Massimo Ranieri

Massimo Ranieri

Massimo Ranieri
Background information
Birth name Giovanni Calone
Born (1951-05-03) 3 May 1951
Naples, Italy
Genres Pop
Occupation(s) Singer-songwriter, musician, actor,
Instruments Vocals, keyboards, guitar,
Years active 1964–present

Massimo Ranieri (born in Naples, Italy Giovanni Calone, 3 May 1951), is an Italian pop singer, film and stage actor.

He was born in Naples (at Santa Lucia), the fifth of eight children in the family. When he was 10, young Giovanni would sing at restaurants, wedding receptions, etc. He was discovered by a music producer about four years later and was flown to New York to record an EP under the name of Gianni Rock.

He recorded four songs in 1964: Tanti auguri signora, Se mi aspetti stasera, Non chiudere la porta, and La Prima Volta. None of the records were successful, primarily because young Gianni's voice was changing. Two years later, he would re-emerge under his new stage name, Massimo Ranieri. In 1966, he made his TV debut singing "Bene Mio". A year later, he made another TV appearance singing, "Pietà per chi ti ama". In 1968, he recorded two more songs: "Da Bambino", Ma L'amore cos'è" and "Preghiera".

But it wasn't until 1969 when he achieved success and became a teen idol when he sang "O Sole Mio" on live TV. Soon, in most every TV appearance he made, you could hear the girls screaming in the background. That same year, he had a string of hits: "Rita", "Se bruciasse la citta", "Quando l'amore diventa poesia", "Il mio amore resta sempre", "Rose rosse" and "Zingara". In 1970, "Vent'anni", "Sogno d'amore", "Sei l'amore mio", "Aranjuez Amore Mio", and "Candida". During that year, he decided to venture into acting.

Massimo's screen debut, Metello received rave reviews from critics, and won him the David DiDonatello award for best actor for portraying the title character. He co-starred with Anna Magnani in the television film La Sciantosa, later that year. In 1971, Massimo recorded the songs "Adagio Veneziano", "Via del Conservatorio", and "Io e Te". He represented Italy in the 1971 Eurovision Song Contest in Dublin, Ireland, where he placed 5th with the song "L'Amore E' Un Attimo. "

That same year, he fathered a daughter, Cristiana, out of wedlock with Franca Sebastiani. He didn't have anything to do with the raising of his daughter, saying that he was too young and inexperienced for fatherhood, and that it would be damaging to his career. He was never linked with any other woman thereafter. He didn't have any contact with his daughter until they met when she was about 20 years old.

In 1972, he released the songs "Ti Ruberei", "O Surdato 'nnamurato", and "Erba di Casa Mia"; in 1973, "Amo Ancora Lei". He returned to the Eurovision Song Contest that year, in Luxembourg, to represent Italy with "Chi sarà con te", where he placed 13th. In 1974, came the singles "Te Voglio Bene Assaie", "Immagina", and "Per Una Donna". During that year, he filmed Salvo D'Acquisto, where he portrayed a carabiniere who was executed by the Nazis during World War II.

When his singing career started to decline in 1975, Massimo concentrated on his acting career, both in the cinema and, most importantly, as a stage actor: he collaborated with the directors Mauro Bolognini, Giuseppe Patroni Griffi, Giorgio de Lullo, Giorgio Strehler and Maurizio Scaparro, performing a wide range of material from modern plays and musicals, to Molière and Shakespeare.

In 1988, he made a comeback with the song, "Perdere L'Amore", which won the Sanremo Festival, that year. In 1997, he made another comeback with "Ti parlerò d'amore". That same year, he did the Italian voice-over for Quasimodo in Disney's "Hunchback of Notre Dame", where he also sang Quasimodo's part as well.

On 16 October 2002, Massimo Ranieri was nominated Goodwill Ambassador of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).[1] In 2004, he made his first French film, a trilogy series called Les Parisiens, where he played a street artist. In 2005, he returned on the stage with the show "Accussì Grande", after a long bout with illness, from which he fully recovered.

At the start of 2007, he decided to publicly acknowledge his long-estranged daughter, and embraced her for the first time on live TV. It was a tearful reunion between father and daughter. During that year, he was in a docu-film called Civico 0, where he played Guilano, a fruit vendor, who becomes homeless after the death of his mother. In 2008, he starred in the film L'Ultimo Pulcinella.

In 2009, he played the storyteller in the play, Polvere di Baghdad, directed by Maurizio Scaparro. In February 2007, he started a concert tour of Italy, titled "Canto perché non so nuotare...da 40 anni" which lasted for more than two years, with more than 500 shows, was made into a CD and a DVD, which went platinum.

In 2010, Massimo was featured in Passione, a documentary about the history of music from Naples, Italy, directed by Italian-American actor, John Turturro. In November 2010, he took part in the miniseries remake of the classic play, Filumena Marturano, produced by Italian TV RAI Uno, with Mariangela Melato in the title role. Massimo portrayed Filumena's husband, Domenico Soriano.

