Ettore Petrolini (13 January 1884 â€" 29 June 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. His
satirical caricature of the Roman Emperor Nero (created in 1917 and
later the subject of a 1930 film) was widely perceived as a parody of
Benito Mussolini, although it may itself have influenced the
mannerisms of the Fascist dictator.Born in Rome on 13 January 1884,[n
1] Petrolini was the fourth of six children of a blacksmith from
Ronciglione and grandson of a carpenter. He had a difficult
relationship with father, who was a strict moralist, but was close to
his mother, who supported him both emotionally and financially when he
decided to embrace a performing career. He attended theaters in Rome
as a boy, improvising for fun. His first performances were in the
sideshows on Piazza Guglielmo Pepe. At the age of 13, Petrolini
attended reform school as he bitterly recalls in his memoirs. When 15,
he decided to leave home to pursue a career in the theater. In 1900,
he participated in a show at the "Pietro Cossa Theater" on the
Trastevere. Later, he performed in small, provincial theaters and in
some cafés chantants with the stage name Ettore Loris.In 1903,
Petrolini began performing in Rome at variety theaters and
café-chantants, where he provided parodies of renowned
nineteenth-century actors, silent movie and opera divas, rhetorical
addresses, and even of the variety theater itself. In the same year,
when aged 19, he met Ines Colapietro, who became both his professional
and personal companion for many years, as well as the mother of his
two children. Ines, who was at the time only 15 years old, was hired
as a singer by the Gambrinus theater in Rome, along with her sister
Tina. Ettore and Ines formed the comic duo Loris-Petrolini, performing
together until the summer of 1911. In May 1907 in Genoa, Ettore and
Ines were invited by the impresario Charles Séguin to tour South
America. They performed in theaters and cafes in Argentina, Uruguay
and Brazil, enjoying great success everywhere and becoming a household
name in the capitals. While Petrolini was in Rio de Janeiro,
appendicitis forced him to leave the stage for a month. After an
emergency operation and a period of convalescence, his comeback was
triumphant, with many theatrical artists giving up their pay in his
favor. In a single evening, Petrolini once earned four thousand lire.
After Rio, Petrolini remained a few months longer in South America. He
returned for other tours in 1909 and 1911-1912, also appearing in
Mexico and Cuba.Back from a successful tour in South America,
Petrolini was hired in 1910 by Giuseppe Jovinelli for his theater in
Piazza Guglielmo Pepe that had opened in 1909 with a performance by
Raffaele Viviani. It was a great success and, after two seasons at the
Teatro Jovinelli, the "Sala Umberto" company signed an exclusive
three-year contract with him. In 1915, he formed his stage company,
the Compagnia dei grandi spettacoli di varietà Petrolini, with whom
he staged the revue Zero minus zero, that led to the debut of one of
Petrolini's most famous characters, Fortunello, which was based upon a
cartoon character. The performance aroused the enthusiasm of Futurists
such as Filippo Tommaso Marinetti who called Fortunello "the most
difficult to analyze of all Petrolini's masterpieces." Petrolini was
so flattered by the admiration of the Futurists that he participated
in some of their public events performing texts of Marinetti, Bruno
Corra and Emilio Settimelli. The collaboration culminated in
Radioscopia di un duetto ("Radioscopy of a duet"), a one-act play
co-written with the Futurist writer and painter Francesco Cangiullo in
1918. The following year, Mario Bonnard directed a film based on the
play, Mentre il pubblico ride ("While the audience laughs"), starring
Petrolini (in his film debut) and Niny Dinelli. Petrolini developed an
anti-Dannunzian position, something which was appreciated by the
Futurists, and thus he put on exhibit during his variety sketches.
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. His
satirical caricature of the Roman Emperor Nero (created in 1917 and
later the subject of a 1930 film) was widely perceived as a parody of
Benito Mussolini, although it may itself have influenced the
mannerisms of the Fascist dictator.Born in Rome on 13 January 1884,[n
1] Petrolini was the fourth of six children of a blacksmith from
Ronciglione and grandson of a carpenter. He had a difficult
relationship with father, who was a strict moralist, but was close to
his mother, who supported him both emotionally and financially when he
decided to embrace a performing career. He attended theaters in Rome
as a boy, improvising for fun. His first performances were in the
sideshows on Piazza Guglielmo Pepe. At the age of 13, Petrolini
attended reform school as he bitterly recalls in his memoirs. When 15,
he decided to leave home to pursue a career in the theater. In 1900,
he participated in a show at the "Pietro Cossa Theater" on the
Trastevere. Later, he performed in small, provincial theaters and in
some cafés chantants with the stage name Ettore Loris.In 1903,
Petrolini began performing in Rome at variety theaters and
café-chantants, where he provided parodies of renowned
nineteenth-century actors, silent movie and opera divas, rhetorical
addresses, and even of the variety theater itself. In the same year,
when aged 19, he met Ines Colapietro, who became both his professional
and personal companion for many years, as well as the mother of his
two children. Ines, who was at the time only 15 years old, was hired
as a singer by the Gambrinus theater in Rome, along with her sister
Tina. Ettore and Ines formed the comic duo Loris-Petrolini, performing
together until the summer of 1911. In May 1907 in Genoa, Ettore and
Ines were invited by the impresario Charles Séguin to tour South
America. They performed in theaters and cafes in Argentina, Uruguay
and Brazil, enjoying great success everywhere and becoming a household
name in the capitals. While Petrolini was in Rio de Janeiro,
appendicitis forced him to leave the stage for a month. After an
emergency operation and a period of convalescence, his comeback was
triumphant, with many theatrical artists giving up their pay in his
favor. In a single evening, Petrolini once earned four thousand lire.
After Rio, Petrolini remained a few months longer in South America. He
returned for other tours in 1909 and 1911-1912, also appearing in
Mexico and Cuba.Back from a successful tour in South America,
Petrolini was hired in 1910 by Giuseppe Jovinelli for his theater in
Piazza Guglielmo Pepe that had opened in 1909 with a performance by
Raffaele Viviani. It was a great success and, after two seasons at the
Teatro Jovinelli, the "Sala Umberto" company signed an exclusive
three-year contract with him. In 1915, he formed his stage company,
the Compagnia dei grandi spettacoli di varietà Petrolini, with whom
he staged the revue Zero minus zero, that led to the debut of one of
Petrolini's most famous characters, Fortunello, which was based upon a
cartoon character. The performance aroused the enthusiasm of Futurists
such as Filippo Tommaso Marinetti who called Fortunello "the most
difficult to analyze of all Petrolini's masterpieces." Petrolini was
so flattered by the admiration of the Futurists that he participated
in some of their public events performing texts of Marinetti, Bruno
Corra and Emilio Settimelli. The collaboration culminated in
Radioscopia di un duetto ("Radioscopy of a duet"), a one-act play
co-written with the Futurist writer and painter Francesco Cangiullo in
1918. The following year, Mario Bonnard directed a film based on the
play, Mentre il pubblico ride ("While the audience laughs"), starring
Petrolini (in his film debut) and Niny Dinelli. Petrolini developed an
anti-Dannunzian position, something which was appreciated by the
Futurists, and thus he put on exhibit during his variety sketches.
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