# Adriano Celentano

Adriano Celentano (Italian:; born 6 January 1938) is an Italian singer-songwriter, actor, showman, and filmmaker. He is dubbed Il Molleggiato ('the springy one') because of his energetic dancing.
Celentano's many albums frequently enjoyed both commercial and critical success. With around 150 million records sold worldwide, he is the second best-selling Italian musical artist. Often credited as the author of both the music and lyrics of his songs, according to his wife Claudia Mori, some were written in collaboration with others. Due to his prolific career, both in Italy and abroad, he is considered one of the pillars of Italian music.
Celentano is recognized for being particularly perceptive of changes in the music business and is credited for having introduced rock and roll to Italy. As an actor, Celentano has appeared in 39 films, mostly comedies.

## Early life

Celentano was born on 6 January 1938 in Milan, Italy, at 14 Via Cristoforo Gluck, a street close to the Central Station and this address later became the subject of the famous song "Il ragazzo della via Gluck" ('The boy from Gluck Street'). His parents, Leontino Celentano and Giuditta Giuvia, were from Foggia, Apulia, and had moved north for work. His career as a singer started in 1959. Before his debut as an artist, he was working as a watchmaker.

## Career

Heavily influenced by Elvis Presley and the 1950s rock 'n' roll scene as well as by American actor Jerry Lewis, Celentano started playing in a rock and roll band with Giorgio Gaber and Enzo Jannacci. Along with Gaber and Jannacci, he was discovered by Jolly Records A&R Executive Ezio Leoni, who signed him to his first recording contract and co-authored with Celentano some of his greatest early hits, including "24.000 baci", "Il tuo bacio è come un rock", and "Si è spento il Sole". He first appeared on screen in Ragazzi del Juke-Box, a 1959 Italian musical film directed by Lucio Fulci with music by Ezio Leoni. In 1960, Federico Fellini cast him as a rock and roll singer in his film La dolce vita (1960).
In 1962, Celentano founded the Italian record label Clan Celentano (which is still active) with many performers such as Don Backy, Ola & the Janglers, Ricky Gianco, Katty Line, Gino Santercole, Fred Bongusto and his wife Claudia Mori.
As a film director, Celentano frequently cast Ornella Muti, Eleonora Giorgi and his wife Claudia Mori. He and Mori have three children, Rosita, Giacomo and Rosalinda Celentano. Rosalinda is most notable to worldwide audiences for playing Satan in Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ. Celentano has also hosted several Italian television shows.
Celentano has retained his popularity in Italy for over 50 years, selling millions of records and appearing in numerous TV shows and movies. As part of his TV and movie work, he created a comic genre, with a characteristic walk and facial expressions. For the most part, his films were commercially successful; indeed, in the 1970s and part of the 1980s, his low-budget movies were top of Italian box office rankings. As an actor, critics point to Serafino (1968), directed by Pietro Germi, as his best performance.
He has released 40 albums, consisting of 29 studio albums, three live albums, and eight compilations. Among his most popular songs there are "La coppia più bella del mondo", which sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc; "Azzurro" (1968), written by Paolo Conte, "Svalutation" (1976), and "Prisencolinensinainciusol" (1972), which was written to mimic the way English sounds to non-English speakers despite being almost entirely nonsense.
Celentano was referenced in the 1979 Ian Dury and the Blockheads song and single, "Reasons to Be Cheerful, Part 3", as one of the aforementioned "reasons to be cheerful", and in Fellini's 1986 film Ginger and Fred.
After 18 years without live performances, Celentano's 2012 live concert was broadcast on Mediaset channel Canale 5, attracting over 9 million viewers.

## Personal life

Celentano has been a vegetarian since 2005 and has defended animal rights. A football fan, Celentano is a well-known Inter Milan supporter. Although influenced by American culture, Celentano cannot speak English; he told la Repubblica that for years he wanted to learn the language but could not commit, and not knowing English is a "real pain".

