Luigi "Gigi" Proietti (2 November 1940 – 2 November 2020) was an Italian actor, voice actor, comedian, musician, singer and television presenter.

Early life

He was born in Rome to Romano Proietti, originally from

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, and Giovanna Ceci, a housewife. During his youth he was keen on singing and on playing guitar, piano, accordion and

double bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox additions such as the octobass). Similar i ...

in several Roman nightclubs. He enrolled in the Faculty of Law at the La Sapienza University, where he attended the mimicry courses of the University Theatre Centre held by Giancarlo Cobelli, who immediately noticed his talent as a musician and booked him for an avantgarde play.

Career

Acting

After several stage works, in 1966 Proietti debuted both in cinema, in '' Pleasant Nights'', and on television, in the TV series ''I grandi camaleonti''. His first personal success came in 1971, when he replaced Domenico Modugno in the stage musical ''Alleluja brava gente'' by Garinei & Giovannini, starring alongside

Renato Rascel Renato Rascel (), stage name of Renato Ranucci (; 27 April 1912 – 2 January 1991), was an Italian film actor and singer. He appeared in 50 films between 1942 and 1972. He represented Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1960 with the s ...

. In 1974, after playing the role of Neri Chiaramantesi in the drama ''La cena delle beffe'', alongside

Carmelo Bene Carmelo Pompilio Realino Antonio Bene, known as Carmelo Bene (1 September 1937 – 16 March 2002), was an Italian actor, poet, film director and screenwriter. He was an important exponent of the Italian avant-garde theatre and cinema. He die ...

and Vittorio Gassman, in 1976 started a fruitful collaboration with playwright Roberto Lerici, with whom he wrote and directed his stage plays, starting with the one-man show ''A me gli occhi, please'' (''Give me your eyes, please'', 1976, reported on the scene in 1993, 1996 and 2000, in a memorable performance at the

Olympic Stadium ''Olympic Stadium'' is the name usually given to the main stadium of an Olympic Games. An Olympic stadium is the site of the opening and closing ceremonies. Many, though not all, of these venues actually contain the words ''Olympic Stadium'' as ...

in his hometown). Initially planned to be performed 6 times, the show exceeded 300 performances, with an average audience of 2,000 per performance. He took part in several international movies, including ''

The Appointment ''The Appointment'' is a 1969 psychological drama film directed by Sidney Lumet and starring Omar Sharif and Anouk Aimée. Written by James Salter, it is based on the story by Antonio Leonviola. Plot After becoming involved with the ex-fianc� ...

'' (1969), directed by Sidney Lumet, '' A Wedding'' (1978), directed by Robert Altman, and ''

Who Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe? ''Who Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe?'' (released in the UK as ''Too Many Chefs'') is a 1978 black comedy mystery film directed by Ted Kotcheff and starring George Segal, Jacqueline Bisset and Robert Morley. It is based on the 1976 novel '' ...

'' (1978), directed by

Ted Kotcheff William Theodore Kotcheff (born April 7, 1931) is a Bulgarian-Canadian film and television director, writer and producer, known primarily for his work on British and American television productions such as '' Armchair Theatre'' and '' Law & Or ...

. Proietti was also a voice dubber of films and television shows into the Italian language. He has dubbed the voices of actors such as Robert De Niro, Sylvester Stallone,

Richard Burton Richard Burton (; born Richard Walter Jenkins Jr.; 10 November 1925 – 5 August 1984) was a Welsh actor. Noted for his baritone voice, Burton established himself as a formidable Shakespearean actor in the 1950s, and he gave a memorable pe ...

Richard Harris Richard St John Francis Harris (1 October 1930 – 25 October 2002) was an Irish actor and singer. He appeared on stage and in many films, notably as Corrado Zeller in Michelangelo Antonioni's '' Red Desert'', Frank Machin in '' This Sporting ...

Dustin Hoffman Dustin Lee Hoffman (born August 8, 1937) is an American actor and filmmaker. As one of the key actors in the formation of New Hollywood, Hoffman is known for his versatile portrayals of antiheroes and emotionally vulnerable characters. He is ...

