Franco Zeffirelli

Franco Zeffirelli
OMRI KBE
Zeffirelli in 1972
Born
Gian Franco Corsi Zeffirelli

(1923-02-12)12 February 1923
Florence, Italy
Died15 June 2019(2019-06-15) (aged 96)
Rome, Italy
Alma materAcademy of Fine Arts of Florence
Occupations
  • Film director
  • opera director
  • politician
Political party
Children2 (adopted)
Member of the Senate of the Republic
In office
21 April 1994 – 29 May 2001
ConstituencyCatania
Military career
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service / branchBritish Army
Years of service1942–1945
Unit24th Guards Brigade
Battles / warsWorld War II

Gian Franco Corsi Zeffirelli OMRI KBE (Italian pronunciation: [ˈfraŋko ddzeffiˈrɛlli]; 12 February 1923 – 15 June 2019)[1] was an Italian stage and film director, producer, production designer and politician. He was one of the most significant opera and theatre directors of the post–World War II era, gaining both acclaim and notoriety for his lavish stagings of classical works, as well as his film adaptations of the same.[2][3] A member of the Forza Italia party, he served as the Senator for Catania between 1994 and 2001.

Films he directed included the Shakespearean adaptations The Taming of the Shrew (1967), starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton; Romeo and Juliet (1968), for which he received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Director; and Hamlet (1990), starring Mel Gibson and Glenn Close. His Biblical television miniseries Jesus of Nazareth (1977) won both national and international acclaim and is still frequently shown at Christmas and Easter in many countries.

A Grand Officer of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic since 1977, Zeffirelli also received an honorary British knighthood in 2004.[4] He was awarded the Premio Colosseo in 2009 by the city of Rome.

  1. ^ Redazione (15 June 2019). "Lutto nel mondo del cinema: morto Franco Zeffirelli". Notizie Oggi 24 (in Italian). Retrieved 15 June 2019.
  2. ^ "Franco Zeffirelli obituary". the Guardian. 15 June 2019. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
  3. ^ Kandell, Jonathan (15 June 2019). "Franco Zeffirelli, Italian Director With Taste for Excess, Dies at 96". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
  4. ^ UK honour for director Zeffirelli, BBC News, 24 November 2004