Farewell to the eclectic actor Luis Molteni, stage name of Gianluigi Molteni, nicknamed the “Italian Danny DeVito” for his resemblance to the American actor, who died on 28 February in Rome at the age of 73.
On social media, among the many messages of condolence, there is also one from Nuovo Imaie (Mutual institute for the protection of interpreting and performing artists): “Goodbye to Luis Molteni. We will remember you for your Danny De Vito “de noantri” appearance, your love for Theater and passion for Cinema. You are still on the screens with Romeo and Juliet. We will see you there. You In the meantime, dear Luis, enjoy the journey. Your friends from Nuovo Imaie”.
Born in Seregno in 1950, he made his debut in the late 70s with the theater (Quelli di Grock) and remained linked to it with many successful shows. His debut in cinema was thanks to Maurizio Nichetti with “Ho fare splash” (1980). Among the titles of his long filmography, co-protagonist roles and simple cameos alternate: “Nero” (1992) by Giancarlo Soldi, “Perdiamoci di vista” (1994) and “Viaggi di nozze” (1995) by Carlo Verdone, “ The Triumph of Love” by Clare Peploe (2001), “All the Knowledge of the World” (2001) by Eros Puglielli, “Pinocchio” by Roberto Benigni, where he played the Butter Man, “Tutti all’attack” by Lorenzo Vignolo (2005), “Miacarabefana.it” (2009) by Lodovico Gasparini and its sequel “SOS Befana” (2011) by Francesco Vicario. The last film in which he worked was Romeo and Juliet, directed by Giovanni Veronesi, a film currently in cinemas.
The list of his films is truly long and there are many directors with whom he has worked, in addition to those already mentioned, also Giuseppe Tornatore, Sergio Rubini, Dario Argento, Carlo Vanzina, Neri Parenti, Gabriele Muccino, Sergio Castellitto.
There are also many TV dramas from “Police District” to “Elisa di Rivombrosa”, from “Don Matteo” to “John Paul II”, from “Inspector Manara” to “Inspector Coliandro” up to “Sono Lillo” , of 2023, directed by Eros Puglielli.