Ettore Petrolini (1884-1936) was an actor, cabaret artist, singer, writer, and celebrated interpreter of the Roman spirit, which he represented through a gallery of legendary characters such as Gastone, Er sor Capanna, Fortunello, Giggi er Bullo, Mustafa, and Nerone. He was celebrated for his acting roles and created numerous proverbial “roasts”, while his nursery rhymes and songs are popular throughout Italy. Filippo Tommaso Marinetti identified his absurd and nonsensical comedy as an example of Futurist comedy while Natalia Ginzburg wrote about him in her Lessico famigliare. It is said that on his deathbed, he responded to the doctor’s claim that he had recovered with the words, “Thank goodness, at least I will die cured.” He acted in two silent films, until recently considered lost: Petrolini disperato per eccesso di buon cuore, which was rediscovered by the Fondation Jérôme Seydoux-Pathé, and Mentre il pubblico ride (1919). Immediately after the introduction of sound, he played the lead in three films: Blasetti’s Nerone (1930) and Campogalliani’s Cortile (1930) and Medico per forza (1931). In Petrolini disperato per eccesso di buon cuore, he played himself. In 1913, at the age of 29 and already a recognised artist on the basis of his work in the performing arts, Petrolini experimented with the cinema despite being unable to make use of his voice, which was his greatest asset. His corrosive comic style, which spared no one, comes through regardless in this farce whose main target is his own generosity.

Gian Luca Farinelli