Ettore Petrolini is a Actor and Scriptwriter Italien born on 13 january 1884 at Rome (Italie)
Ettore Petrolini
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Nationality ItalieBirth 13 january 1884 at Rome (
Italie)
Death 29 june 1936 (at 52 years) at Rome (
Italie)
Ettore Petrolini (January 13, 1884 – June 29, 1936) was an Italian stage and film actor, playwright, screenwriter and novelist. He is considered one of the most important figures of avanspettacolo, vaudeville and revue. He was noted for his numerous caricature sketches, and was the "inventor of a revolutionary and anticonformist way of performing". Petrolini is also remembered for having created the Dadaist character Fortunello. His contribution to the history of Italian theater is now widely acknowledged, especially with regard to his influence on 20th century comedy. His iconic character Gastone became a byword in Italian for a certain type of stagey snob. Biography
In 1923, Petrolini was initiated into Freemasonry.
Petrolini's sympathies for, and impertinences towards, the Fascist regime were complex. Petrolini was admired and befriended by Mussolini, even though his Nerone caricature was widely perceived as a parody of the dictator. It has been suggested that the Nerone character – first created by Petrolini in 1917 – may actually have influenced Mussolini's own mannerisms. Although a public supporter of the regime, Petrolini did not refrain from satire, including a famously disrespectful rejoinder after Mussolini had presented him with a medal.
Forced to quit the stage in 1935 following a severe attack of angina pectoris, he died aged 52, in Rome, on June 29, 1936. The corpse, dressed in a tailcoat of his celebrated character Gastone, was buried at the Cemetery of Verano. On 19 July 1943, during the first bombing of Rome, his tomb – a rectangular chapel – was hit, breaking the marble bust and severely damaging the coffin containing the remains of the actor.
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