Remembering Carlo Monni

Carlo Monni was born on October 23, 1943 in Campi Bisenzio, Florence, Italy. He debuted in shows in clubs and festivals in the Florence area. During one of these occasions he had the chance to meet Roberto Benigni, with whom he formed a long artistic and personal friendship. In 1976, Benigni Monni appeared on Rai 2: the two comedians pretended to disturb the frequencies of RAI with an imaginary TV.

 
In 1978 he appeared in a program by Roberto Benigni, “Vita da Cioni”. From 1978 onwards he starred in several films that made him famous, among which were Berlinguer’s “Ti voglio bene di Giuseppe Bertolucci”. During his career he had the opportunity to work for many directors such as Marco Ferreri, Sergio Citti, Massimo Troisi, Mario Monicelli, Carlo Lizzani, Pupi Avati, Kayleigh and Paul Virzi. In 1987 he was called by Daniele Luchetti for the film “Domani accadrà”, but had to refuse because of a commitment to theater work. He was noted for his 1984 role of "Vitellozzo", alongside Roberto Benigni and Massimo Troisi. In 1973 Monni appeared in his only Euro-western “For a Book of Dollars” as the dentist.
 
Very rare, however, were his appearances on television, a means of communication that he did not care for. In 1986 he refused to participate in a work with Renzo Arbore, while in the last years of his life he participated as a guest star, always at the side of his friend Massimo Ceccherini on - the program Stracult.  He appeared in over 100 plays, including in 1998 the play of Ceccherini “Tutti questo è uno spettacolo” in the role of Mastro Geppetto. Carlo Monni loved to indulge in free versification in the Tuscan tradition.
 
He died in Florence on May 19, 2013 at age 69.
 
Today we remember Carlo Monni on what would have been his 70^th birthday