Introduction
Gianfranco Funari (21 March 1932 - 12 July 2008) was an Italian presenter, television writer, stand-up comedian and actor.
Biography
Born in Rome, Funari was the son of a coachman. After working as a croupier in Saint Vincent and in Hong Kong, he was introduced in the world of cabaret by Oreste Lionello, who had noted him during an amateur performance in a Roman nightclub. Funari then specialized in satirical monologues, and in 1970 he made his television debut, in the RAI variety show La domenica è un'altra cosa.
In 1980 Funari debuted as presenter and television writer with the Telemontecarlo program Torti in faccia. In 1981 he created the successful political talk show Aboccaperta, which was first broadcast on Telemontecarlo and from 1984 to 1987 on Rai 2. The television programs he wrote and presented also include Mezzogiorno è (Rai 2, 1987–90), Mezzogiorno italiano (Italia 1, 1991), Funari news (Rete 4, 1993-4), Napoli capitale (Rai 2, 1995-6), A tu per tu (Canale 5, 2000) and the Saturday night show Apocalypse Show (Rai 1, 2007).
In 1994 Funari briefly edited the newspaper L'Indipendente. He was also a television critic for the magazine Il Borghese.
Funari died on July 12, 2008 at the San Raffaele Hospital in Milan, where he was hospitalized for five months for lung and heart problems.