Italian actor, singer and television host
Johnny Dorelli
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Dorelli in 1958
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Birth name
| Giorgio Guidi
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Also known as
| D.Johnny, Dorellik
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Born
| (
1937-02-20
)
20 February 1937
(age 87)
Meda
,
Milan
, Italy
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Genres
| Easy listening
,
jazz
,
swing
,
pop
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Occupation(s)
| Actor, singer, presenter
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Years active
| 1951?present
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Spouse(s)
|
(
m.
1972;
div.
1979)
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Musical artist
Giorgio Guidi
(born 20 February 1937), known professionally as
Johnny Dorelli
, is an Italian actor, singer and television host.
Early life
[
edit
]
Dorelli was born in
Meda
, Italy. In 1946 he moved to New York City with his family, where his father, Nino D'Aurelio (born Aurelio Guidi), found work as opera singer. Dorelli studied double bass and piano at the
High School of Music and Art in New York
. He took the stage name Dorelli in imitation of how the surname D'Aurelio was pronounced in English.
His show business career began when he was discovered by bandleader
Percy Faith
, who brought him on
The Ken Murray Show
. He later appears on the show By Popular Demand conducted by
Robert Alda
, accompanied by
Paul Whiteman
. He receive a great success, in fact some American newspapers described Dorelli as a "phenomenal Italian boy". However he returned to Italy in 1955 due to the expiry of his residence permit.
He debuted as singer and pianist in the late 1950s for
CGD
label with cover of American standards;
Lover
,
What is this thing called love
,
Love me or leave me
and many others.
Career
[
edit
]
His first success was an easy listening Latin song,
Calypso melody
in 1957. In 1958 and in 1959 he won the
Sanremo Festival
in duo with
Domenico Modugno
, with the songs "
Nel blu dipinto di blu
" (also known as "Volare") and "
Piove (Ciao ciao bambina)
".
His most famous songs of the period are :
Julia
(1958),
Boccuccia Di Rosa (Pink Lips)
(1958),
Love in Portofino
(1959),
Lettera A Pinocchio
(1959),
Monte Carlo
(1961).
In 1962 he appeared on
The Ed Sullivan Show
and sang his smooth ballad
Love In Portofino
and
You're the Top
with
Connie Francis
and
Johnny Hallyday
.
As a (popular and jazz)
crooner
, he sang numerous songs live on television shows (mainly in the 1960s), in Italian and in English.
In 1967 "
L'immensita
" earned Dorelli a ninth place at the 1967 edition of the
Sanremo Song Festival
.
[1]
In the same year he was the lead actor on the movie
How to Kill 400 Duponts
, a parody of the comic series Diabolik. With this role, Dorelli had a great success and he inspired the character of
Paperinik
.
Some songs of this periods are
Speedy Gonzales
(1962),
Era Settembre
(1964),
Probabilmente
(1965),
Al Buio Sto Sognando
(1966),
Solo Piu Che Mai
(
Strangers In The Night
) (1966),
Arriva La Bomba
(1967),
I Think of You
(1972).
His greatest success was the
musical
Aggiungi un posto a tavola
, which was also performed at the
Adelphi Theatre
in
London
's
West End
in an English version entitled
Beyond the Rainbow
in 1978.
After a period of absence, he returned to success in the 1980s. In 1983, he played St.
Philip Neri
in
Luigi Magni
's TV film
State buoni se potete
.
Dorelli's latest feature film role is in
Pupi Avati
's
Ma quando arrivano le ragazze
(2004).
In 2007 he returned after 38 years to the stage of Sanremo as a participant with the song "Meglio cosi", written by
Gianni Ferrio
and
Giorgio Calabrese
, and accompanied by jazz pianist
Stefano Bollani
and the orchestra conducted by Ferrio.
Personal life
[
edit
]
Dorelli had a long relationship with actress
Lauretta Masiero
, which produced a son, Gianluca Guidi. He then married (1972?1979) actress
Catherine Spaak
, with whom he had another son, Gabriele, and (1991)
Gloria Guida
, a former model and actress in Italian comedy movies of the 1970s, with whom he had a daughter, Guendalina.
His eyes have two different colors, a condition called
heterochromia iridum
.
Selected filmography
[
edit
]
Discography
[
edit
]
Albums
- 1955 - Songo americano (CGD, MV 203)
- 1958 - Cordialmente (CGD, MV 224)
- 1958 - E arrivato da Sanremo (CGD, MV 225)
- 1958 - Dance with (Liberty, I 8508)
- 1959 - We Like Johnny (CGD, FG 5002)
- 1959 - Sanremo 1959 (CGD, SR 1012)
- 1964 - 30 anni di canzoni d'amore (CGD, FG 5010)
- 1965 - Viaggio Sentimentale (CGD, FG 5017)
- 1965 - Johnny Dorelli (CGD, FG 5024)
- 1967 - L'immensita (CGD, FG 5032)
- 1970 - Promesse Promesse (CGD, FGS 5063, con Catherine Spaak)
- 1973 - Le canzoni che piacciono a lei (CGD, 69030)
- 1975 - Aggiungi un posto a tavola (CGD, 88119)
- 1975 - Toi et Moi (CGD, 69060, con Catherine Spaak)
- 1978 - Giorgio (WEA Italiana, T56588)
- 1980 - Accendiamo la lampada (Cam, ARSAG 29103)
- 1989 - Mi son svegliato e c'eri tu (Five Record, FM 14204)
- 2004 - Swingin' (Carosello, CARSM120-2)
- 2007 - Swingin' - parte seconda (Carosello, CARSM198)
References
[
edit
]
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1950s
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1960s
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1970s
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1980s
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1990s
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2000s
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2010s
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2020s
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International
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National
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Artists
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People
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Other
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