Fabio Testi
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Fabio Testi (born 2 August 1941) is an Italian actor. After growing up witnessing film work done around
Lake Garda Lake Garda ( it, Lago di Garda or ; lmo, label=Eastern Lombard, Lach de Garda; vec, Ƚago de Garda; la, Benacus; grc, Βήνακος) is the largest lake in Italy. It is a popular holiday location in northern Italy, about halfway between ...
, Testi entered the sets of the film and began work as a stuntman and a double on set, where he worked as a stuntman on ''
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly ''The Good, the Bad and the Ugly'' ( it, Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo, literally "The good, the ugly, the bad") is a 1966 Italian epic spaghetti Western film directed by Sergio Leone and starring Clint Eastwood as "the Good", Lee Van Clee ...
''. Testi continued stunt work and getting roles in low budget genre films until he was cast in
Vittorio De Sica Vittorio De Sica ( , ; 7 July 1901 – 13 November 1974) was an Italian film director and actor, a leading figure in the neorealist movement. Four of the films he directed won Academy Awards: ''Sciuscià'' and ''Bicycle Thieves'' (honorary) ...
's film ''
The Garden of the Finzi-Continis ''The Garden of the Finzi-Continis'' ( it, Il giardino dei Finzi-Contini) is an Italian historical novel by Giorgio Bassani, published in 1962. It chronicles the relationships between the narrator and the children of the Finzi-Contini family from ...
''. Following this film, Testi became a star in Italy, appearing in some artistic films by
Giuseppe Patroni Griffi Giuseppe Patroni Griffi (26 February 1921 – 15 December 2005) was an Italian playwright, screenwriter, director, and author. He was born in Naples in an aristocratic family and moved to Rome immediately after the end of World War II and spent ...
and
Claude Chabrol Claude Henri Jean Chabrol (; 24 June 1930 – 12 September 2010) was a French film director and a member of the French New Wave (''nouvelle vague'') group of filmmakers who first came to prominence at the end of the 1950s. Like his colleagues an ...
. Testi also continued to work in ''
poliziotteschi Poliziotteschi (; singular ''poliziottesco'') constitute a subgenre of crime film, crime and action films that emerged in Italy in the late 1960s and reached the height of their popularity in the 1970s. They are also known as ''polizieschi all'i ...
'' genre films in the 1970s as well as a few '' gialli'', and gained infamy for his publicised relationships with actresses
Ursula Andress Ursula Andress (born 19 March 1936) is a Swiss-German actress, former model and sex symbol who has appeared in American, British and Italian films. Her breakthrough role was as Bond girl Honey Ryder in the first James Bond film, '' Dr. No'' (1962 ...
and
Charlotte Rampling Tessa Charlotte Rampling (born 5 February 1946) is an English actress, known for her work in European arthouse films in English, French, and Italian. An icon of the Swinging Sixties, she began her career as a model. She was cast in the role ...
. Testi's popularity as an actor slowed towards the 1980s after which he predominantly worked in television series. By the early 2000s, Testi also began appearing in reality shows such as ''
Gran Hermano VIP ''Gran Hermano VIP'' (as known by the acronym ''GH VIP'') is a reality television series broadcast in Spain on Telecinco produced by Endemol. It is the celebrity version of ''Gran Hermano'' and part of the ''Big Brother'' franchise first deve ...
'' and ''
Grande Fratello VIP ''Grande Fratello VIP'' is the celebrity version of ''Grande Fratello'', the Italian version of the reality television franchise '' Big Brother''.https://mediasetitalia.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Mediaset-2021-New-Season-Highlights-Rev_Sep-8_. ...
''. Since 2006 he has been involved in Italian politics, running for Mayor of
Verona Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Northern Italy, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and the ...
as a member of Cattolici Liberali Cristiani.


