TROISI, MASSIMO

(1953-1994)

Actor, screenwriter, director. One of the most genial and popular directors of the so-calledNew Italian Cinema, Troisi came to films after many years of cabaret and amateur theater. He began his brief career in the late 1960s performing stand-up comedy and cabaret in Naples with the groupLa smorfia(The Grimace), eventually gaining a national notoriety via appearances on television programs such asNonstop(1976) andLuna Park(1979). Deciding to branch out on his own, in 1981 he wrote, directed, and acted in his first feature film,Ricomincio da tre(I'm Starting from Three, 1981), which earned him the immediate recognition of twoDavid di Donatelloawards, including Best Film, and threeNastri d'argento.He subsequently wrote and directed himself inScusate il ritardo(Sorry I'm Late, 1982) before pairing up withRoberto Benignito codirect and act in the hilarious road movie through Italian history,Non ci resta che piangere(Nothing Left to Do but Cry, 1985). After acting in Cinzia Th. Torrini'sHotel Colonial(1987), he directed himself again inLe vie del signore sono finite(The Ways of the Lord Have Ended, 1987) before appearing inEttore Scola'sSplendor(1988);Che ora e(What Time Is It?1989), for which he shared the Volpi Cup for Best Actor at theVenice FestivalwithMarcello Mastroianni; andIl viaggio di Capitan Fracassa(The Voyage of Captain Fracassa, 1990). He directed himself again inPensavo fosse amore, invece era un calesse(I Thought It Was Love, 1991) before making his last appearance, when already quite ill from a congenital heart ailment, in Michael Radford'sIl Postino(The Postman, 1994), for which he received a posthumous Oscar nomination. His tragic early death was widely mourned by many who thought he was just reaching his artistic maturity.