ispettore Coliandro ''L'ispettore Coliandro'' is an Italian television series aired on Rai 2 since 2006, starring Giampaolo Morelli, directed by Marco Manetti and Antonio Manetti (collectively referred to as Manetti Bros.). The series is a black comedy crime thrill ...

'' (

Rai Due 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, talk ...

, 2009) * ''Mario'' (

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

, 2013) *'' The Mafia Kills Only in Summer'' (Rai 1, 2016)

TV Programs

*''

'' (

RAIDUE 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, talk ...

, 1985) * ''Fantastico 7'' (

RAIUNO Rai 1 () is an Italian free-to-air television channel owned and operated by state-owned public broadcaster RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana. It is the company's flagship television channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream and genera ...

, 1986-1987) *''Indietro tutta!'' (RAIDUE, 1987-1988) *''XLIX

Zecchino d'Oro Zecchino d'Oro (; meaning "Golden Sequin") is an annual international children's song competition established in 1959 by Niny Comolli. It is broadcast by Rai 1. The first two contests were held in Milan. In 1961, the contest was taken up by th ...

'' (Rai Uno, 2006) *''

Che tempo che fa ''Che tempo che fa'' (; ) is an Italian television late-night talk show hosted by Fabio Fazio.''Italy: Be Fluent in Italian Life and Culture'', Andrew Whittaker, page 219; Thorogood Publishing, year 2010, seGoogle books/ref> It has been broadcas ...

'' (Rai 1, 2017–19; Rai 2, since 2019) *''Indietro tutta! 30 e l'od''e (Rai 2, 2017)

Radio

*''Programmone (Radio 2, dal 2015)''

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Frassica, Nino 1950 births Italian male actors Italian television personalities Living people Actors from Messina Mass media people from Sicily