Hacking Flatbed Scanners

"Franco Franchi was not a Sicilian, was the Sicilian. It was not a comedian, was funny. "
(Francis Ford Coppola)

pseudonym of Francis Benenato was an actor , comedian and singer Italian . With
Ciccio Ingrassia formed a pair of comedians entry in the history of cinema Italian : Franco e Ciccio

Nacque a Palermo nel popolare rione del Capo, in una strada dal nome grottesco, Vicolo delle Api per presto trasferirsi addirittura in Via Terre delle Mosche. Famiglia poverissima del proletariato palermitano, quarto di diciotto figli, racconta come egli salasse le pietanze di legumi perché i fratelli e i cugini ne mangiassero meno, ovviamente a suo favore. Non poté completare neanche le elementari poiché dovette iniziare a lavorare con il padre come muratore. I genitori emigrarono in cerca di fortuna e lui restò a Palermo lavorando come artigiano , realizzando icone sacre sui marciapiedi, poi come garzone in pasticceria and porter at the station . Not lacking in such moments, propelled by poverty, was forced to petty theft.
Franks, luckily for him, was always attracted to acting and comedy, arts in which she was incredibly gifted. He was seen around the city as an auctioneer, playing the bass drum and adding elements of humor to his "performances", and this was an opportunity to be noticed by Salvatore Polara, a Neapolitan composer who in 1945 the inserted in his group: to Crawling. Franks received a salary of 6 pounds a week, a decent pay for the time. This young talented and eclectic
clownish realized musical concerts in the streets, squares and restaurants throughout the Sicily, the so-called stand, as well as comedy and entertainment for outdoor ceremonies as weddings and baptisms , employment of whom was born the His first character, "Ciccio Ferraù. Franks became a follower of famous people such as Toto , Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler . Its amazing facial gestures, still in its infancy, it was his showpiece, a source of curiosity in the audience and actors in some of theater, which took cues from him. He joined a circus
In 1948 , as handyman could not work there long. Franks also left the company Polara, which did not give him more stimulation and was again unemployed. He had some trouble with the law for petty theft and was arrested 1950. When he came out he went to work as a valet in northern Italy and was military to Bologna. On his return to Sicily , went on to become an actor. She met and married Irene Gallina They had two children: Maria Letizia and Massimo. Here you opened at the Golden Theatre in Palermo .

In the early fifties Franchi's life has a turning point. Francesco Ciccio Ingrassia said was an actor in a theatrical company and was regularly paid. Almost by accident the two men met on the streets of Palermo, and from there began a long collaboration, which would create a defined pair of gold for the highest revenue and the success that was in the audience. They released 132 films together. The numbers are concentrated in the sixties : one in 1960, six in 1961, seven in 1962 and 1963, only in 1964 he released twenty-two. All their work was highly appreciated by the public but almost always snubbed by critics: Franks, every time I read the negative comments of critics in the newspapers, remained very disappointed. In Their 1964 film grossed nearly 7 billion and 300 million (10% of the proceeds of Italian films in that year).

Alone
This is not to suggest that the relationship between Franco and Ciccio was stable: there were, and often live on television, sound quarrel between the two (historical remains in the brawl a program conducted by Raffaella Carra obviously live). Typically Ciccio Franco accused of megalomania , while Franco complained to his companion a certain arrogance. The greatest moment of crisis between the two occurred in the late sixties and early seventies .
During periods of separation from Ciccio, Franco went on to play the same kind of movies, such as parodies Last Tango in Zagarolo of Nando Cicero and Ku-Fu? From Sicily with fury (both 1973).

