Johnny Dorelli
Italian postcard by Bromofoto, Milano, no. 1700.
Johnny Dorelli (real name Giorgio Guidi; born 20 February 1937, in Meda) is an Italian actor, singer and television host.
Dorelli was born in Italy. In 1946 he moved to New York with his family, where his father, Nino D'Aurelio (born Aurelio Guidi), found work as opera singer. Dorelli studied double bass and piano at the High School of Music and Art in New York. He returned to Italy in 1955. He debuted as singer in the late 1950s for CGD label. In 1958 he won the Sanremo Festival in duo with Domenico Modugno, with the songs Nel blu dipinto di blu (aka Volare) and Piove (Ciao ciao bambina). L'immensità earned Dorelli a ninth place at the 1967 edition of the Sanremo Song Festival. His greatest success was the musical Aggiungi un posto a tavola, which was also performed at the Adelphi Theatre in London's West End in an English version entitled Beyond the Rainbow in 1978. After a period of absence, he returned to success in the 1980s.
On the big screen, Dorelli first had small parts in comedies shot at the end of the 1950s. An attempt to launch him as a protagonist happened with the film Arriva Dorellik (1967) directed by Steno. The character of Dorellik, who had also previously been presented by him in a number of television programmes, was inspired the comic strip character of Paperinik/ Phantom Duck. Afterward, Dorelli made his mark in the Italian comedy genre in numerous films that were successful, such as Una sera c'incontrammo, La presidentessa, Spogliamoci così senza pudor, Mi faccio la barca, Sesso e volentieri, A tu per tu, as well as, while he also acted in dramatic roles as in Pane e cioccolata (1973) by Franco Brusati, L'Agnese va a morire (1976) by Giuliano Montaldo, and Il mostro (1977) by Luigi Zampa. It is worth remembering some of the performances of his more mature period, in which Dorelli manages to combine his ironic and easygoing style with a deep humanity: this is the case of Marco Vicario's film Il cappotto di Astrakan (1979), based on a novel by Piero Chiara, or of State buoni se potete (1983), in which he played the role of San Filippo Neri, with music by Angelo Branduardi, directed by Luigi Magni. Notable was also his part in the 1981 film Ciao nemico by E.B. Clucher (Enzo Barboni)., set during the Second World War. In 2005, Dorelli played his alst film part in Pupi Avati's Ma quando arrivano le ragazze?.
Dorelli's most famous songs are : Calypso Melody (1957), Julia (1958), Boccuccia Di Rosa (Pink Lips) (1958), Love In Portofino (1959), Lettera A Pinocchio (1959), Montecarlo (1961), Speedy Gonzales (1962), Era Settembre (1964), Probabilmente (1965), Al Buio Sto Sognando (1966), Solo Più Che Mai (Strangers In The Night) (1966), L'Immensità (1967), Arriva La Bomba (1967), E Penso A Te (1971), Aggiungi Un Posto A Tavola (1975). As a (popular and jazz) crooner, he sang numerous songs live on television shows (mainly in the 60's), in Italian and in English. In 2007 he returned after 38 years to the stage of Sanremo as a participant with the song Meglio così, written by big names as Gianni Ferrio and Giorgio Calabrese, and accompanied by jazz pianist Stefano Bollani and the orchestra conducted by Ferrio. For his typical singing style, Dorelli has often been imitated by musical comedians and impersonators.
After marriages to actresses Lauretta Masiero and Catherine Spaak (1972–1978), in 1981 he married Gloria Guida, a former model and actress in Italian comedy movies of the 1970s.
Sources: IMDB, English and Italian Wikipedia.
Johnny Dorelli
Italian postcard by Bromofoto, Milano, no. 1700.
Johnny Dorelli (real name Giorgio Guidi; born 20 February 1937, in Meda) is an Italian actor, singer and television host.
Dorelli was born in Italy. In 1946 he moved to New York with his family, where his father, Nino D'Aurelio (born Aurelio Guidi), found work as opera singer. Dorelli studied double bass and piano at the High School of Music and Art in New York. He returned to Italy in 1955. He debuted as singer in the late 1950s for CGD label. In 1958 he won the Sanremo Festival in duo with Domenico Modugno, with the songs Nel blu dipinto di blu (aka Volare) and Piove (Ciao ciao bambina). L'immensità earned Dorelli a ninth place at the 1967 edition of the Sanremo Song Festival. His greatest success was the musical Aggiungi un posto a tavola, which was also performed at the Adelphi Theatre in London's West End in an English version entitled Beyond the Rainbow in 1978. After a period of absence, he returned to success in the 1980s.
On the big screen, Dorelli first had small parts in comedies shot at the end of the 1950s. An attempt to launch him as a protagonist happened with the film Arriva Dorellik (1967) directed by Steno. The character of Dorellik, who had also previously been presented by him in a number of television programmes, was inspired the comic strip character of Paperinik/ Phantom Duck. Afterward, Dorelli made his mark in the Italian comedy genre in numerous films that were successful, such as Una sera c'incontrammo, La presidentessa, Spogliamoci così senza pudor, Mi faccio la barca, Sesso e volentieri, A tu per tu, as well as, while he also acted in dramatic roles as in Pane e cioccolata (1973) by Franco Brusati, L'Agnese va a morire (1976) by Giuliano Montaldo, and Il mostro (1977) by Luigi Zampa. It is worth remembering some of the performances of his more mature period, in which Dorelli manages to combine his ironic and easygoing style with a deep humanity: this is the case of Marco Vicario's film Il cappotto di Astrakan (1979), based on a novel by Piero Chiara, or of State buoni se potete (1983), in which he played the role of San Filippo Neri, with music by Angelo Branduardi, directed by Luigi Magni. Notable was also his part in the 1981 film Ciao nemico by E.B. Clucher (Enzo Barboni)., set during the Second World War. In 2005, Dorelli played his alst film part in Pupi Avati's Ma quando arrivano le ragazze?.
Dorelli's most famous songs are : Calypso Melody (1957), Julia (1958), Boccuccia Di Rosa (Pink Lips) (1958), Love In Portofino (1959), Lettera A Pinocchio (1959), Montecarlo (1961), Speedy Gonzales (1962), Era Settembre (1964), Probabilmente (1965), Al Buio Sto Sognando (1966), Solo Più Che Mai (Strangers In The Night) (1966), L'Immensità (1967), Arriva La Bomba (1967), E Penso A Te (1971), Aggiungi Un Posto A Tavola (1975). As a (popular and jazz) crooner, he sang numerous songs live on television shows (mainly in the 60's), in Italian and in English. In 2007 he returned after 38 years to the stage of Sanremo as a participant with the song Meglio così, written by big names as Gianni Ferrio and Giorgio Calabrese, and accompanied by jazz pianist Stefano Bollani and the orchestra conducted by Ferrio. For his typical singing style, Dorelli has often been imitated by musical comedians and impersonators.
After marriages to actresses Lauretta Masiero and Catherine Spaak (1972–1978), in 1981 he married Gloria Guida, a former model and actress in Italian comedy movies of the 1970s.
Sources: IMDB, English and Italian Wikipedia.