by Giorgio Terruzzi
The actor and his autobiography: «I continually think about my wife who is no longer here»
Renato Pozzetto. He decided to tell his life story at 83 years old. Has he been thinking about it for a long time or is the desire recent?
«I accepted the suggestion of some friends. During our meetings, we happen to share memories, anecdotes, funny stories or, after a few drinks, to sing old songs. Many people pushed me: Renato, why don’t you write a book? At one fine moment, I went under.”
The title “The throat kills more than the scarf” seems like a surreal manifesto. Is it a tribute to the comedy that you have always proposed?
“Yes. Since I was a boy, I have been attracted to observing people and commenting on a gesture, a way of being or saying in a surrealist way, is something that has always made me laugh first. Someone said that Cochi and Renato’s lyrics were funny shit. Instead they were expressions of a chosen, precise point of view.”
An autobiography is a journey. What did you find and remember?
«It was like listening to something another person tell me for the first time. I smiled, I got excited, I rediscovered something that had been lost in my memory. And I tried to be honest in describing the precious stories of my life.”
Childhood as a displaced person in Gemonio, post-war Milan, guitars and songs in the taverns. Does the style of the Cochi and Renato couple come from there?
«It comes from a destiny that linked us before we were born, given that our parents had known each other for some time. We understood each other, they understood each other, they made us laugh at the same things since we were children. We listened to popular songs, protest songs and our first performances were born in the wake of those music and those lyrics. No record player, zero or almost no radio. With the help of Gino Negri, the orchestra director who together with Dario Fo, Giorgio Strehler and Fiorenzo Carpi created the repertoire of mob songs.”
The book contains some moving passages. They talk about Lino Toffolo, a Venetian colleague and friend and, above all, about Enzo Jannacci…
«Enzo was a poet. And Toffolo’s songs were poetic and delicate, so beautiful that they seemed to have been written by someone else. We made fun of him because we didn’t know how to compliment him. Jannacci was a true inspiration for us, he told and sang poignant stories for him too. And he was unpredictable. You listened to him and could laugh or cry within a minute. We found each other naturally. We listened to his songs, he came to listen to us, he appreciated us. We loved each other and shared a common sense of humor.”
Lucio Fontana, Piero Manzoni, the Velia gallery and Tinin Mantegazza: were the origins of your cabaret born in the art world?
«We frequented a tavern, the Golden Goose, frequented mainly by artists. Fontana talked about Paris, about what was behind and inside his works, Manzoni argued about the meanings of a work. And when it came to explaining a painting the surreal element inevitably emerged. The proximity to such original figures, with disconcerting visions, was an invitation to continue with our humor.”
A bar, Gattullo, transformed into another place of inspiration. Complete with Office Faces…
«I frequented Gattullo because it was convenient for me to reach it as I lived on the southern outskirts of Milan. A place frequented by a number of very nice characters. One of them invented the Faces Office: it was a procedure to be applied to customers. Questions to ask that idiot over there, who had just entered and we needed to understand who he was, what he wanted. Great fun.”
The Derby Club stage, the first ones, TV programmes, a sensational debut on «Canzonissima», 1974. Is it true that Raffaella Carrà wasn’t convinced of your involvement?
«Many authors from Rai came to the Derby, they knew us and realized that our texts were new, original, they worked. La Carrà did not know and could not understand our language. So the idea came up of participating via connection from a cellar, which was actually a separate studio. The song “E la vita, la vita” as the ending theme. It immediately became very popular.”
First film, «To love Ophelia». Did he expect such immediate success as a leading actor too?
“No. When the film came out I went to take a look in front of the cinema and saw a very long queue of kids waiting to get in. Then I peeked into the room, hidden behind a curtain. The first scene showed me walking from behind, only my feet were visible. Applause broke out. I was really amazed.”
Cochi and Renato then parted ways. With Jannacci against his film debut…
«When the proposal arrived I didn’t know what to do because we had always worked as a couple. I confessed to Cochi. It was welcoming. If you want to make this movie, go ahead. Our Jesus Christ, Jannacci, also read the script. Answer: to me it’s crazy bullshit. I replied to him with a phrase from one of his songs, Prete Liprando: “And I’ll do it anyway!”. Shortly afterwards they also asked Cochi to star in a major film, Heart of a Dog, based on Bulgakov’s novel. So I felt at ease towards my life and work partner.”
Is «The Country Boy» the film you loved most?
«He is the most loved by the public. A producer friend told me that he was seen by millions and millions of people, stuff that would go to your head.”
A life marked by many homes. From Gemonio to Milan, from Cervinia to Venice. What is the place of the heart?
«We arrived in Gemonio as displaced persons during the war. If you find yourself under bombing, every safer place becomes beautiful. I was a child, it was the time of first explorations, of discoveries. There were chickens laying eggs, I ate my first white bread there.”
The most emotional story is the one dedicated to his wife Brunella, who passed away in 2009…
«She was the person I fell in love with and it was a lifelong love. She raised our children, Giacomo and Francesca, sacrificing herself, dedicating patience and hope to me too. Having a sense of humor, she laughed while we rehearsed our lyrics at home. I think about her all the time. And sometimes I think I could have done better, given her more.”
The last chapter seems like a farewell without regrets. It’s really like this?
«I have faced life by following a balance also made of lightness. And I had a fortune from Madonna. It seems to me enough to be calm when you enter, so to speak, the finishing straight.”
Many hilarious anecdotes where Mastroianni and Tognazzi appear; Edwige Fenech and Celentano. Which is the funniest?
«Well, I recommend the one called “De Niro’s Cat”. To be read last, however. Otherwise there is the risk of not reading the rest.”
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January 25, 2024 (changed January 25, 2024 | 07:33)
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2024-01-25 06:22:34
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