Sordi was born in Rome on this day 106 years ago.
Rome unveiled a statue dedicated to Alberto Sordi on Monday 15 June, on what would have been the 106th birthday of the much-loved Roman actor and comedian who died in 2003.
The bronze statue is located at Villa De Sanctis in the eastern Torpignattara district, where Sordi filmed the final scene of Mario Monicelli’s 1977 film Un borghese piccolo piccolo.
The work, sculpted by Massimiliano Saccucci and produced in collaboration with the Alberto Sordi Museum Foundation, depicts the smiling actor sitting on a bench.
The sculpture was unveiled in the presence of the city’s mayor Roberto Gualtieri and local dignatories, with music provided the Rome Police Band.
Who was Alberto Sordi?
Born in Rome on 20 June 1920, Sordi played mainly comic roles, enriched by his Roman accent which was a trademark throughout a career that spanned seven decades.
Much of his cinematic success was thanks to his accent which once saw him expelled from a Milan acting academy in his youth.
Sordi often chose to portray the anti-hero, poking fun at the foibles of his fellow countrymen and succeeding in getting Italians to laugh at themselves.
In addition to being an actor, Sordi was a singer, voice actor, director and screenwriter.
He began his journey into comedy by providing the dubbed-over voice of American comedian Oliver Hardy in 1939, a role he played until 1951, in more than 40 Stanley e Ollio films in Italy.
This role proved so popular that Sordi adapted it for theatres, allowing Italians to meet the “real” Oliver Hardy on stage.
Success and awards
Minor film roles followed in the 1940s until he gained national stardom in 1953 after being cast in I vitelloni by Federico Fellini.
Sordi cemented his success with classics such as Un americano a Roma (1954) and Il Marchese del Grillo (1981).
He was the recipient of seven David di Donatello awards, Italy’s most prestigious film accolade, receiving a Golden Globe for his performance in To Bed or Not to Bed in 1963 as well as a Golden Lion lifetime achievement award at the Venice Film Festival in 1995.
Roman roots
Although loved throughout Italy, Sordi was particularly adored in his home town. He remained firmly attached to his Roman roots and spent his life living in Rome.
The actor was born in the Trastevere district, the youngest of five children. His father was a concert musician and his mother a teacher.
The building where he was born – number 7 on Via di San Cosimato – no longer exists (it was demolished in the 1930s to make way for Palazzo dei Congregazioni) however a plaque commemorating his birth can be found across the street.
From 1958 Sordi lived with his two sisters Aurelia and Savina in a villa near the Baths of Caracalla.
Final years
In 2000, to celebrate his 80th birthday, the city of Rome made Sordi honorary mayor for a day.
When he died on 24 February 2003, aged 82, there was an immense outpouring of grief in Rome, with more than 250,000 people attending his funeral at the Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano.
Rome subsequently renamed the Galleria Colonna on Via del Corso in honour of one of its favourite sons.
Photo Roma Capitale
