toto

Antonio Griffo Focas Flavio Angelo Ducas Comneno Porfirogenito Gagliardi De Curtis di Bisanzio (15 February 1898 – 15 April 1967), best known by his stage name Totò or simply as Antonio De Curtis, and nicknamed il Principe della risata ("the Prince of laughter"), is commonly referred to as the most popular Italian comedian of all time.He was a film and stage actor as well as a writer, singer and songwriter.He is best known for his funny and sometimes cynical character as a comedian in theatre and then in many successful films shot from the 1940s to the 1960s, all regularly still on TV, but he also worked with many iconic Italian film directors in dramatic/poetic roles. While he first gained his popularity as a comic actor, his dramatic roles, poetry, and songs are all deemed to be outstanding; his style and a number of his recurring jokes and gestures have become universally known memes in Italy.Writer and philosopher Umberto Eco has thus commented on the importance of Totò in Italian culture: Mario Monicelli, who directed some of the most appreciated of Totò's movies, thus described his artistic value: