Farewell to the actor Franco Garofalo, crazy Zantoro in Virus and scientist in Ciao nì with Renato Zero
Spettacolo.eu
By Ivan Zingariello
September 4, 2019
The actor Franco Garofalo has died , a character in over 30 genre films. He was the iconic Zantoro zombie exterminator in Virus and the mad scientist in Renato Zero's Ciao nì.
In this torrid summer, another iconic character of Italian genre cinema is gone, Franco Garofalo (aka Frank Garfield), famous Zantoro in the zombesco Virus and mad scientist in the zeresco Ciao nì . The Neapolitan actor passed away at the age of 73 on August 22 in Rome, where he was hospitalized for lung cancer, while the funeral was celebrated in Tivoli on August 28. Only yesterday evening, September 3, the daughter Vanessa who lives abroad gave the news on Facebook.
Born in Naples on April 18, 1946, he graduated from the Academy of Neapolitan dramatic art. At the theater he starred in Macbeth , among others , and then moved on to the cinema, where he participated in over 30 films. He often played disturbed or crazy characters, so much so that he was nicknamed "the Italian Klaus Kinski", also thanks to the similarity with the Polish actor. Federico Fellini signed him for his Casanova , but after a few days spent on the set, Garofalo was forced to leave due to the delays of the Rimini master, having already signed the contract for another film.
One of his most iconic roles is undoubtedly that of Zantoro (or Santoro), the hysterical and totally insane exterminator of zombies in Bruno Mattei's Virus (1980). In the film he played a soldier on a mission in New Guinea together with his team, with the task of reaching a chemical plant where an accident occurred that turned everyone into zombies. Totally out of his mind, Santoro's joke remains famous, asking a living dead man what he preferred to bite him « Thigh or wing? ».
The other role for which he will always be remembered is that of the black scientist in the film by Renato Zero Ciao nì, directed by Paolo Poeti. Believed by Zero to be the phantom killer who wants to take him out by signing "hello", in reality the scientist considers him a perfect being in his presumed androgyny, after his many failed experiments of union between man and woman. Renato Zero then called Garofalo to participate in the musical of the same name, but the project did not go through.
Among his films are his debut film The witch's sex (1973) and Angelo Pannacciò's Un urlo dalle tenebre (1975), Joe D'Amato's Heroes in Hell (1974), Gladiatrix's Revolt (1974) by Steve Carver, Those of the caliber 38 (1976) by Massimo Dallamano, The bravata (1977) by Roberto Bianchi Montero, Squadra antiscippo (1977) by Bruno Corbucci with Tomas Milian, The Vallanzasca band (1977) by Mario Bianchi, The iron commissioner (1978) by Stelvio Massi, Eyes from the stars (1978) by Mario Gariazzo, The true story of the nun of Monza(1980) and L'altra inferno (1981) by Bruno Mattei, Assassination at the Etruscan cemetery (1982) by Sergio Martino, Ercole (1983) by Luigi Cozzi, Razza violenta (1984) by Fernando Di Leo, The vision of the Sabbath (1988 ) by Marco Bellocchio.
Forced to leave the cinema for reasons of mental health in the 80s, in the last decade Franco Garofalo has participated in some shorts and held acting courses online, while his interview in Marco Giusti's Stracult program in 2011 is interesting.
GAROFALO, Franco
Born: 4/18/1946, Naples Campania, Italy
Died: 8/22/2019, Rome, Lazio, Italy
Franco Garofalo’s western – actor:
They Called Him Veritas– 1972 (Misery)