Farewell to Alvaro Vitali, the iconic Pierino of Italian cinema

Alvaro Vitali, the Italian actor and comedian beloved for his character of Pierino and his many roles in films in the vein of sexy Italian comedy, died in Rome in the late afternoon. Born on 3 February 1950, Vitali had been hospitalised a fortnight ago 'for a relapsing bronchopneumonia', as his ex-wife Stefania Corona had declared in a media interview a few days ago.

As Wikipedia recalls, Alvaro Vitali was born into a petit-bourgeois family: his father was the owner of a small family-run construction company, while his mother ran a small Titanus factory on the Tiburtina. After finishing eighth grade he abandoned his studies and, after working for a while as an electrician, he was discovered by Federico Fellini during an audition. In 1969 the Rimini director made his film debut with a small part in Fellini Satyricon. The director then wanted him in I clowns (1971), in Roma (1972), in which he played a tip-tap dancer, a role he also played the following year in the film Polvere di stelle, directed by and starring Alberto Sordi, also flanked by Monica Vitti and in Amarcord (1973), with Ciccio Ingrassia.

Vitali's fame is closely linked to the sexy Italian comedy. After starring in La poliziotta (1974), directed by Steno, with Mariangela Melato and Renato Pozzetto, Vitali was noticed by producer Luciano Martino thanks to a gag with a pistol (where he systematically misses every shot). From that moment on, Vitali began working with Dania Film.

Starting in the second half of the 1970s, Vitali starred in his only film in the poliziottesco genre, in the role of a building porter, Uomini si nasce poliziotti si muore (1976), directed by Ruggero Deodato, and in numerous sexy comedy films, accompanying leading actors such as Lino Banfi, Edwige Fenech and Renzo Montagnani, and then moved on to leading roles playing the character of Pierino, the popular hero of jokes, in Pierino contro tutti (1981) and Pierino colpisce ancora (1982), both directed by Marino Girolami, and in Pierino medico della S.A.U.B. (1981) by Giuliano Carnimeo. This was followed by a sort of spin-off of the series, i.e. films in which Vitali portrayed similar characters, Gian Burrasca, Giggi the Bully and Paulo Roberto Cotechiño as a breakthrough striker.

Alvaro Vitali starred in over 150 films. With the demise of sexy comedies he disappeared from the scene to return to Striscia la notizia as Jean Todt, then director of Scuderia Ferrari, and other characters. In 2006, he participated in the third edition of the reality show La fattoria, but had to leave the reality show due to asthma problems. Just in the last few days he was back in the limelight for a spat with his ex-wife, the singer-songwriter Stefania Corona. The actor wrote a letter to DiPiù explaining that she had left him because she was 'in love with the driver' but that he was willing to forgive her and get back together. The woman's response was not long in coming. 'He is an actor, he only needs me for convenience. His children did not want their grandchildren to call me grandmother'.