Adriano Celentano

Adriano Celentano ranks among Italy's most enduring entertainers, enjoying parallel triumphs on screen and through song. Early on he channeled Elvis Presley-style rock while fronting the Rock Boys during 1957, yet he also cultivated a lasting audience for tender ballads. His first chart-topping single, "Il Tuo Bacio è Come un Skirt," arrived in 1959; two years later the million-selling "24000 Baci (24,000 Kisses)" repeated that feat, followed in 1966 by "Il Ragazzo Della Via Gluck," later translated and re-recorded across eighteen languages, and in 1972 by the notorious proto-rap nonsense track "Prisencolinensinainciusol."

Studio albums fared no less favorably. Non Mi Dir ascended to number one on Italy's album chart in 1965, while Soli logged fifty-eight weeks on the listings between 1978 and 1979. After largely abandoning music for nearly two decades to concentrate on acting, Celentano restored his earlier momentum with the 1998 hit album Mina + Celentano; its successor, Francamente Me Ne Infischio, drew from the 1999 variety series he hosted and held Italy's top album spot for several weeks. The next release, Esco di Rado -- E Parlo Ancora Meno, surpassed six hundred thousand copies in sales even before reaching stores.

Celentano sustained this dual path throughout his screen career. He entered film in 1959 with Dai, Johnny, Dai!, I Ragazzi del Jukebox, and I Frenetici, then appeared in Federico Fellini's landmark La Dolce Vita the following year. Subsequent roles included The Sin, Rugantino, Give Me Five, Il Bisbetico Domato, and Segni Particolari: Bellissimo. His first turn behind the camera came with the 1974 production Yuppi Du, after which he directed L'altra Metà del Cielo and Geppo Il Folle. An extended television commitment began in late 1987 when he hosted the variety program Fantastico 8.