Biography

Fabio Testi was born on 2 August 1941 in
Peschiera del Garda Peschiera del Garda (; vec, Pischera; la, Ardelica, ''Arilica'') is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Verona, in Veneto, Italy. When Lombardy-Venetia was under Austrian rule, Peschiera was the northwest anchor of the four fortified tow ...
on the
Lake Garda Lake Garda ( it, Lago di Garda or ; lmo, label=Eastern Lombard, Lach de Garda; vec, Ƚago de Garda; la, Benacus; grc, Βήνακος) is the largest lake in Italy. It is a popular holiday location in northern Italy, about halfway between ...
in Northern Italy. A number of adventure and pirate films were shot at this lake which led him to enter the sets of these films originally as a stuntman and as a double. He initially took these roles in film and television work as a way of paying for his architecture degree, but later chose to enter film work. Among early work, Testi was a stunt double in
Sergio Leone Sergio Leone (; 3 January 1929 – 30 April 1989) was an Italian film director, producer and screenwriter credited as the pioneer of the Spaghetti Western genre and widely regarded as one of the most influential directors in the history of cin ...
's ''
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly ''The Good, the Bad and the Ugly'' ( it, Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo, literally "The good, the ugly, the bad") is a 1966 Italian epic spaghetti Western film directed by Sergio Leone and starring Clint Eastwood as "the Good", Lee Van Cle ...
''. He also played in Leone's follow-up as one of
Henry Fonda Henry Jaynes Fonda (May 16, 1905 – August 12, 1982) was an American actor. He had a career that spanned five decades on Broadway and in Hollywood. He cultivated an everyman screen image in several films considered to be classics. Born and rai ...
's henchmen. Most of Testi's role in the film was cut except for one shot, as Leone felt that Testi was too clean-looking for the film.
Demofilo Fidani Demofilo Fidani (born 8 February 1914 on a steamship bound for Cagliari; died 4 April 1994) was an Italian film director (24 films), set designer (more than 200 films), painter, and a regarded medium and author. As director, Fidani specialized ...
gave Testi his first on-screen role in his film '' Straniero... fatti il segno della croce !'' () Testi continued his career doing what film historian and critic Roberto Curti described as "low-grade genre" films including a
Zorro Zorro (Spanish language, Spanish for 'fox') is a fictional character created in 1919 by American pulp magazine, pulp writer Johnston McCulley, appearing in works set in the Pueblo of Los Angeles in Alta California. He is typically portrayed a ...
film ''
The Avenger, Zorro ''The Avenger, Zorro'' ( es, El Zorro justiciero, it, E continuavano a chiamarlo figlio di...) is a 1972 Spanish-Italian Western film written and directed by Rafael Romero Marchent. Plot Cast * Fabio Testi as Don Diego / Zorro * Carlos ...
'' by
Rafael Romero Marchent Rafael Romero Marchent (3 May 1926 – 13 February 2020) was a Spanish director, screenwriter and actor. Life and career Born in Madrid, the son of the author Joaquín Romero Marchent Gómez de Avellaneda, he started his career as an actor, mai ...
, the thriller ''
Death Knocks Twice ''Death Knocks Twice'' ( it, La morte bussa due volte), german: Blonde Köder für den Mörder), is a 1969 Italian-German detective film directed by Harald Philipp and starring Dean Reed, Fabio Testi and Adolfo Celi. It also starred Anita Ekberg ...
'' with
Anita Ekberg Kerstin Anita Marianne Ekberg (; 29 September 193111 January 2015) was a Swedish actress active in American and European films, known for her beauty and stunning figure. She became prominent in her iconic role as Sylvia in the Federico Fellini ...
and singer
Dean Reed Dean Cyril Reed (September 22, 1938 – June 13, 1986) was an American actor, singer-songwriter, director, and social activist who lived a great part of his adult life in South America and then in East Germany. Nicknamed the Red Elvis, Reed was ...
by
Harald Philipp Harald Philipp (1921–1999) was a German film director, screenwriter and actor. Selected filmography * ''The Old Forester House'' (1956) * ''The Csardas King'' (1958) * ''A Thousand Stars Aglitter'' (1959) * ' (1960) * ''Brandenburg Division'' ...
, and more films by Fidani such as ''
One Damned Day at Dawn… Django Meets Sartana! ''One Damned Day at Dawn… Django Meets Sartana!'' ( it, Quel maledetto giorno d'inverno... Django e Sartana all'ultimo sangue, "''That Cursed Winter Day: Django and Sartana to the Death"'') is a 1970 Spaghetti Western directed by Demofilo Fidan ...
