His career began in 1982 at the Loano Cabaret Festival. There he won the Special Prize of the Critics in 1987. “Which is usually given to those who are good, but not complete.” No, I’m just kidding.” On the other hand, he starred in cinema for 40 years and on television for 35 years, including “Drive in”, “Mai dire gol” , “Striscia la Notia” and “Zelig”, which brought him into the living rooms of the Italians with his most famous character, Oriano Ferrari, the chief engineer of the Maranello team.
Now Marco Della Noce is 65 years old. But it was born a second time. The date: May 9 of last year, when the Monza court opened the debt-debt proceedings that paid off nearly €500,000 in debt out of the roughly €700,000 he amassed after divorcing his wife. From there the abyss. IRS, child support, rent regressions. The foreclosures had left him nothing. He ended up sleeping in his Zafira. Then the lawsuit and the ransom. Now he has returned to the stage, to which have been added the duties of tutoring families and businesses. “I claim the right to fail”, he explains on the phone with the Romagna accent that the character of Luigi in the cartoon “Cars” has and that he still carries with him after five years in Bagnacavallo, near Ravenna.
On May 9, the Monza Court reduced Della Noce’s debt to the tax authorities.
“It’s a liberation, especially of the spirit.” I also found great understanding from the jurors. There is never anything negative and that is it.”
Still a long journey.
“The process was complicated.”
Why?
“Applying the law of indebtedness to an entertainment worker was new to everyone. After more than two years, with the Pagano studio lawyers, we managed to set in motion the debt over-indebtedness introduced after the 2008 economic crisis.”
The next steps?
“Some of my earnings will be withheld for a number of years to pay off debts, which have included rent declines and child support payments. But I was born again.
She made generations of people laugh and then unlearned herself.
“It’s no coincidence that I quit the shows for two years. I didn’t let myself go and didn’t act on instinct. I’ve been thinking too much.
He refers to forced evictions and nights spent homeless in his Zafira.
“Yeah, I couldn’t be creative because everything was running out on me. I couldn’t find any solutions and then came the depression, then two years of psychiatric treatment: I went out in the morning and came home in the evening. I’ve been on medication, but don’t ask me which ones because I don’t keep any.”
Was he ashamed?
“That’s not a word I would use. I was pretty disoriented.”
And what was he thinking?
“What an example I set for my children. Today they thank me for what I have imparted over the years, doing odd jobs to put something aside.”
For example?
“The night watchman in Monza Park during a street food. I had also opened an inflatable company with a friend».
He had the strength to walk.
“My colleagues and ordinary people helped me. When I hit rock bottom, the entire Zelig group moved. From Giancarlo Bozzo, artistic director, through Claudio Bisio to Luciana Littizzetto. They started a fundraiser. They were joined by the people who had paid for my room. From there, step by step, I found a home. Then reading it really motivated me ».
Which?
“It says: Long live the failure of Francesco Chesi.” It contained 22 keys to changing your own life.”
meaning what?
“Live in the present and give weight to the words.” Add to this the teachings of Buddhist philosophy, which I have been practicing for 35 years: The starting point is within ourselves.”
The fans’ affection pushed her back onto the stage.
“It really amazed me. Not long ago someone asked me: “But when are you coming back?”
What comes to mind when you think of Zelig?
«Evenings spent improvising late into the night. One stood behind the counter and the rest of us asked for the weirdest drinks. That’s where the plays were born that could be brought to the stage.”
Now he’s not just a comedian. On the other hand…
“I do several things. I’m a tutor at We Family, a training center that promotes parental dialogue. I also start meetings with companies to raise awareness of the centrality of people in a horizontal perspective. But I keep going with the shows ».
Even with its most famous character, Oriano Ferrari, the chief mechanic of the Maranello team.
“And of course I took him to a live show on May 5th.”
Then it was impossible not to ask her about Ferrari. Which means not having a great time.
“I was the first to make fun of a holy monster like Ferrari, and for that I allow myself to be a little polemical: there is no reference figure.”
What message do you want to send with your story?
“The right to fail. Which isn’t a bad thing. It’s almost necessary in certain cultures because it means you’ve rebuilt yourself. And then we must not attach ourselves to television messages: they are not true.”
June 09, 2023
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