Franca Rame remembered for spirited politics and talent
(ANSA) - Rome, May 29 - Italians mourned the death Wednesday of actress Franca Rame, remembered for her talent, her left-wing politics, and close collaboration with her husband, Nobel prize-winning writer Dario Fo. Rame, who suffered a serious stroke last year, died in Milan at age 84.
Cause of death was not made public.
Italian President Giorgio Napolitano praised her contributions to the nation's culture and political life, and parliamentarians offered a standing ovation in her memory. Born in Milan in 1929, Rame became an actor at age 18 in local theatre productions and quickly won acclaim.
There, she met actor-playwright Dario Fo, who she married in 1954.
One year later, their son Jacopo was born. The couple formed a theatrical company with other actors before going on to work in films including 1956's Lo Svitato (The Screwball) directed by Carlo Lizzani.
Fo also co-wrote the script, but the film was a flop and the couple returned to stage performances with Fo taking on more writing duties while Rame continued to act. One of their first hits, Gli Arcangeli non Giocano a Flipper (Archangels Don't Play Pinball) was staged in 1959 at one of Milan's largest theatres, the Odeon. The couple became a fixture there, presenting a new play each season.
Those gradually become flavoured with political satire which did not work so well when the couple jumped to television in 1962 as guest stars and sketch writers on a popular TV variety show, Canzonissima. Their political humour was not popular and the couple soon left and returned to live theatre where they could present their increasingly hardened political satire. Things changed again as student dissent in 1968 helped inspire the couple to leave commercial theatre and form a new co-operative group linked with the Communist party, focusing on performances for workers and students. But Rame, a feminist, paid a high price for her beliefs. In 1973, she was kidnapped and raped by what was believed to be right-wing extremists - an experience she turned into a performance, the monologue, Lo Stupro (The Rape), which was featured in a 1983 workshop at the Riverside Studios in London.
Despite their ups and downs, the lifelong collaboration between Fo and Rame was so intense that when Fo received the Nobel prize for literature in 1997, he called Rame his muse and shared the medal with her. Eventually, her left-wing activities led her into national politics and Rame was elected to the Italian senate in 2006 but resigned within two years, calling it one of the most strenuous and difficult experiences of her life. But her contributions were acknowledged Wednesday, when in Rome members of the Italian parliament gave her a standing ovation with long and heartfelt applause. There, Napolitano said Rame will be remembered for her contributions to the country's artistic, cultural and civic life, "I...remember her passionate civil commitment and pay tribute to the continuity of her contribution...to the artistic life and cultural heritage," of Italy, said the president.
Journalist Gad Lerner said Rame was a person "of courage and generosity, attention to others, and (of) challenging injustice".
"We were lucky to share a long stretch of life with as extraordinary a woman as Franca".
Cause of death was not made public.
There, she met actor-playwright Dario Fo, who she married in 1954.
One year later, their son Jacopo was born. The couple formed a theatrical company with other actors before going on to work in films including 1956's Lo Svitato (The Screwball) directed by Carlo Lizzani.
Fo also co-wrote the script, but the film was a flop and the couple returned to stage performances with Fo taking on more writing duties while Rame continued to act. One of their first hits, Gli Arcangeli non Giocano a Flipper (Archangels Don't Play Pinball) was staged in 1959 at one of Milan's largest theatres, the Odeon. The couple became a fixture there, presenting a new play each season.
Those gradually become flavoured with political satire which did not work so well when the couple jumped to television in 1962 as guest stars and sketch writers on a popular TV variety show, Canzonissima. Their political humour was not popular and the couple soon left and returned to live theatre where they could present their increasingly hardened political satire. Things changed again as student dissent in 1968 helped inspire the couple to leave commercial theatre and form a new co-operative group linked with the Communist party, focusing on performances for workers and students. But Rame, a feminist, paid a high price for her beliefs. In 1973, she was kidnapped and raped by what was believed to be right-wing extremists - an experience she turned into a performance, the monologue, Lo Stupro (The Rape), which was featured in a 1983 workshop at the Riverside Studios in London.
Despite their ups and downs, the lifelong collaboration between Fo and Rame was so intense that when Fo received the Nobel prize for literature in 1997, he called Rame his muse and shared the medal with her. Eventually, her left-wing activities led her into national politics and Rame was elected to the Italian senate in 2006 but resigned within two years, calling it one of the most strenuous and difficult experiences of her life. But her contributions were acknowledged Wednesday, when in Rome members of the Italian parliament gave her a standing ovation with long and heartfelt applause. There, Napolitano said Rame will be remembered for her contributions to the country's artistic, cultural and civic life, "I...remember her passionate civil commitment and pay tribute to the continuity of her contribution...to the artistic life and cultural heritage," of Italy, said the president.
Journalist Gad Lerner said Rame was a person "of courage and generosity, attention to others, and (of) challenging injustice".
"We were lucky to share a long stretch of life with as extraordinary a woman as Franca".