Theatre and film actor, film screenwriter and director, born as Saturnino Manfredi. He is one of the most famous Italian actors and comedians of his generation. He studied law, following his family's wishes, but he realised he was more interested in acting. In September of 1043, to avoid getting drafted, he escaped with his brother to the mountains. He returned to Rome in 1944, continued his education and enrolled in the Academy of Dramatic Arts. He completed law school the following year, but never practiced law. He graduated from the Academy in 1947, and joined Piccolo Theatre in Rome. He was a member of the troupe with Vittorio Gassman and Tino Buazzelli. He acted in Milan, working with director Giorgio Strehler in his Shakespeare adaptations. During 1952 and 1953, he worked with the famous playwright Eduardo De Filippo performing in Teatro Eliseo in Rome. At the time he played in dramas, only later discovering his talent for commedia all'italiana. Alongside theatre work, he performed on radio shows and dubbed foreign films on the radio. His acting debut on the big screen hapenned in 1949, with smaller roles in films Torna a Napoli and Monastero di Santa Chiara. After that he starred in two films per year, but he achieved a bigger role in The Lovers (Gli innamorati, 1955) by Mauro Bologninio and Lo scapolo (1955) by Antonio Pietrangeli. From that same period, we should mention roles in Totò, Peppino e la... malafemmina (1956), by Camillo Mastrocinque, Caporale di giornata (1958) by Carlo Ludovico Bragaglia, Carmela è una bambola (1958) by Gianni Puccini, A cavallo dela tigre (1959) by Luigi Comencini and Audace colpo dei soliti ignoti (1959) by Nanni Loy. His first lead role was in comedy L'impiegato (1960) by Gianni Puccini, which he also co-wrote. During the 1960s he was in Gli anni ruggenti (1962) by Luigi Zampa, Not on your Life (El verdugo, 1963) by Luis García Berlanga, I Knew her Well (1965) by Antonio Pietrangeli, Made in Italy (1965) by Nanni Loya, The Treasure of San Gennaro (1966) by Dino Risi, Il padre di famiglia (1967) by Nanni Loy and Riusciranno i nostri eroi a ritrovare l'amico misteriosamente scomparso in Africa? (1968) by Ettore Scola. He also interpreted one of the first gay characters in Italian cinema, in the film Vedo nudo (1969) by Dino Risi. Loved by the audience and critics alike, he achieved his most successful roles of his career in the 1970s, in television adaptation of The Adventures of Pinocchio (Le avventure di Pinocchio, 1972) by Luigi Comencini, and big screen films Bread and Chocolate (Pane e cioccolata, 1974) by Franco Brusati (1973), We All Loved Each Other So Much (C'eravamo tanto amati, 1974), Down and Dirty (Brutti, sporchi e cattivi, 1976) by director Ettore Scola, and in In the Name of the Pope King (1977) by Luigi Magni. He tried out his directing skills, filming a part of the omnibus L'amore difficile (1962), the work of a few Italian directors. He also co-wrote and acted in the film. His first feature-length that he directed on his own, the comedy Between Miracles (Per grazia ricevuta 1971), was awarded in Cannes for best debut. The same film brought him a David Award for best new director and Italian Golden Globe for best feature-length debut. His following and also last film that he directed was the comedy Nudo di donna (1981). As an actor, he had a very successful lead role in Café Express (1980) by Nanni Loya. The most important films he was in during the 1980s were Grandi magazzini (1986) by Franco Castellano and Giuseppe Moccia, Helsinki Napoli All Night Long (1987) by Mika Kaurismäki, and I picari (1987) by Mario Monicelli. He continued acting in the 1990s, but mostly had roles in less successful films. He also starred in the first films of his son, director and screenwriter Luca Manfredi, including mini television series Un commissario a Roma (1993) and a few big screen films. He carried on acting after 2000, mainly in television films and series. La luz prodigiosa (2003) by Miguel Hermos was his last feature film and he starred as Federico García Lorca, the poet in his old age that he never lived to experience, because he was killed. The film was screened at Mostra in Venice and he was awarded a Bianchi Award for lifetime achievement. Unfortunately, he was unable to receive it personally as he was hospitalised after a stroke, from which he passed away in June 2004. He is considered one of the last great Italian classic comedians, together with Marcello Mastroianni, Ugo Tognazzi, Vittorio Gassman and Alberto Sordi.