Profile Text
10/16/2009 – Zeffirelli – 4th Annual Rome International Film Festival – Rome Documentary Presentation – Auditorium Parco Della Musica – Rome, Italy – Photo Credit: Insidefoto / PR Photos
Birth name: Gian Franco Corsi Zeffirelli
Date of Birth: 12 February, 1923
Place of Birth: Florence, Tuscany, Italy
Date of Death: 15 June, 2019
Place of Death: Rome, Lazio, Italy
Ethnicity: Italian
Franco Zeffirelli was an Italian director, production designer, and producer, of operas, films, and television. He directed the films The Taming of the Shrew (1967), Romeo and Juliet (1968), for which he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Director; Brother Sun, Sister Moon , all three of which he co-wrote; The Champ (1979), Endless Love (1981), Pagliacci , Cavalleria rusticana , La Traviata (1982), which he wrote; Otello (1986), which he co-wrote; Young Toscanini , Hamlet (1990), Sparrow (1993), Jane Eyre (1996), Tea with Mussolini , and Callas Forever , the latter five of which he co-wrote. He also directed and co-wrote the mini-series Jesus of Nazareth . He was a Member of the Senate of the Republic, from 21 April, 1994 to 29 May, 2001.
Franco was the son of Ottorino Corsi, a wool and silk dealer, and Florentine Alaide Garosi, a fashion designer. His father was from Vinci, Tuscany. His mother was from Florence, Tuscany. The two were married to other people at the time. The surname Zeffirelli was made up by his mother as he was illegitimate. Franco served in the British Army, from 1942 to 1945.