'' where he played the role of Sartana. While director Fidani was scouting locations for the film ''Jungle Master'', he met
Vittorio De Sica Vittorio De Sica ( , ; 7 July 1901 – 13 November 1974) was an Italian film director and actor, a leading figure in the neorealist movement. Four of the films he directed won Academy Awards: ''Sciuscià'' and ''Bicycle Thieves'' (honorary) ...
who was also location scouting at the
Orto Botanico dell'Università di Roma "La Sapienza" The Orto Botanico dell'Università di Roma "La Sapienza" (12 hectares), also known as the Orto Botanico di Roma, is a botanical garden operated by the Sapienza University of Rome and located at Largo Cristina di Svezia 24, Rome, Italy. It is open ...
. Fidani recalled that the two directors spoke: De Sica was looking for a younger Latin actor but couldn't find anyone, and asked Fidani if he knew any. Fidani stated he knew an actor who "can't act to save his life, but with you as a guide ... you know, I never have enough time, I always go for the first take'" Fidani stated later that upon discovering that Testi had been cast by De Sica, he had made Testi cut his hair. Curti noted that Fidani had a "notorious habit of embellishing his own career and filmography" and that the story may not be true. Testi was cast in ''
The Garden of the Finzi-Continis ''The Garden of the Finzi-Continis'' ( it, Il giardino dei Finzi-Contini) is an Italian historical novel by Giorgio Bassani, published in 1962. It chronicles the relationships between the narrator and the children of the Finzi-Contini family from ...
'' which won De Sica an
Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
. Following the release of the film, Testi became a big box office name in Italy. He continued to do genre films as well as artistic films such as
Giuseppe Patroni Griffi Giuseppe Patroni Griffi (26 February 1921 – 15 December 2005) was an Italian playwright, screenwriter, director, and author. He was born in Naples in an aristocratic family and moved to Rome immediately after the end of World War II and spent ...
's ''
'Tis Pity She's a Whore ''Tis Pity She's a Whore'' (original spelling: ''Tis Pitty Shee's a Who'' 'ore'') is a tragedy written by John Ford. It was first performed or between 1629 and 1633, by Queen Henrietta's Men at the Cockpit Theatre. The play was first publis ...
'', Denys de la Patelliere's ''Le Tueur'' and
Claude Chabrol Claude Henri Jean Chabrol (; 24 June 1930 – 12 September 2010) was a French film director and a member of the French New Wave (''nouvelle vague'') group of filmmakers who first came to prominence at the end of the 1950s. Like his colleagues an ...
's ''
Nada Nada may refer to: Culture * Nāda, a concept in ancient Indian metaphysics Places *Nada, Hainan, China *Nada, Kentucky, an unincorporated community in the United States *Nada, Nepal, village in Achham District, Seti Zone * Nada, Texas, United S ...
'' and Andrzej Zulawski's '' That Most Important Thing: Love''. In the 1970s, Testi also worked on several genre films, predominantly crime films such as
Pasquale Squitieri Pasquale Squitieri (27 November 1938 – 18 February 2017) was an Italian film director and screenwriter. Life and career Born in Naples, Squitieri graduated in law, then was briefly involved in stage, as author ("''La battaglia''") and even a ...
's ''
Gang War in Naples ''Gang War in Naples'' ( it, Camorra) is a 1972 crime film written and directed by Pasquale Squitieri. Cast *Fabio Testi: Tonino Russo *Raymond Pellegrin: Don Mario Capece *Jean Seberg: Luisa *Enzo Cannavale: Nicola Cafiero "Sciancato" * Ugo D'Ale ...
'',
Sergio Sollima Sergio Sollima (17 April 1921 – 1 July 2015) was an Italian film director and Screenwriter, script writer. Biography Sollima graduated from the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia in 1935. During World War II he was in the Italian Resistanc ...
's '' Blood in the Streets'',
Tonino Valerii Tonino Valerii (20 May 1934 – 13 October 2016) was an Italian film director, most known for his Spaghetti Westerns. Tonino (Antonio) Valerii started his film career as an assistant director on Sergio Leone's ''A Fistful of Dollars'', before mo ...
's ''
Go Gorilla Go ''Go Gorilla Go'' ( it, Vai gorilla) is a 1975 Italian poliziottesco film directed by Tonino Valerii. The script of the film continued some scenes from the debut film of Valerii, '' Per il gusto di uccidere'', including the final duel between Fabi ...
