Adriano Celentano

Adriano Celentano

Born 1938-01-06 (age 88) Милано, Италия
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Biography

Adriano Celentano (born 6 January 1938) is an Italian musician, singer, composer, actor, and filmmaker. He is dubbed il Molleggiato (the springy one) because of his dancing.

Celentano's many albums frequently enjoyed both commercial and critical success. With 150 million records sold worldwide, he is one of the best-selling Italian musical artists. Often credited as the author of both the music and lyrics of his songs, according to his wife Claudia Mori, some were written in collaboration with others. Due to his prolific career, both in Italy and abroad, he is considered one of the pillars of Italian music. Celentano is recognized for being particularly perceptive of changes in the music business, and is credited for having introduced rock and roll to Italy. As an actor, Celentano has appeared in 39 films, mostly comedies.

Celentano was born in Milan at 14 Via Cristoforo Gluck, and this address later became the subject of the famous song "Il ragazzo della via Gluck" ("The boy from Gluck Street"). His parents were from Foggia in Apulia and had moved north for work. His career as a singer started in 1959. Before his debut as an artist he was working as a watchmaker.

Heavily influenced by Elvis Presley and the 1950s rock 'n' roll scene as well as by American actor Jerry Lewis, Celentano started playing in a rock and roll band with Giorgio Gaber and Enzo Jannacci. Along with Gaber and Jannacci, he was discovered by Jolly Records A&R Executive Ezio Leoni, who signed him to his first recording contract and co-authored with Celentano some of his greatest early hits, including "24.000 baci", "Il tuo bacio è come un rock", and "Si è spento il Sole". He first appeared on screen in Ragazzi del Juke-Box, a 1959 Italian musical film directed by Lucio Fulci with music by Ezio Leoni. In 1960, Federico Fellini cast him as a rock and roll singer in his film La Dolce Vita.

In 1962, Celentano founded the Italian record label Clan Celentano (which is still active) with many performers such as Don Backy, Ola & the Janglers, Ricky Gianco, Katty Line, Gino Santercole, Fred Bongusto and his wife Claudia Mori.

As a film director, Celentano frequently cast Ornella Muti, Eleonora Giorgi and his wife Claudia Mori. He and Mori have three children, Rosita, Giacomo and Rosalinda Celentano. Rosalinda is most notable to worldwide audiences for playing Satan in Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ. Celentano has also hosted several Italian television shows.

Celentano has retained his popularity in Italy for over 50 years, selling millions of records and appearing in numerous TV shows and movies. As part of his TV and movie work, he created a comic genre, with a characteristic walk and facial expressions. For the most part, his films were commercially successful; indeed, in the 1970s and part of the 1980s, his low-budget movies were top of Italian box office rankings. As an actor, critics point to Serafino (1968), directed by Pietro Germi, as his best performance. ...

Source: Article "Adriano Celentano" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.

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Known For

Bingo Bongo
Bingo Bongo

1982

as Bingo Bongo

La Dolce Vita
La Dolce Vita

1960

as Self (uncredited)

The Taming of the Scoundrel
The Taming of the Scoundrel

1980

as Elia Codogno

Serafino
Serafino

1968

as Serafino Fiorin

The Con Artists
The Con Artists

1976

as Félix

He's Worse than Me
He's Worse than Me

1985

as Leonardo

Sing Sing
Sing Sing

1983

as Alfredo "Boghy"

Grand Hotel Excelsior
Grand Hotel Excelsior

1982

as Taddeus

Special Features: Handsome
The Seven Deadly Sins
The Seven Deadly Sins

1962

as Self (segment "La colère") (archive footage) (uncredited)

Madly in Love
Madly in Love

1981

as Barnaba Cecchini

The Grumpy
The Grumpy

1986

as Tito Torrisi

Rugantino
Rugantino

1973

as Rugantino

The Strange Type
The Strange Type

1963

as Peppino

Velvet Hands
Velvet Hands

1979

as Ingegner Quiller

La locandiera
La locandiera

1980

as Cavaliere di Ripafretta

Howlers of the Dock
Howlers of the Dock

1960

as Adriano il molleggiato

The Jukebox Kids
The Jukebox Kids

1959

as Adriano

L'altra metà del cielo
L'altra metà del cielo

1977

as Don Vincenzo Ferrari

Ace
Ace

1981

as Asso