Massimo Boldi

Massimo Antonio Boldi (born 23 July 1945 in Luino) is an Italian stand-up comedian and actor. In 1955 his family moved to Milan, where he began working as a window-dresser and then as a door-to-door salesman for a pastry company. He entered show business as a drummer, playing in the group I Mimitoki and then in La pattuglia azzurra, headed by a young Claudio Lippi, and went on to drum in Gino Paoli's orchestra and many other bands.

Boldi continued his drumming career at Milan's Derby Club, where, at the suggestion of Gianni Bongiovanni, he became a stand-up comedian, creating characters that became popular in the club and on local television. In those years he and Teo Teocoli performed as a duo. On Antenna 3 they presented "Non lo sapessi ma lo so", and an ad-lib by Teocoli gave rise to Boldi's most famous character, Massima Cipollino, the blundering presenter of a private newscast. He went on to appear in many Italian national television programs, including Canzonissima, Drive In, Striscia la notizia (1996-1997) and Scherzi a parte (2002).

In film, Boldi typically plays the bourgeois, methodical Milan citizen always prone to tachycardia, with catchphrases such as "Bestia che dolore!" His first major cinema success came in Carlo Verdone's 1984 film I due carabinieri. He co-starred with Christian De Sica for about twenty years, making 24 films together, beginning with traditional Christmas comedies including Vacanze di Natale and Christmas in Love (2004); by 2002 their films had grossed about 300 billion lire. He was married to Marisa Selo from 1973 until her death in 2004, and ran for the Italian Socialist Party at the 1992 elections.