Santo Luigi Cilauro (born 25 November 1961) is an Australian comedian, television and feature film producer, screenwriter, actor, author and cameraman who is also a co-founder of ''

The D-Generation ''The D-Generation'' was a popular and influential Australian TV sketch comedy show, produced and broadcast by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) for two series, between 1986 and 1987. A further four specials were broadcast on the ...

''. Known as the weatherman in ''

Frontline Front line refers to the forward-most forces on a battlefield. Front line, front lines or variants may also refer to: Books and publications * ''Front Lines'' (novel), young adult historical novel by American author Michael Grant * ''Frontlines ...

'', he is also an author and former radio presenter on the

Triple M Network Triple M is an Australian commercial radio network owned and operated by Southern Cross Austereo. The network consists of 40 radio stations broadcasting a mainstream rock music format and 5 digital radio stations. The network dates back to t ...

, and achieved worldwide fame with the

viral video A viral video is a video that becomes popular through a viral process of Internet sharing, typically through video sharing websites such as YouTube as well as social media and email.Lu Jiang, Yajie Miao, Yi Yang, ZhenZhong Lan, Alexander Haupt ...

''Elektronik Supersonik''.

Early life

Cilauro was born in 1961 in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, Australia to parents of Italian descent. Cilauro attended the University of Melbourne in the 1980s and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Laws in 1987. In 1984, while walking to his aunt's house in Melbourne, he stumbled across a

Juventus Juventus Football Club (from la, iuventūs, 'youth'; ), colloquially known as Juve (), is a professional Association football, football club based in Turin, Piedmont, Italy, that competes in the Serie A, the top tier of the Italian football leagu ...

press conference during their tour of Australia, and after seeing coach

Giovanni Trapattoni Giovanni Trapattoni (; born 17 March 1939), sometimes popularly known as "Trap" or "Il Trap", is an Italian football manager and former player, considered the most successful club coach of Italian football. A former defensive midfielder, as a p ...

struggle to answer questions in English, used his Italian skills to translate, which resulted in Cilauro becoming the team translator for the rest of the tour.

Acting and production work

Cilauro started collaborating with Rob Sitch and

Tom Gleisner Thomas Edmund Gleisner (born 24 October 1962) is an Australian comedian, television presenter, producer, director, writer, occasional actor and author. Gleisner currently hosts Network 10's ''Have You Been Paying Attention?''. Early life and ...

in comedy theatre productions and tours. He is one of the co-founders of ''The D-Generation''. Cilauro wrote for, and performed in, the troupe's show during its 1986–87 run on ABC TV (which also led to the album ''The Satanic Sketches''). Cilauro continued as a member of the D-Gen when the team hosted their ''Breakfast Show'' on Triple M radio (1986–1992), appearing as the simple-minded "Wayne from

St. Albans St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major town on the old Roman r ...

" and "Gino Tagliatoni" amongst other roles. Cilauro was a writer/performer on the D-Generation's 1992–1993 sketch comedy ''

The Late Show The Late Show may refer to: Books * ''The Late Show'' (book), a 2017 book by Michael Connelly Film * ''The Late Show'' (film), a 1977 film * ''Late Show'', a 1999 German film by director Helmut Dietl Music * ''The Late Show'' (Eddie "Loc ...

'', appearing on such segments as ''Graham & the Colonel'', ''The Oz Brothers'' and ''Jeff & Terry Bailey''. After the second and last season of ''The Late Show'', Cilauro starred as Stix in the 1994 ABC cop show satire ''

Funky Squad ''Funky Squad'' was a short-lived 1995 Australian comedy television series which satirised 1970s-era U.S. police television dramas, such as ''The Mod Squad''. Only seven half-hour episodes were produced, which were broadcast on the ABC. Real tel ...

'', which he also co-created and served as one of the writer/producer/directors. He went on to help set up the

Working Dog A working dog is a dog used to perform practical tasks, as opposed to pet or companion dogs. Definitions vary on what a working dog is, they are sometimes described as any dog trained for and employed in meaningful work; other times as any dog w ...

production company and was one of the writer/producer/directors of ''

'' (1994–97), in which he also had a recurring onscreen role as weatherman Geoffrey Salter. Since then, Cilauro co-wrote Working Dog's popular films '' The Castle'' (1997) and ''

The Dish ''The Dish'' is a 2000 Australian historical comedy-drama film that tells the story of the Parkes Observatory's role in relaying live television of humanity's first steps on the Moon during the Apollo 11 mission in 1969. It was the top-grossing ...

