Franco Franchi was born (Francesco Benenato) on
September18, 1928 in Palermo, Sicily, Italy. He began with small funny
performances in the streets using the nickname Ciccio FerraĆ¹. In 1955 he and
Ciccio Ingrassia formed a comedy team and acted in low-class stage shows until
they were discovered by the movie director Mario Mattoli who gave them two bit
parts in "Appuntamento a Ischia" alongside the singer and actor
Domenico Modugno. Modugno used them in an important stage performance in the
musical comedy "Rinaldo in campo". Franchi & Ingrassia's specialties
were low budget, quickly turned movies: twelve of their films were made in one
year, one in four Sundays. Their careers really took off in the 1960s. Franco
starred in a few dramatic roles such as Luigi Comencini's “Adventures of Pinocchio”
(1972), in which they paired memorably as the Fox and the Cat and in the film
“Due Marines e un Generale” (1966), with Buster Keaton. Franchi appeared in
eleven Euro-westerns from: “Two Mafiamen in the Wild West” (1964) to “Grandson
of Zorro” (1975).
Franchi is the father of actor Massimo Franchi [1965- ]. Franco died in Rome, Italy on December 9, 1992. Today we remember Franco Franchi on what would have been his 85th birthday.
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