Alberto Sordi Biography
Alberto Sordi is an Italian actor and director, born in Rome in 1920. Sordi's first artistic experiences date back to 1937, when he obtained a contract as Oliver Hardy's dubber, inventing the famous comic speech that characterizes Ollio (Stanlio e Ollio) in Italy . Subsequently, in 1947, he demonstrated his talent in radio programs, inventing some hilarious precursor characters to those later interpreted in cinema. However, his true passion was cinema, where he starred in numerous films. His career consolidated steadily over time, ranging between lighter interpretations and more structured and complex characters, demonstrating exceptional creativity in observing and recreating different human typologies and in constructing characters of surprising vitality. In 1966 Sordi made his debut as a director with the film Fumo di Londra, opening a second phase of his career and also dealing with parts of strong dramatic impact. Sordi was a Roman actor, who always claimed his Roman character with pride but also with a lot of humour, sometimes resulting in rejections, such as that of the Academy of Amateur Dramatics of Milan which rejected him for the strong Roman inflection which would later make him famous throughout the world. In his films we capture the thousand aspects of a country made up of powerful ecclesiastics and provincial priests, policemen and taxi drivers, weak husbands and loving fathers, crafty and scoundrel businessmen, servile and cowardly employees. He impersonates the everyman, without relying on exasperated or buffoonish comedy, but outlining types and characters with extreme realism. Upon his death, which occurred on February 25, 2003, the city of Rome celebrated him with great honor, and an immense crowd of admirers from all over Italy gathered at his funeral.
