That time Giancarlo Magalli showed his “little thing” to Gina Lollobrigida

Giancarlo Magalli once showed his “little thing” to Gina Lollobrigida. And he didn't just do that. Today, the host, television writer and actor confesses in an interview with Corriere della Sera. “When I was 4 years old, my father, a production inspector at the cinema, took me to the set, the workers spoiled me and in the evening they made me a baby bed. In Ava Gardner's arms, on Bogart's lap. The train conductors said to me: “Do you see this beautiful lady? Her name is Gina, show her the little thing! Innocent, I went there. It was Lollo”, is the beginning. In the conversation with Giovanna Cavalli, he also sums up his prestigious high school: “At Massimo, with Mario Draghi, Luca Cordero di Montezemolo and Luigi Abete. Mario was a nerd, but nice and succeeded in his homework. He didn't participate in the organization of the casino but he had fun. At recess, the others ate pizza, I brought the stove with a pan and cooked the ravioli on the last bench. One day, the janitor, a retired policeman, was very cross-eyed and scolded me. I replied: “I am amazed by you, Marshal, such an open-minded man.” He had me suspended. From that moment on, everyone had a “broad” mind.

The sign

The story of the first suspension is hilarious: “To skip a class exam, I sealed the classroom with adhesive tape and hung a fake Municipality sign: “Closed for disinfestation”.” This has been discovered. “The secretary’s son, in class with me, swung.” With the obligatory change of school, he found new illustrious companions: “There was Verdone and De Sica, a year younger than me, it was like entering a cinema. I presented the shows, Carlo perfectly imitated the director and the teachers. Christian was a little excited at first, he arrived with the Mercedes and the driver. Plump, he scoffed. When he passed by, they sang obscene songs to him: “De Siiica, De Siiica del b…, vaffan…”. And he: “Vulgar”.” While as an actor, he played in Nero: “I was a Roman senator, I spoke imitating the accent of President Giovanni Leone: 'Ladies and gentlemen, I remind you of the dignity of the Chamber.' I knew him because his children came to the Nazarene. We filmed at the Baths of Caracalla, in winter, in tunics, it was cold.”

Gianni Boncompagni

Magalli remembers Gianni Boncompagni as “the most important person in my life. Oh my God, now Michele Guardì is getting jealous. We laughed like crazy, he had a unique irony. He worked very little, but he always made his contribution. » Pippo Baudo, for his part, was “a friend, a brother”. At Papaveri e Papere we discovered that the couple was working. Still in video, they created the Pippometro. I was his “mosquito”, I scolded him: “Stay still with those arms!” “. Intelligent, he allowed himself to be ridiculed.” He also explains why we no longer see him much: “I was ill and when I came back, they had entrusted my projects to others. After 60 years of activism – with Arbore , I'm the only one to have ever joined Mediaset – I expected better. I'm not asking for the Saturday evening on Raiuno, a second evening was enough. Renzo is working again, older than me, Chiambretti is also coming back, the young shoots don't work, with some there is a therapeutic fury.”

Giorgia Meloni

He too, like Pino Insegno, says he is a friend of Giorgia Meloni: “I have photos of her kissing and hugging, but I don't ask for anything. I don't like begging. I just asked him, “Who could I talk to?” “. Answer: “He gave me Giampaolo Rossi’s number. I asked for a meeting. He ignored me. Ditto Angelo Mellone. “Hey, I get 150 requests a day.” I deserved more respect. I saw dozens of them leave. One of the less formidable CEOs, to whom I made a remark, hissed: “How many years have you worked at Rai, Magalli?” “For 18 days. And I will see others.” Mute. And San Remo? “It will be a death trap, after 5 years of triumphs with Amadeus. One less sharing point and they will write that it is a fiasco. Some who offer have already done it and it went badly, why do they insist? The Festival is like your wedding night: if you do well, you have done your duty. If you do wrong, he will hold it against you for the rest of your life. »

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