Ugo Tognazzi was a renowned Italian character star, cherished for his iconic comedy role as Renato Baldi, the gay cabaret owner, in the 1978 film La Cage aux Folles, opposite Michel Serrault's drag queen partner Alban. Born Ottavio Tognazzi on March 23, 1922, in Cremona, Italy, he began his career as a bookkeeper and amateur actor, eventually landing his first film role at age 28 in 1950's war comedy I cadetti di Guascogna.
Tognazzi built a solid comedy resume in 1950s Neapolitan features, including La paura fa 90, Café chantant, I milanesi a Napoli, La moglie è uguale per tutti, Domenica è sempre domenica, Le confident de ces dames, and Tipi da spiaggia. He became a middle-aged European star in the following decade, delivering powerhouse character studies as bon vivants, adulterous husbands, and suave gents in farcical comedies and saucy romps, particularly in the films of director Marco Ferreri.
Tognazzi demonstrated his remarkable range by portraying world-weary protagonists in political drama and grim satire, appearing in Ferreri's award-winning films such as The Conjugal Bed, Countersex, The Wedding March, L'udienza, and The Big Feast. He took a chance and co-starred with Michel Serrault in the groundbreaking role of an aging gay couple in La Cage aux Folles, which spawned two sequels and an American remake.
Throughout his career, Tognazzi won several acting honors, including European awards for his performances in The Monsters, I Knew Her Well, The Climax, La bambolona, Il commissario Pepe, Lady Caliph, and Duck in Orange Sauce. He capped it off with the Cannes Film Festival award for his performance in Tragedy of a Ridiculous Man.
Tognazzi was also the father of actor Gianmarco Tognazzi, director Maria Sole Tognazzi, and producer/writer Thomas Robsahm, and had a relationship with actress Margrete Robsahm. In the 1980s, he focused on theater, starring in plays such as Luigi Pirandello's "Six Characters in Search of an Author" and Molière's "The Miser." He continued to work until the end of his life, starring in films such as Arrivederci e grazie, I giorni del commissario Ambrosio, Tolérance, and La batalla de los Tres Reyes.