'' and Enzo G. Castellari's ''
The Big Racket ''The Big Racket'' ( it, Il grande racket) is a 1976 Italian ''poliziottesco'' film directed by Enzo G. Castellari. Fabio Testi stars as a police inspector who takes on a gang of hoodlums who terrorise an Italian city by extorting cash from loca ...
''. Testi also did work in ''
giallo In Italian cinema, ''Giallo'' (; plural ''gialli'', from ''giallo'', Italian for yellow) is a genre of mystery fiction and thrillers that often contains slasher, crime fiction, psychological thriller, psychological horror, sexploitation, and, ...
'' films, such as
Massimo Dallamano Massimo Dallamano (17 April 1917 – 4 November 1976), sometimes credited as Max Dillman, Max Dillmann or Jack Dalmas, was an Italian director and director of photography. Life and career Born in Milan, Dallamano began in the 1940s as camera ...
's ''
What Have You Done to Solange? ''What Have You Done to Solange?'' ( it, Cosa avete fatto a Solange?) is a 1972 '' giallo'' film directed by Massimo Dallamano and starring Fabio Testi, Karin Baal, Joachim Fuchsberger, Cristina Galbó, and Camille Keaton. The plot follows a ser ...
'' and
Alberto Negrin Alberto Negrin (born 2 January 1940) is an Italian film director and screenwriter, known for his historical, nostalgic and political films. Negrin started his career as a fine art photographer. In 1962 he debuted as an assistant stage director, c ...
's ''
Red Rings of Fear ''Red Rings of Fear'' ( it, Enigma rosso, german: Orgie des Todes, es, Tráfico de menores) is a 1978 giallo film directed by Alberto Negrin. Plot A detective investigates the killing of a teenage girl and turns his suspicions on three girlf ...
''. Testi also worked
Lucio Fulci Lucio Fulci (; 17 June 1927 – 13 March 1996) was an Italian film director, screenwriter, and actor. Although he worked in a wide array of genres through a career spanning nearly five decades, including comedies and Spaghetti Westerns, he garn ...
on two of his films: ''
Four of the Apocalypse ''Four of the Apocalypse'' ( it, I quattro dell'apocalisse) is a 1975 Italian Spaghetti Western film directed by Lucio Fulci and starring Fabio Testi, Tomas Milian, Lynne Frederick and Michael J. Pollard. Plot Set in the year 1873, professio ...
'' and ''
Contraband Contraband (from Medieval French ''contrebande'' "smuggling") refers to any item that, relating to its nature, is illegal to be possessed or sold. It is used for goods that by their nature are considered too dangerous or offensive in the eyes o ...
''. Testi was cast in a role intended for
Maurizio Merli Maurizio Merli (February 8, 1940 – March 10, 1989) was an Italian film actor and a star of many Italian police thrillers. Career After a decade of minor film roles, 1974 saw a breakthrough for Merli with his first starring role in a rema ...
in Stelvio Massi's '' Speed Cross'' and '' Speed Driver''. Testi fell out of popularity in film by the 1980s showing up in
Gianfranco Baldanello Gianfranco Baldanello (born 13 November 1928) is an Italian film director, screenwriter and second unit director. He sometimes used the alias Frank G. Carroll. Baldanello is the son of actors Emilio Baldanello and Vanda Vianello (also known as ...
's thriller ''
The Uranium Conspiracy ''The Uranium Conspiracy'' ( he, Kesher Ha'Uranium, script=Latn, german: Agenten kennen keine Tränen or ''Restrisiko 100%'', it, A chi tocca, tocca...!) is a 1978 Israeli-German-Italian action-thriller film directed by Gianfranco Baldanello (he ...
'' and
Silvio Amadio Silvio Amadio (8 August 1926 – 19 August 1995) was an Italian film director and screenwriter. He directed 24 films between 1957 and 1981. His film ''Wolves of the Deep'' was entered into the 9th Berlin International Film Festival. He is kno ...
's drama '' A Gun for a Cop''. From the eighties onward, Testi predominantly worked in television, such as Castellari's mini-series '' Il ritorno di Sandokhan'' where he replaced Philippe Leroy as Yanez. Testi also began showing up in television
reality shows Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...
such as '' L'isola dei famosi'' in 2003, the Spanish show ''El gran hermano'' in 2005, and ''
La talpa LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figure ...
'' in 2008. In the late 2000s, Testi entered politics, where he ran for mayor in
Verona Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Northern Italy, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and the ...
.


