{{Short description|Italian actor (1913–1971)}} {{Infobox person | name = Fanfulla | image = Fanfulla.jpg | birth_name = Luigi Visconti | birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1913|2|26}} | birth_place = [[Rome]], Italy | death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|1971|1|5|1913|2|26}} | death_place = [[Bologna]], Italy | occupation = Actor, comedian }} '''Luigi Visconti''', better known by his stage name '''Fanfulla''', (26 February 1913 – 5 January 1971) was an Italian actor and comedian.
== Life and career == Born in [[Rome]], Visconti debuted at very young age on stage alongside his mother, the actress Mercedes Menolesi (best known as "Diavolina").<ref name=bio>{{cite news|last=Achille Valdata|title=E' morto Fanfulla, un "re" del varietà|newspaper=[[La Stampa]]|date=6 January 1971|page=6}}</ref><ref name=Lancia>{{cite book|last=Enrico Lancia|title=Dizionario del cinema italiano. Gli attori|date=2003 |publisher=Gremese Editore, 2003|isbn=8884402131}}</ref>
From the mid-forties to the late fifties, he adopted the stage name Fanfulla and was a popular comedian of cabaret and [[avanspettacolo]] shows, acclaimed for his brilliant style, referred to as "The King of Avanspettacolo"<ref name="Lancia"/> and even paired with [[Ettore Petrolini]].<ref name="bio"/>
His career was relaunched by [[Federico Fellini]], who chose him for the role of Vernacchio in ''[[Fellini Satyricon]]'',<ref name="Fellini">{{cite book|page=291|title=Federico Fellini: His Life and Work|author=Tullio Kezich|publisher=Macmillan|year=2007|isbn=9781429923255|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z0zafkaPHvUC}}</ref> a role that gave Fanfulla a [[Nastro d'Argento]] for [[Nastro d'Argento for Best Supporting Actor|best supporting actor]].<ref name="bio"/><ref name=premi>{{cite book|last=Enrico Lancia|title=I premi del cinema|year=1998|publisher=Gremese Editore, 1998|isbn=8877422211}}</ref> In 1970, Fellini gave him a main role in ''[[The Clowns (film)|The Clowns]]''.<ref name="bio"/>
In 1971, Fanfulla died from a heart attack in a hotel in [[Bologna]], while he was on tour with his avanspettacolo company.<ref name="bio"/>
==Partial filmography== {{Div col}} *''[[Era lui... sì! sì!]]'' (1951) - La guardia *''[[Tizio, Caio, Sempronio]]'' (1951) * ''[[A Thief in Paradise (1952 film)|A Thief in Paradise]]'' (1952) - Truffatore *''[[The Piano Tuner Has Arrived]]'' (1952) - Adetto militare di Limodia *''Canto per te'' (1953) - Silva *''Vacanze a Villa Igea'' (1954) *''[[Rommel's Treasure]]'' (1955) - Muezir *''[[Toto and Marcellino]]'' (1958) - Zio Alvaro Merini *''[[Toto, Peppino and the Fanatics]]'' (1958) - Giacinti *''[[Toto in Paris]]'' (1958) - Il signore del treno *''[[Son of the Red Corsair (film)|Son of the Red Corsair]]'' (1959) - Marquese di Montélimar *''[[World of Miracles]]'' (1959) *''[[La Pica sul Pacifico]]'' (1959) - Manolo Kivalù *''[[Quanto sei bella Roma]]'' (1959) *''[[Il Mattatore]]'' (1960) - Sor Annibale *''[[The Dam on the Yellow River]]'' (1960) *''[[Death of a Friend]]'' (1960) - DeAmicis *''Caccia al marito'' (1960) - The Head Waiter *''La banda del buco'' (1960) *''[[La sceriffa]]'' (1960) - Ciccio - Sceriffa's assistant *''[[The Passionate Thief (film)|The Passionate Thief]]'' (1960) *''[[The Traffic Policeman]]'' (1960) - marito di Amalia (uncredited) *''[[Love in Rome]]'' (1960) - Moreno *''Rapina al quartiere Ovest'' (1960) *''[[The Thief of Baghdad (1961 film)|The Thief of Baghdad]]'' (1961) - Abdul *''[[The Joy of Living (film)|The Joy of Living]]'' (1961) - Prison Chaplain *''Il carabiniere a cavallo'' (1961) *''Maciste contro Ercole nella valle dei guai'' (1961) *''[[Caccia all'uomo]]'' (1961) *''Rocco e le sorelle'' (1961) *''Cacciatori di dote'' (1961) - Police Commissioner *''I magnifici tre'' (1961) - Pedro *''Gerarchi si muore'' (1961) - Police Inspector Capece *''Che femmina!! E... che dollari!'' (1961) *''[[Roaring Years]]'' (1962) - Comico *''I tre nemici'' (1962) *''[[Night Train to Milan]]'' (1962) - Il conduttore *''[[Swordsman of Siena]]'' (1962) *''[[Destination Rome]]'' (1963) - Torquato *''La donna degli altri è sempre più bella'' (1963) - The Manager of the Beach Resort (segment "Bagnino Lover") (uncredited) *''[[Torpedo Bay (film)|Torpedo Bay]]'' (1963) *''Adultero lui, adultera lei'' (1963) *''[[The Swindlers (1963 film)|The Swindlers]]'' (1963) - The Arab merchant (segment "Società calicistica, La") *''Follie d'estate'' (1963) - Passeggero treno *''Scandali nudi'' (1963) - De Roberti *''Un marito in condominio'' (1963) *''Siamo tutti pomicioni'' (1963) - Colonel Siti (segment "Colonnello e signora") *''[[Dark Purpose]]'' (1964) - Florist *''Una storia di notte'' (1964) - Barman *''[[Me, Me, Me... and the Others]]'' (1966) - Concierge *''Omicidio per appuntamento'' (1967) *''Non Pensare a Me'' (1967) *''[[Fellini Satyricon]]'' (1969) - Vernacchio *''[[I clowns|The Clowns]]'' (1970) - Owner of the Varieties Restaurant (final film role) {{div col end}}
== References == {{Reflist}}
== External links == *{{IMDb name|0266742}} {{Nastro d'Argento Best supporting Actor}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fanfulla}} [[Category:1913 births]] [[Category:Male actors from Rome]] [[Category:1971 deaths]] [[Category:Italian male stage actors]] [[Category:Nastro d'Argento winners]] [[Category:Italian male film actors]] [[Category:Italian male comedians]] [[Category:20th-century Italian male actors]] [[Category:20th-century Italian comedians]] [[Category:Burials at Campo Verano]] [[Category:Comedians from Rome]]