, Paul Newman, Charlton Heston and Marlon Brando. His credits also include the role of the

Genie Jinn ( ar, , ') – also romanized as djinn or anglicized as genies (with the broader meaning of spirit or demon, depending on sources) – are invisible creatures in early pre-Islamic Arabian religious systems and later in Islamic myt ...

in the Italian version of the '' Aladdin'' film series and Draco in ''

Dragonheart ''Dragonheart'' (stylized as ''DragonHeart'') is a 1996 fantasy adventure film directed by Rob Cohen and written by Charles Edward Pogue based on a story created by him and Patrick Read Johnson. The film stars Dennis Quaid, David Thewlis, ...

''. He also provided the Italian voice of

Gandalf Gandalf is a protagonist in J. R. R. Tolkien's novels '' The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. He is a wizard, one of the ''Istari'' order, and the leader of the Fellowship of the Ring. Tolkien took the name "Gandalf" from the Old Nor ...

in ''

The Hobbit ''The Hobbit, or There and Back Again'' is a children's fantasy novel by English author J. R. R. Tolkien. It was published in 1937 to wide critical acclaim, being nominated for the Carnegie Medal and awarded a prize from the ''N ...

'' film series, replacing the late Gianni Musy, who dubbed

in ''

The Lord of the Rings ''The Lord of the Rings'' is an epic high-fantasy novel by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, intended to be Earth at some time in the distant past, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's b ...

'', as well as Sylvester from '' Looney Tunes'' during the 1960s.

Music

Proietti was interested in music from a young age. During his time singing in nightclubs and outdoor bars, he was initially not interested in pursuing an acting career. Proietti starred in and performed the opening and closing theme song for ''Il Circolo Pickwick'' which aired on Rai 1 in 1968 and at that time, he met

Lucio Battisti Lucio Battisti (5 March 1943 – 9 September 1998) was an influential Italian singer-songwriter and composer. He is widely recognized for songs that defined the late 1960s and 1970s era of Italian songwriting. Battisti released 18 studio albums ...

, who was signed with the record label

Dischi Ricordi Dischi Ricordi is an Italian record company founded on by and Guido Crepax, active from 1958 to 1994. History Dischi Ricordi had its seat in Milan (Via Giovanni Berchet, 2). In 1994, the company was bought by BMG, who acquired the catalog ...

. In the mid-1990s, Proietti was a member of Trio Melody alongside

Peppino di Capri Peppino di Capri (born Giuseppe Faiella on 27 July 1939) is an Italian popular music singer, songwriter and pianist, successful in Italy and Europe. His international hits include "St. Tropez Twist", "Daniela", "Torna piccina", "Roberta", "Melanco ...

and Stefano Palatresi. The group was only active from the Sanremo Music Festival 1995 until 1996 and they released only one album. Proietti also enjoyed a successful solo career and he released more than 11 albums and 15 singles.

Personal life

Proietti had been in a relationship since 1962 with Swedish former tour guide Sagitta Alter, with whom he had two daughters, Susanna and Carlotta. His nephew Raffaele has followed him into a voice dubbing career.

Death

On 1 November 2020, Proietti suffered a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...

whilst in the hospital, having been admitted fifteen days prior for heart-related problems. He was transferred to intensive care where his condition was described as critical. Proietti died the following morning, in the early hours of 2 November 2020, the day of his 80th birthday. After his death, the mayor of Rome, Virginia Raggi, arranged for the Silvano Toti Globe Theatre to be renamed after Proietti. Proietti's funeral took place on 5 November at the Church of the Artists. However, because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

, no more than 60 people were in attendance. Proietti was cremated at the Cimitero Flaminio and his ashes were placed at Campo Verano.

Filmography

Films

Television

Live-action dubbing roles

in '' The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey'' * Gandalf in '' The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug'' * Gandalf in '' The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies'' * Lenny Bruce in '' Lenny'' * Inspector Ginko in '' Danger: Diabolik'' * John "Johnny Boy" Civello in '' Mean Streets'' * Monroe Stahr in ''

The Last Tycoon ''The Last Tycoon'' is an unfinished novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald. In 1941, it was published posthumously under this title, as prepared by his friend Edmund Wilson, a critic and writer. According to ''Publishers Weekly,'' the novel is "generally ...

'' * Sam "Ace" Rothstein in ''

Casino A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertai ...