'' (2000) and appeared as a regular member (and occasional host) of the 1998–2003

Network Ten Network 10 (commonly known as Ten Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network owned by Ten Network Holdings, a division of the Paramount Networks UK & Australia subsidiary of Paramount Global. One of five ...

programme '' The Panel''. Cilauro has been an executive producer of several Working Dog productions, including ''The Panel'', '' A River Somewhere'' (1997–98), and ''

All Aussie Adventures ''All Aussie Adventures'', also known as ''Russell Coight's All Aussie Adventures'', is an Australian mockumentary television series that parodies the travel-adventure genre. Comedian Glenn Robbins plays Russell Coight, a survival and wildlife ...

'' (2001–02). He played the Head of Market Research, Theo Tsolakis, on ''

The Hollowmen ''The Hollowmen'' is an Australian television comedy series set in the offices of the Central Policy Unit, a fictional political advisory unit personally set up by the Prime Minister to help him get re-elected. Their brief is long-term vision; t ...

'' (2008), a series which Cilauro co-wrote and co-produced. Cilauro also played IT technician Griffin on the

Shaun Micallef Shaun Patrick Micallef (; born 18 July 1962) is an Australian comedian, actor, writer and television presenter. He is currently the host of the satirical news comedy series ''Shaun Micallef's Mad as Hell'' on the ABC. He also hosted the game sh ...

sitcom ''

Welcher & Welcher ''Welcher & Welcher'' was an Australian sitcom written by and starring Shaun Micallef which aired on the ABC in 2003. The show revolved around a husband and wife run law firm. Regular cast * Shaun Micallef - Quentin Charles Welcher (Lawyer a ...

'' (2003) and K2 on the 1996 Working Dog radio sketch '' Johnny Swank''. During the

2010 FIFA World Cup , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...

, he hosted a nightly comedy/variety show called ''

Santo, Sam and Ed's Cup Fever! ''Santo, Sam and Ed's Cup Fever!'' is an association football themed comedy television show in Australia on SBS. The nightly panel-style show was produced by Working Dog Productions and aired for the duration of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The s ...

'' live from Melbourne alongside

Ed Kavalee Edward Robert Kavalee (born 30 June 1979) is an Australian comedian, actor, writer, podcaster radio and television presenter. He is a recurring panellist on Network 10's ''Have You Been Paying Attention?'' with Sam Pang and co-hosts ''Hughesy, ...

and

Sam Pang Samuel Pang (born 3 November 1973) is an Australian comedian, radio and television presenter, writer and producer. Pang co-hosts '' Chrissie, Sam & Browny'' on Nova 100 with Chrissie Swan and Jonathan Brown and co-hosts ''The Front Bar'' with Mi ...

. In 2014 Cilauro joined his Working Dog colleagues, Sitch and Gleisner to stage the group's first play, ''The Speechmaker''.

Filmography

Films

Television

Zladko Vladcik

Cilauro, along with Rob Sitch and

, created the popular

Internet phenomenon An Internet meme, commonly known simply as a meme ( ), is an idea, behavior, style, or image that is spread via the Internet, often through social media platforms. What is considered a meme may vary across different communities on the Internet ...

character Zladko "ZLAD!" Vladcik, a Molvanian

synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s ...

musician. Zlad was performed by Cilauro to accompany the Jetlag Travel Guide to

Molvanîa ''Molvanîa'' (subtitled ''A Land Untouched by Modern Dentistry'') is a book parodying travel guidebooks. The guide describes the fictional country Molvanîa, a post-Soviet state, a nation described as "the birthplace of the whooping cough" and ...

. Cilauro was, with Sitch and Gleisner, co-author of the Jetlag Travel Guides to Molvanîa,

Phaic Tăn ''Phaic Tăn'' (subtitled ''Sunstroke on a Shoestring'') is a 2004 parody travel guidebook examining imaginary country Phaic Tăn. The book was written by Australians Tom Gleisner, Santo Cilauro, and Rob Sitch. Along with the other Jetlag Trav ...

and

San Sombrèro ''San Sombrèro'' (subtitled ''A Land of Carnivals, Cocktails and Coups'') is a parody travel guide book examining the eponymous fictional country, described as the birthplace of tinted sunglasses and sequins. This country is set in Central Amer ...

. Two music videos were performed by Cilauro as Zladko, for "Elektronik – Supersonik" and "I Am The Anti-Pope".

References

External links

*
molvania.com
– Cilauro's parody site on the fictional country

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cilauro, Santo 1961 births Living people Australian film producers Australian screenwriters Australian people of Italian descent Comedians from Melbourne People educated at Xavier College Australian male comedians Australian television talk show hosts Melbourne Law School alumni Australian film studio executives Australian podcasters Radio personalities from Melbourne