1. Sergio Franchi was an Italian-American tenor and actor who enjoyed success in the United States and internationally after gaining notice in Britain in the early 1960s.
66 Facts About Sergio Franchi
1. 2.
In 1962, RCA Victor signed him to a seven-year contract and in October of that year Franchi appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show and performed at Carnegie Hall.
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Sergio Franchi became a headliner in Las Vegas, and starred in concerts and cabarets on several continents.
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Sergio Franchi performed musical comedies on stage, appeared on numerous television variety shows, and starred in a major motion picture.
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Sergio Franchi Franci Galli was one of three children born to a Neapolitan father and Genoese mother.
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Sergio Franchi, Mirella, and Fausta were all born in the region of Lombardy.
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Sergio Franchi stated for the record several times in later life that his birthplace was Codogno in the province of Lodi.
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Young Sergio Franchi formed a three-piece band at age sixteen to earn pocket money, and then later sang with a male vocal group in local jazz clubs.
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Sergio Franchi soon followed the officer's suggestion that South Africa would be a land of more opportunity, and he immigrated to Johannesburg.
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The family followed in 1947 when Sergio Franchi completed his compulsory military service at age twenty-one.
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Young Sergio Franchi began using his skills as an architectural draftsman and worked for his father as a designer of commercial and industrial interiors.
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Sergio Franchi began singing in informal concerts of Italian music.
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Sergio Franchi's debut was well-received, and was followed by leading roles in Pink Champagne, The New Moon, and The Vagabond King.
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Under Rota's tutelage, Sergio Franchi's voice matured, and he expanded his vocal range and technique.
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About his first experience with the fledgling opera company in a production of Carmen, Sergio Franchi later stated this initial experience was a disaster: He sang the tenor part in Italian, the baritone sang in Russian, and the soprano sang her role in French.
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Sergio Franchi quickly matured and Rota placed Franchi in leading tenor roles in at least two successful full opera productions - Puccini's Madama Butterfly in 1957, and then Verdi's La traviata in 1959.
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Some references list Sergio Franchi singing lead performances in Verdi's Rigoletto and Puccini's La boheme.
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Sometime after the 1956 London production of Grab Me a Gondola premiered, Sergio Franchi performed in a Johannesburg stage production of the musical, and made his very first recording with the cast.
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In 1959 Sergio Franchi made an important contact with an English agent, James Gilmore, who encouraged Sergio Franchi to meet with him if he came to London.
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Sergio Franchi had some success when he was leaving Italy in 1959, such as being among the 10 finalists in a La Scala competition with 250 other singers.
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Sergio Franchi was offered the role of Cavaradossi in Tosca, which he played in a minor opera house.
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Sergio Franchi then looked for work in Italy while his wife and children remained in South Africa.
23.
In early 1960, Sergio Franchi played the role of Janni in the short-lived London production of The Golden Touch.
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Sergio Franchi soon recorded his first RCA Victor album, in London.
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Sergio Franchi made his American television debut with an appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show on October 14,1962; and his Sol Hurok concert debut at Carnegie Hall on October 21,1962.
26.
Sergio Franchi made his nightclub debut at the Empire Room of the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City.
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Sergio Franchi continued to have many successful appearances at many large venues, including one with Barbra Streisand, as well as more Sullivan television appearances.
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Sergio Franchi soon made his Las Vegas debut at the Sahara Hotel as the opening act for Bob Newhart.
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Sergio Franchi recorded three more albums for RCA Victor, all three of which peaked on the Billboard 200 pop charts in 1963.
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Sergio Franchi made a noteworthy appearance at the "35th Annual Chicagoland Music Festival" in August 1964, as well as starring in a performance at the Cocoanut Grove, as well as doing other events.
31.
Sergio Franchi changed his professional representation to the William Morris Agency.
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Sergio Franchi then moved his family from London to a Park Avenue apartment in New York City.
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Sergio Franchi filed the first papers in declaration of his intent to become an American citizen, among other endeavors.
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Sergio Franchi liked the score and embraced the idea, although it meant giving up a large portion of a year's income from his concert dates.
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Sergio Franchi recorded The Songs of Richard Rodgers; and his evergreen Christmas album The Heart of Christmas.
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Sergio Franchi appeared in Las Vegas and many well-known places, and opened for or was opened by many famous celebrities.
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Sergio Franchi continued to have television appearances and in general, his popularity was very high.
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In 1963, Sergio Franchi turned down an offer from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to star in a film on Mario Lanza's life story.
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Sergio Franchi stated he preferred performing on Broadway, where each night was different and a challenge to make it new.
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Sergio Franchi recorded several more albums for RCA Victor did not renew his contract in 1969.
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In 1970 Sergio Franchi was voted Best Male Vocalist by Fabulous Las Vegas Magazine.
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Sergio Franchi performed successfully in many other places outside of Las Vegas as well.
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Sergio Franchi had many performances, concerts, appearances, records produced, and tours, both international and domestic.
44.
Sergio Franchi engaged in activities such as advertising campaigns for private companies.
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In 1975, Sergio Franchi was the recipient of The Mario Lanza Award for outstanding achievements in the field of music.
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Sergio Franchi received the Italian American of the Year Award in New Orleans at this time.
47.
Later, in the 1980s, Sergio Franchi continued to perform at a number of popular venues in the United States.
48.
Sergio Franchi intended to retire after his work on Nine, although he has appeared in Chicago for his large fan-base there in 1985 and 1986, as well as other various places in the United States in 1987 and 1988.
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Sergio Franchi was always attracted to the arts, and could play multiple instruments, including piano and guitar.
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Sergio Franchi always carried a sketch book with him on all of his travels, and in later life, devoted himself to watercolor painting in his private studio.
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Sergio Franchi was an avid collector and restorer of classic and antique automobiles.
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Sergio Franchi's collection included "25 examples of fine British, American, and Italian" cars.
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Sergio Franchi intended it to be a refuge for his retirement years.
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The property included several residences, and Sergio Franchi worked to make it a family compound.
55.
Tests revealed a brain tumor and, despite radiation therapy, Sergio Franchi succumbed to the illness.
56.
Sergio Franchi died less than one month after his 64th birthday.
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Early in his American career, Sergio Franchi's popularity drew people for major charity and benefit shows.
58.
Sergio Franchi joined Itzhak Perlman, Shirley Verrett and Buffy Sainte-Marie in the event hosted by Tony Randall.
59.
One of Sergio Franchi's largest fund-raising benefit was a political event in 1982, where he helped raise over $600,000 during a three-day concert tour of Massachusetts on behalf of the re-election campaign of Governor King.
60.
In later life, Sergio Franchi donated prints of some of his watercolors for charitable sales.
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Sergio Franchi was a longtime supporter of the Muscular Dystrophy Association and performed frequently on the annual Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon.
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Sergio Franchi was proud of both his American citizenship and his Italian heritage.
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Sergio Franchi became active very early with the National Italian American Foundation, and regularly performed in benefit of the Boys' Towns of Italy and the Girls' Towns of Italy.
64.
Sergio Franchi performed in New Orleans for a Boys' Towns Benefit with Dana Valery in 1974.
65.
In Pittsburgh, Sergio Franchi performed benefits in 1975 and 1977 at Heinz Hall in support of Boys' Towns.
66.
Sergio Franchi received the Il Leone di San Marco Award in the Performing Arts from The Italian Heritage and Culture Committee of the Bronx and Westchester in New York.