بیوگرافی
Renato Rascel, born Renato Ranucci on 27 April 1912 and passing away on 2 January 1991, was an Italian actor and singer who featured in 50 films from 1942 to 1972. He represented Italy in the 1960 Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Romantica," which tied for eighth place among thirteen entries.
He was born in Turin to opera singers Cesare and Paola Ranucci, who were performing there at the time. Renato often said he was born backstage, where he spent much of his life. His father arranged for his baptism at Saint Peter's in Rome, which seemed fitting as he later sang with the "white voices choir" of Saint Peter under composer-conductor Lorenzo Perosi.
At 14, Renato began playing drums in Rome ballrooms. Shortly after, he joined the Di Fiorenza Sisters as an actor, dancer, and clown. In 1934, he landed his first major role in the operetta "Al Cavallino bianco," produced by the Schwarts Brothers. The following year, he toured Africa with Elena Gray on his first international tour.
In 1941, he founded his own theater company and developed a unique style of humor known for its nonsensical phrases like "two friends that didn't know each other." Standing at just 5'2", he turned his small stature into an asset, earning the nickname "Tiny Italian" (il piccoletto nazionale). His performances often emphasized his height, featuring oversized, extravagant coats—his most famous had a large back pocket.
During this period, he created iconic characters such as "Napoleon" and "Il Corazziere," a humorous take on his size since the Corazziere is a military unit requiring soldiers over 6 feet tall. These roles brought him widespread fame in Italy. In 1942, he starred in his first of many films, Pazzo d'amore (Crazy For Love), showcasing his distinctive humor. Among his over sixty films, Il Cappotto (The Overcoat), based on Gogol's work and winner of the Golden Palm at Cannes, stands out.
He also played leading roles in The Secret of Santa Vittoria alongside Anthony Quinn and Anna Magnani, Seven Hills of Rome with Mario Lanza, Questi fantasmi with Eduardo De Filippo, and Figaro qua Figaro là with Totò. In 1977, he appeared as the blind man in Zeffirelli's Jesus of Nazareth.
His post-World War II success largely stemmed from starring roles in musicals by Pietro Garinei and Sandro Giovannini. Together, the trio pioneered the Italian musical theater scene with productions including Attanasio cavallo vanesio (1952), featuring the American trio Peters Sisters; Alvaro piuttosto corsaro (1953); Tobia la candida spia (1955); Un paio d'ali (1957); Rascelinaria (1958); Enrico '61 (1961), which ran for a full year at London's Piccadilly Theatre in 1962; Il giorno della tartaruga (1965); and Alleluja, brava gente (1970).
