Monday, July 11, 2011

Happy 75th Birthday Lino Banfi

Pasquale Zagaria was born in Andria, Italy on July 11, 1936. Lino became one of the premier Italian comedic actors after World War II. He became a stage actor in Milan in 1954 and used the name Lino Zaga but was told by the great Italian comic actor Toto, to change his name so it became Lino Banfi. He moved to Rome in 1964 and appeared on television on the series "Antonello Falqui". He then made several appearances in Franco & Ciccio films. During the 1970s he became the poster boy for Italian erotic comedy films. In 1984 he returned to TV and was a regular from 1998-2009 on the TV series "Un medico in famiglia" (A Doctor in the Family). Lino returned to films in 2008 after a 24 year absence appearing in "Allenatore nel pallone" and its sequel "L'allenatore nel pallone 2". In 2009 he starred in "Indovina chi sposa mia figlia". The former character actor of the 1980s had now reached stardom as a leading comedic actor. Lino appeared in two Euro-westerns: "The Nephews of Zorro" (1968) and "Franco & Ciccio on the Warpath" (1969). Today we celebrate Lino Banfi’s 75th birthday.

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