| Paolo Villaggio | |
| Birth Date: | 30 December 1932 |
| Birth Place: | Genoa, Kingdom of Italy |
| Death Place: | Rome, Italy |
| Years Active: | 1956–2017 |
| Party: | Proletarian Democracy (1987) Pannella List (1992–1999) |
| Children: | 2 |
Paolo Villaggio (pronounced as /it/; 30 December 1932 — 3 July 2017) was an Italian actor, writer, director and comedian. He is noted for the characters he created with paradoxical and grotesque characteristics: Professor Kranz, the ultra-timid Giandomenico Fracchia, and the obsequious and meek accountant Ugo Fantozzi, perhaps the favourite character in Italian comedy. He wrote several books, usually of satirical character. He also acted in dramatic roles, and appeared in several movies.
Paolo Villaggio was born in Genoa, to Ettore Villaggio (1905–1992), a surveyor originally from Palermo, and Maria, originally from Venice, a German-language teacher. Paolo had a twin brother, Piero, who taught at the University of Pisa.
From there, Villaggio was hired for the TV programme Quelli della domenica (The Sunday guys), in which Fantozzi made his first appearance, introduced his characters, the aggressive "Professor Kranz" and the hypocritical "Giandomenico Fracchia".
He received several cinema awards, including the David di Donatello (1990), the Nastro d'Argento (1992) and the Golden Lion for his entire career (1992).
After his television experience, Villaggio started writing, for the magazines L'Espresso and L'Europeo, short stories featuring accountant Ugo Fantozzi, a man with a weak character, dogged by misfortune and by the "mega-director" of the "mega-company" where he works. In 1971, the publishing house Rizzoli released the book Fantozzi, a collection of these stories, which sold over a million copies, followed soon by the sequel Il secondo tragico libro di Fantozzi.
The first book received the Gogol Prize in Moscow and led to his 1975 appearance in the film Fantozzi, directed by Luciano Salce. The film's success led to a sequel, Il secondo tragico Fantozzi, with the same director in the following year, in which Fantozzi delivered his most famous line: "Per me... La corazzata Kotiomkin ... è una cagata pazzesca!!!", or roughly "As I see it... Battleship Kotiomkin ... is an unbelievable load of crap!!!".
Six sequel books were then released, with the last one published in 2012. Seven other films followed, which ended in 1999, but were often much less based on the short stories and the books.
Villaggio played in numerous comedies. He was directed by Federico Fellini (La voce della luna, 1990, with Roberto Benigni), Lina Wertmüller (Io speriamo che me la cavo, 1992), by Ermanno Olmi (The Secret of the Old Woods, 1993), by Mario Monicelli (Cari fottutissimi amici, 1994), and by Gabriele Salvatores (Denti, 2000).
Villaggio continued writing while acting in films. He moved to the Mondadori publishing house in 1994. He published Fantozzi saluta e se ne va (1994–1995; "Fantozzi Says Goodbye and Leaves"), Vita morte e miracoli di un pezzo di merda ("Life, Death and Miracles of a Piece of Shit", 2002), 7 grammi in 70 anni ("7 Grammes in 70 Years", 2003) and his latest, Sono incazzato come una belva ("I'm Fucking Mad as a Beast") in 2004.
He also acted in stage plays, playing Arpagone in L'Avare of Molière in 1996. In 1996 he conducted the satirical news bulletin Striscia la notizia (broadcast on Canale 5), together with Massimo Boldi. More recently, he participated in the television fiction Carabinieri, in which he played the role of a tramp who often helped the police to solve crimes. Villaggio was also a lyricist. With fellow Genoan Fabrizio De André, he wrote two songs, "Carlo Martello torna dalla battaglia di Poitiers" ("Charles Martel returning from the Battle of Poitiers") and "Il fannullone" ("The Loafer").
Villaggio died on 3 July 2017 from complications of diabetes in Rome at the age of 84.