The actor Gianni Cavina, one of the favorite interpreters of Pupi Avati with whom he had just finished shooting the film, died during the night in Bologna Dante due out in September.
Cavina was 81 years old and had been ill for some time, but despite this he had chosen to continue acting. Winner of the Silver Ribbon in 1997 for Best Supporting Actor for Festival by Pupi Avati, Cavina was a very versatile actor, moving from comic to dramatic roles.
Among his best-known films for the Bolognese director are Thomas-The possessedi, Balsamus, the man of Satan e The mazurka of the baron of the saint and the fico fioronewith Ugo Tognazzi and Paolo Villaggio, and Natal gifte.
For Pupi Avati he had also been the screenwriter of Bordella e The house with laughing windows.
He had also acted for other directors such as Luigi Comencini (The traffic jam-An impossible story and Marco Bellocchio (The wedding director).
Many of his television appearances. For the small screen his greatest success was Inspector Sartia series of 1991 and 1994 based on the novels of Loriano Machiavelli, in which he plays the Bolognese inspector Antonio Sarti struggling with continuous mysteries.
But also on TV Avati directed Cavina in three miniseries: Jazz Band (1978), Cinema!!! (1979) e Dancing Paradise (1982).
Cavina made his first appearance in a historical Rai drama, The mill of the Po by Sandro Bolchi in 1971, up to, again on Rai1, the successful fiction A big family (2012-2015) by Riccardo Milani. For three seasons, in this series he played the Brianza industrialist Ernesto Rengoni alongside Stefania Sandrelli and Alessandro Gassman.
To give news of his death, the producer Antonio Avati, brother of Pupi. «Unfortunately – said Antonio Avati – Gianni’s wife at dawn today gave us this very sad news. Gianni was already ill but he had also dealt with the filming of Dante».
“He had the qualities of a complete actor – added Antonio Avati – he could pass from the most comic and exaggerated parts, such as those he played in our first films, to very heartfelt and important roles, which he brought in our films but also in those of other important directors ».
“A sad day for Italian cinema that loses one of its great performers”. Commented the Minister of Culture, Dario Franceschini on learning of the actor’s disappearance. «I cling to the pain of family and friends» he added, recalling «the great artistic qualities and versatility of Cavina who was able to interpret comic and dramatic roles with great skill».
«A great artist, a son of our land in all respects, the unforgettable face and voice of our cinema, capable of bringing the most diverse characters to the stage, skilfully passing from dramatic roles to brilliant comedy. Hence the long association with the director Pupi Avati, of which he was one of the main actors, as well as a screenwriter ». Thus the President of the Region, Stefano Bonaccini, and the Councilor for Culture, Mauro Felicori, wanted to remember the figure of Cavina.
Born in Bologna on December 9, 1940, Gianni Cavina was trained as a theatrical actor at the Teatro Stabile of his city under the direction of Franco Parenti. At the beginning of his career he had taken his first steps in the world of Bolognese cabaret also alongside Lucio Dalla and then at the cinema where he had played roles as a comic character actor.
Gianni Cavina was proud to have kept his ancient irony and that passion that made him win so many battles: “I’m a mad dog who never gives up,” he said of himself.
The bond with Bologna was uninterrupted and also with other famous Bolognese who literally grew up with Cavina: Lucio Dalla, Francesco Guccini, Pupi Avati himself, Dino Sarti.
“I left with them. Each of us wanted to do a job – remembered the actor in a recent interview and it’s incredible but we all did it ».