## Discography

Studio albums
* Adriano Celentano con Giulio Libano e la sua orchestra (1960)
* Furore (1960)
* Peppermint twist (1962)
* A New Orleans (1963)
* Non mi dir (1965)
* Il ragazzo della via Gluck (1966)
* Azzurro / Una carezza in un pugno (1968)
* Adriano rock (1968)
* Il forestiero (1970)
* Er più — Storia d'amore e di coltello (1971)
* I mali del secolo (1972)
* Nostalrock (1973)
* Yuppi du (1975)
* Svalutation (1976)
* Disco dance (1977)
* Tecadisk (1977)
* Ti avrò (1978)
* Geppo il folle (1978)
* Soli (1979)
* Un po' artista un po' no (1980)
* Deus (1981)
* Uh... uh... (1982)
* Atmosfera (1983)
* I miei americani... (1984)
* Joan Lui (1985)
* I miei americani... 2 (1986)
* La pubblica ottusità (1987)
* Il re degli ignoranti (1991)
* Quel punto (1994)
* Arrivano gli uomini (1996)
* Mina Celentano (with Mina) (1998)
* Io non so parlar d'amore (1999)
* Esco di rado e parlo ancora meno (2000)
* Per sempre (2002)
* C'è sempre un motivo (2004)
* C'è sempre un motivo + L'Indiano (2005)
* Dormi amore, la situazione non è buona (2007)
* Facciamo finta che sia vero (2011)
* Le migliori (with Mina) (2016)
* Adrian (2019)

## Filmography
### Films

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1959 | Ragazzi del Juke-Box | Adriano | Supporting role |
| 1959 | Go, Johnny, Go! | Himself | Cameo appearance |
| 1959 | Juke Box: Urli d'amore | Singer | Cameo appearance |
| 1960 | Howlers in the Dock | Adriano | Leading role |
| 1960 | La Dolce Vita | Singer | Cameo appearance |
| 1960 | Sanremo - La grande sfida | Himself | Leading role |
| 1961 | Io bacio... tu baci | Himself | Cameo appearance |
| 1963 | The Monk of Monza | Adriano | Supporting role |
| 1963 | Uno strano tipo | Peppino | Leading role |
| 1964 | Super rapina a Milano | Sergio | Leading role, directorial debut |
| 1964 | I malamomdo | Himself | Documentary film |
| 1966 | Per un pugno di canzoni | Singer | Cameo appearance |
| 1968 | Serafino | Serafino Fiorin | Leading role |
| 1968 | The Most Beautiful Couple in the World | Himself | Cameo appearance |
| 1971 | Er Più: Storia d'amore e di coltello | Ninetto Patroni | Leading role |
| 1972 | White Sister | Annibale Pezzi | Leading role |
| 1973 | The Five Days | Meo Cainazzo | Leading role |
| 1973 | Little Funny Guy | Peppino Cavallo | Leading role |
| 1973 | Rugantino | Rugantino | Leading role |
| 1975 | Yuppi du | Felice della Pietà | Leading role; also director and writer |
| 1976 | The Con Artists | Felix Brianza | Leading role |
| 1976 | Lunatics and Lovers | Sprint Boss | Supporting role |
| 1977 | L'altra metà del cielo | Father Vincenzo | Leading role |
| 1977 | Ecco noi per esempio | Clic Colombo | Leading role |
| 1978 | Loggerheads | Herman/ Gustav | Leading role |
| 1978 | Geppo il folle | Geppo | Leading role; also director and writer |
| 1979 | Velvet Hands | Guido Quiller | Leading role |
| 1980 | The Taming of the Scoundrel | Elia Codogno | Leading role |
| 1980 | La locandiera | Ripafratta Knight | Leading role |
| 1981 | Asso | Asso/ Varesino/ God | Multiple roles |
| 1981 | Madly in Love | Barnaba Cecchini | Leading role |
| 1982 | Grand Hotel Excelsior | Taddeus | Leading role |
| 1982 | Bingo Bongo | Bingo Bongo | Leading role |
| 1983 | Segni particolari: bellissimo | Mattia | Leading role |
| 1983 | Sing Sing | Alfredo Boghi | Leading role |
| 1984 | Lui è peggio di me | Leonardo | Leading role |
| 1985 | Joan Lui: Ma un giorno nel paese arrivo io di lunedì | Joan Lui | Leading role; also director and writer |
| 1986 | Il burbero | Tito Torrisi | Leading role |
| 1992 | Jackpot | Furio | Leading role; also writer |