It also deals with political and militaristic satire in movies Sergeant Rompiglioni of Pier Giorgio Ferretti (always 1973) and Sergeant Rompiglioni become ... Corporal of Mariano Laurenti ( 1975), in which Franco does a perfect imitation of the German dictator Adolf Hitler .
He also made the singer and in 1970 took part in the 18th Festival of Canzone Napoletana , dove si aggiudicò il secondo posto con il brano di Matassa e Gallifuoco O divorzio, eseguito in abbinamento con Angela Luce . Alla stessa manifestazione propose anche A mossa, divertentissima canzone di Soricillo, Negri e Forte, interpretata in abbinamento con Mirna Doris ; entrambi i brani furono pubblicati su 45 giri dalla Hello , etichetta fondata da Luciano Rondinella .
Incise un LP . Le sue canzoni, melodiche e romantiche, non avevano però nulla a che fare con la sua comicità. Nel 1978 incise addirittura una canzone con Ilona Staller , dal titolo Cappuccetto Rosso. Come cantante, incise anche la acronym (" Skateboard ") of a television program led by him, "Good evening with Franco Franchi " in the spring - summer of 1978, which had some success at the time.

The wall that had been created between him and fell in Ciccio 1974, when Ingrassia chose to interpret his film Paul the cold. There is in fact saying that, unlike Ciccio Franco never wanted to be a director, did not feel led to this role.

The reasons for success in the short period when he was alone, Franco literally broke, creating a superb play and mimic facial grimaces that were especially appreciated by youngsters. In a short time, Franco became the heir to Toto .

recent years
eighties Franco Franchi was a huge log: significantly reduced its presence to cinema and wanted to engage in drama or "high intellectual level." In 1984 appeared in Kaos, the Taviani Brothers , even in this case in tandem with Ciccio Ingrassia and in 1987 took part in Blue Tango by Alberto Bevilacqua , film based on a novel by the same director Parma.
In those years he worked for Fininvest with Ciccio. It is said that contacts between the duo and private television were propitiated by the admiration that Silvio Berlusconi felt for them. The critic Tatti Sanguineti, presentation of How inguaiammo Italian cinema, said that at that time Franco Berlusconi and collaborated in writing the lyrics of some songs, which would be used by the couple in some shows and then by the future prime minister, and Mariano Apicella .

c
The Maxi Trial "I was a hero of the children, now I'm a monster slam on the front page"
(Franco Franchi, 1989)
In 1989 , Giovanni Falcone's sent a notice of part of ' investigation which led to the so-called maxi trial c: Franco Franchi was accused of Mafia association . Among the accused (later convicted in 1999), also appeared Salvatore Lo Piccolo. Major newspapers, however, do not emphasize the topic. The Republic for example, reported the news on inside pages, in cutting down. Despite the acquittal, the plaintiff went very experienced. The long illness

In many hoped that Franco could finally play in the movie "caught" taking a good revenge against the critics. Instead, his health began to deteriorate slowly but surely. During the program
Grand Hotel, due to an illness of Ciccio, Franco had to work for five episodes with the actor Giampiero Ingrassia, Ciccio's son, who replaced his father until his return in recent episodes. In July
of 1992, in Naples, during the recording of the variety of vaudeville Raitre Franks is having to leave due to a heart attack with immediate hospitalization San Paolo. Ciccio was forced to work alone, although the duo had already made some sketches and then used for the program. Franco, tired e malato di cirrosi epatica, rientrerà solo nell'ultima puntata. Quasi privo di voce giustificherà questo ritardo dicendo: "Sono stato in paradiso ma non mi hanno voluto", per poi congedarsi definitivamente dalle scene chiedendo un applauso "a quanti ci hanno voluto bene".
La morte lo colse il 9 dicembre 1992 a Roma , presso la clinica Villa Flaminia , dove era stato più volte ricoverato durante la grave malattia al fegato: la notizia fu accolta con grande tristezza e commozione da milioni di persone, cui egli aveva regalato la gioia di un sorriso. La sua naturale simpatia e la brillantezza del suo genio creativo lo avevano ormai reso familiare ad ogni famiglia italiana. Narrano newspapers that the people of the "Bel Paese" learned the news of his death as if it were a deceased relative. At his funeral attended by thousands of people, all united in remembering that great genius of Franco.

"Now imagine being in a movie, the scene of the funeral of Franco, and suddenly the director says Stop!. Unfortunately this is not a movie. "
(Ciccio Ingrassia's funeral Franks, 1992)

to his memory (and that of Ciccio Ingrassia, who died in 2003 ) is dedicated to the movie How inguaiammo Italian cinema, shot in 2004 under the direction of Daniel Ciprì and Franco Maresco .
resting place in "the rolls" of Palermo.