Personal life

Testi was known to be in relationships with several actresses, including
Edwige Fenech Edwige Fenech (, ; born 24 December 1948) is an Algerian-born Maltese-Sicilian actress and film producer. She is mostly known as the star of a series of ''commedia sexy all'italiana'' and ''giallo'' films released in the 1970s, which turned her ...
,
Charlotte Rampling Tessa Charlotte Rampling (born 5 February 1946) is an English actress, known for her work in European arthouse films in English, French, and Italian. An icon of the Swinging Sixties, she began her career as a model. She was cast in the role ...
,
Lynne Frederick Lynne Frederick (25 July 1954 – 27 April 1994) was an English actress, film producer, and fashion model. In a career spanning ten years, she made over thirty appearances in film and television productions. Known for her classic English rose b ...
,
Ursula Andress Ursula Andress (born 19 March 1936) is a Swiss-German actress, former model and sex symbol who has appeared in American, British and Italian films. Her breakthrough role was as Bond girl Honey Ryder in the first James Bond film, '' Dr. No'' (1962 ...
and
Jean Seberg Jean Dorothy Seberg (; ; November 13, 1938August 30, 1979) was an American actress who lived half of her life in France. Her performance in Jean-Luc Godard's 1960 film ''Breathless'' immortalized her as an icon of French New Wave cinema. Seb ...
. His longest relationship was with Spanish actress Lola Navarro, whom he began dating in the late 1970s and had three children with. The two married in 1984Panorama
Issues 950-958 (1984).
Arnoldo Mondadori Editore Arnoldo Mondadori Editore () is the biggest publishing company in Italy. History The company was founded in 1907 in Ostiglia by 18-year-old Arnoldo Mondadori who began his publishing career with the publication of the magazine ''Luce!''. In 1 ...
. p. 89 and separated in 1996. As of 2013, Testi was focusing on his interest in
agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...
, and owned the third largest
kiwi Kiwi most commonly refers to: * Kiwi (bird), a flightless bird native to New Zealand * Kiwi (nickname), a nickname for New Zealanders * Kiwifruit, an edible berry * Kiwi dollar or New Zealand dollar, a unit of currency Kiwi or KIWI may also refe ...
farm in Italy.


Selected Filmography


References


Sources

* * *


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Testi, Fabio 1941 births Italian male film actors Male Spaghetti Western actors Living people