Happy birthday to the national Albertone, to the unforgettable and unforgettable Alberto Sordi who was born in Trastevere, in the heart of old Rome, on June 15th one hundred years ago. There are many celebratory initiatives dedicated to the great actor on the occasion of the centenary of his birth. Italy, once again, says 'thank you' to a multifaceted artist, a true interpreter of Italian comedy, who was an ambassador of Italian culture in the world.
Alberto Sordi, ambassador of Italian culture in the world
Sordi is an icon of cinema and entertainment for Italians: a histrionic artist who, after a hard apprenticeship, knows success in the immediate post-war period and since then there have been no obstacles to his career. It is a continuous rise studded with satisfactions and above all corroborated by the love of the public who loves Sordi unconditionally. Albertone is a myth! His film they represent in a funny but sometimes also dramatic way, the history of a country that after the horrors of war is reconstructed piece by piece.
Then comes the economic boom with all its advantages and all its contradictions. And then the rampant eighties and nineties. Deaf, in his films, is the emblem of the average Italian who knows how to be a hero but also a coward, petty and even a cheat. Who knows how to bring out the worst of himself but who always knows how to get out of trouble when things get bad. A kaleidoscope of characters, of masks worn for every occasion, as many as those that a people wear in every era of its history. Private vices and public virtues that Albertone embodies and expresses with gestures, attitudes and idioms that have remained in the collective imagination and in the history of Italian cinema.
The celebrations for the anniversary of the birth
These days the national television broadcasters are broadcasting several specials that commemorate the career and figure of Sordi. Just as some of his most famous films are also in the pipeline. The Experimental Center for Cinematography - National film library commemorates Albertone's centenary with two precious publications dedicated to the great actor. The first is issue 592 of the magazine "Black and white", Entitled Deaf secret and edited by Alberto Anil.
Made thanks to the use of the materials of Alberto Sordi Fund, owned by the Foundation of the same name and kept in the National Film Archive, the number speaks of the great actor in the round. From the first experiences on the radio to the magazine theater, from loves to projects left in the drawer. The second publication is the volume Alberto Sordi also by Alberto Anile, with the preface by Carlo Verdone, memberof the Board of the Experimental Center, and the introduction of Happy Laudadio, president of the Csc.
Alberto Sordi secret
Alberto Sordi secret is the first book (Ed. Rubbettino) on the actor's private life written by his cousin Igor Righetti, a journalist.
This publication is also a journey to discover man, his passions and his obsessions. In the pages of the book, the actor leaves room for that secret humanity that few have really known. Memories also embellished with photos from Righetti's family albums and Reporters Associati & Archives.
The book does not lack curiosities such as the passion for the table; Albertone was fond of pasta, watermelon and Nutella, which he also added to the latte. Sordi passed away forever on February 4, 2003, at the age of 83, after having won many awards, from the David di Donatello to the Golden Globe, the Golden Bear in Berlin and the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement in Venice.. Awards that have consecrated a long career marked by over 200 films, shot with the greatest directors and actors of the twentieth century. The only sad note in this endless series of successes, that of never having won an Oscar. Deaf has hoped for it for years, but in vain!
The exhibition in the house - museum and a commemorative stamp
From 16 September 2020 to 31 January 2021 the villa on the Appia which was the actor's residence will be open to the public for the first time. The exhibition will be set up in the house-museum “Alberto Sordi 1920/2020 - The Centenary”. The exhibition was originally supposed to be inaugurated last March 7, but the event was canceled due to the emergency Coronavirus. Meanwhile, 15 thousand bookings have already been registered from all over Italy to attend the exhibition. The event will be structured in two different locations. The main location will be Deaf Villa in Caracalla, the other on Theater of the Dioscuri near the Quirinal.
The exhibition between unpublished documents and memorabilia will be an articulated path that will illustrate the actor's long career and life. Also for the centenary, for the second time, the ordinary postage stamp featuring Alberto Sordi belonging to the thematic series “The Italian excellence of the show” will be printed. The philatelic cancellation is printed by the State Mint starting from June 15th and costs 1,10 euros. The image is edited by the sketcher Claudia Giusto and the edition is limited to 400 thousand copies in sheets of forty-five stamps. The Italians remember a great compatriot and greet him like this: “Albe, faces laugh again! We need it! ”.