'' * Johnny Kovak in '' F.I.S.T.'' * Rocky Balboa in '' Rocky'' * George in ''

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? ''Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'' is a play by Edward Albee first staged in October 1962. It examines the complexities of the marriage of a middle-aged couple, Martha and George. Late one evening, after a university faculty party, they receive ...

'' * King Arthur in '' Camelot'' * John Morgan in '' A Man Called Horse'' * Draco in ''

'' * Alfred Hitchcock in '' Hitchcock'' * Sam Varner in '' The Stalking Moon'' * The Sultan in '' Aladdin'' * Paris Pitman Jr. in '' There Was a Crooked Man...'' * Player King in ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

'' *

Mark Antony Marcus Antonius (14 January 1 August 30 BC), commonly known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general who played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic from a constitutional republic into the au ...

in ''

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, ...

'' * Weldon Penderton in '' Reflections in a Golden Eye'' * Jim Beckley in '' Action Man'' * Bob Larkin in '' Firecreek'' * Cass Henderson in ''

Any Wednesday ''Any Wednesday'' is a 1966 American Technicolor romantic comedy film starring Jane Fonda, Jason Robards, and Dean Jones. It was directed by Robert Ellis Miller from a screenplay by producer Julius J. Epstein based on the Broadway play of the ...

'' * Helmut Wallenberg in ''

Salon Kitty Salon Kitty was a high-class Berlin brothel used by the Nazi intelligence service, the ''Sicherheitsdienst'' (SD), for espionage purposes during . Created in the early 1930s, the salon was taken over by SS general Reinhard Heydrich and his sub ...

'' * James Langdon in '' The Undefeated'' * Buffalo Bill in '' Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson'' * Godefroy in '' The Visitors'' * Lorenzo St. DuBois in '' The Producers'' * Enzo in '' The Art of Racing in the Rain'' * Lucky in '' Lucky, the Inscrutable''

Honors

* On 30 September 2013, Proietti received honorary citizenship from the city of

Viterbo Viterbo (; Viterbese: ; lat-med, Viterbium) is a city and ''comune'' in the Lazio region of central Italy, the capital of the province of Viterbo. It conquered and absorbed the neighboring town of Ferento (see Ferentium) in its early history ...

. * On 14 May 2021, asteroid 7916 Gigiproietti, discovered by astronomers Henri Debehogne and Giovanni de Sanctis at ESO's

La Silla Observatory La Silla Observatory is an astronomical observatory in Chile with three telescopes built and operated by the European Southern Observatory (ESO). Several other telescopes are located at the site and are partly maintained by ESO. The observatory is ...

in 1981, was by the

Working Group Small Body Nomenclature In ancient times, only the Sun and Moon, a few stars, and the most easily visible planets had names. Over the last few hundred years, the number of identified astronomical objects has risen from hundreds to over a billion, and more are discovered e ...

in his memory.

Awards and nominations

* Nastro d'Argento Awards ** 1997: Nastro d'Argento for Best Male Dubbing for dubbing Robert De Niro in ''

'' ** 2003:

Nastro d'Argento for Best Actor The ''Nastro d'Argento'' (Silver Ribbon) is a film award assigned each year, since 1946, by ''Sindacato Nazionale dei Giornalisti Cinematografici Italiani'' ("Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists"), the association of Italian film critics ...

for '' Febbre da cavallo - La mandrakata'' ** 2018:

Nastro d'Argento Lifetime Achievement Award The ''Nastro d'Argento'' (Silver Ribbon) is a film award assigned annually, since 1946, by ''Sindacato Nazionale dei Giornalisti Cinematografici Italiani'' ("Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists") the association of Italian film critics. ...

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Proietti, Gigi 1940 births 2020 deaths Male actors from Rome Musicians from Rome People of Umbrian descent Italian male comedians Italian male stage actors Italian male voice actors Italian male film actors Italian male television actors Italian male radio actors Italian television presenters Italian theatre directors Italian television directors Italian cabaret performers Italian artistic directors 20th-century Italian male singers 20th-century Italian male actors 21st-century Italian male actors 20th-century Italian comedians 21st-century Italian comedians Nastro d'Argento winners Sapienza University of Rome alumni Commanders of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic Burials in the Protestant Cemetery, Rome