Lino Banfi is considered one of the protagonists of the Italian cinema of the 70s and 80s, especially of that genre remembered as an Italian sexy comedy. We retrace his career and his successes from his beginnings to today.
Who was Lino Banfi
Lino Banfi, pseudonym of Pasquale Zagaria (Andria, 9 July 1936), is an Italian actor. He grows up with his parents in Canosi di Puglia, a town where his parents decide to move when he is three years old. Here he is raised according to the teachings of Catholic morality which lead him to experience life in the seminary. He soon realizes that it is not for him and he dedicates himself to the world of entertainment starting to sing at village festivals and then heading towards the theatrical career with many difficulties.
The numerous economic problems and the lack of support on the part of the family leads him to approach the loan sharks from which he leaves only once moved to Milan. Difficulties are felt here too when he is forced to sleep in uninhabited buildings or railway stations. In 1954 he tries to approach the world of variety theater where he stands out thanks to elements typical of his areas and the dialect.
The meeting with Totò leads him to abandon the stage name of “Lino Zaga” which, according to the former, would have brought bad luck because surnames should not be shortened.
The career of Lino Banfi
He then moved to Rome where began working on television in 1964, more precisely in Antonello Falqui’s program “Studio Uno Library”. In the meantime, however, it also approaches the world of cinema with the film “Screamers at the bar” followed by numerous successful projects such as “The two firemen” and “Brigadier Pasquale Zagaria loves his mother and the police” which brought him to fame.
We have to wait until the seventies and eighties before seeing it become a real icon of what is called the sexy italian comedy. He takes part in projects alongside well-known names such as Mario Carotenuto, Renzo Montagnani, Ennio Antonelli and many others in well-known films, among which he remembers in 1985 “The firemen” together with Massimo Boldi and Paolo Villaggio.
Lino Banfi after the great success
After a operating period both in Rai and in Mediaset, he takes part in a television series called “A very special correspondent”. He then dedicated himself again to theater and cinema interpreting even dramatic roles like the one in “Bare ownership for sale”. However, one cannot fail to mention one of his best known projects “A doctor in the family”, the famous fiction by over 10 million viewers. He then participates in other fiction including “My friend Santa Claus” and “The father of brides”.
In 2008, almost twenty years after the last film, he took part in one new film entitled “The coach in the ball 2” followed by “A summer at the sea”. He then acts in the film by Carlo Vanzina “Good day” alongside Diego Abatantuono, Vincenzo Salemme, Teresa Mannino and many others. It is also worth mentioning among the latest successful projects “Where am I going?” together with the comedian Checco Zalone.