Concerts and recordings

1964

1966

1967

1968

1969

1970

1971

1972

1973

1974

1975

1976

1978

1981

1983

1988

1989

1989

1990

1990

1992

1995

1997

1999

2001

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2011

2012

2013

Film & TV

"Cerca di capirmi" directed by Mariano Laurenti with Beba Loncar;
"The Light at the Edge of the World" directed by Kevin Billington, with Kirk Douglas, Yul Brynner, Samantha Eggar.
TV film "La Sciantosa" directed by Alfredo Giannetti with Anna Magnani.
He plays the lead in the TV film "Una città in fondo alla strada" directed by Mario Severino, with Marisa Merlini and Scilla Gabel.
"L'ultima volta" directedy by Aldo Lado with Eleonora Giorgi and Joe D'Alessandro.
"L'ultima volta insieme" directed by Ninì Grassia, with Enrico Maria Salerno,
Priest of Love directed by Christopher Miles with Ava Gardner, John Gilguld, Vera Mils and Ian McKellen e
"Casta e pura" directed by Salvatore Sanperi with Laura Antonelli.
"All'ombra della grande quercia" directed by Alfredo Giannetti with Enrico Maria Salerno, Irene Papas and Tino Carraro.
"Nata d'amore" directed by Duccio Tessari.
"I ragazzi di celluloide", 2nd series, directed by Sergio Sollima, with Leo Gullotta.
"L'ombra nera del Vesuvio", 6-part film, directed by Steno, with Carlo Giuffrè.
He dubbs Nathan Lane's voice in Mike Nichols' "The birdcage"
"La casa dove abitava Corinne" TV film directed by Mario Lucidi, with Barbara De Rossi
"Il prezzo del denaro" directed by Maurizio Lucidi.
Dubs Nathan Lane's voice in the film "Mouse Hunt" directed by Gore Verbinski
"Un bacio nel buio" directed by Luigi Spagnol with Patricia Millardet, Tony Musante, Daniel McVicar, Florinda Bolkan and Ben Gazzara.
"Fondali notturni" directed by Nino Russo, with Ida Di Benedetto. For this film he was given the Fellini Award of Best Actor.
"Storia di guerra e di amicizia" directed by Fabrizio Costa, with Elena Sofia Ricci.
"Operazione Pilota" TV film directed by Umberto Marino for RAI.
"Senza via d'uscita" TV film directed by Giorgio Serafini, with Anna Galiena, for Canale 5.
"Civico zero" by Citto Maselli, with Ornella Muti.

Theatre (actor)

"In memoria di una signora amica" a comedy by Giuseppe Patroni Griffi, directed by Mario Ferrero,with Pupella Maggio and Lilla Brignone.

Directing (Theatre and Opera)

"Poveri ma belli" a musical taken from the film by Dino Risi, with music by Gianni Togni. With Bianca Guaccero, Antonello Angiolillo and Michele Carfora.

Books

Awards

"La Maschera d'Argento".
Premio Nuova Spoleto per L'Arte e lo Spettacolo.
"Volere Volare, Il meglio del Made in Italy" award, as public person of the year
"La Pigna d'oro" award for his whole career.
Special Jury Prize of the Festival of Busto Arsizio for the film "L'ultimo Pulcinella" which also was awarded the Best Director prize.
Premio Flaiano (2nd time).

Personal life

Ranieri has never been married. In 2007, the singer has recognized the illegitimate daughter (Cristiana) born in 1971 from his relationship with Franca Sebastiani. He also became a grandfather in July 2011.[2]

References

  1. ↑ "Get Involved: Massimo Ranieri". FAO.org. Retrieved 21 February 2010.
  2. ↑ Ranieri's Daughter
Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Gianni Morandi
with "Ma chi se ne importa"		 Winner of Canzonissima
1970 		Succeeded by
Nicola Di Bari
with "Chitarra suona più piano"
Preceded by
Gianni Morandi
with "Occhi di ragazza"		 Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest
1971 		Succeeded by
Nicola Di Bari
with "I giorni dell'arcobaleno"
Preceded by
Nicola Di Bari
with "Chitarra suona più piano"		 Winner of Canzonissima
1972 		Succeeded by
Gigliola Cinquetti
with "Alle porte del sole"
Preceded by
Nicola Di Bari
with "I giorni dell'arcobaleno"		 Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest
1973 		Succeeded by
Gigliola Cinquetti
with "Sì"
Preceded by
Gianni Morandi, Enrico Ruggeri & Umberto Tozzi
with "Si può dare di più"		 Sanremo Music Festival
Winner
1988 		Succeeded by
Anna Oxa & Fausto Leali
with "Ti lascerò"
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