Franco Diogene (20 October 1947 – 27 May 2005) was an Italian actor and comedian.
Life and career Born Concetto Francesco Diogene in Catania, he was the son of a Sicilian father and a Ligurian mother. At 5 years old, Diogene moved to Genoa with his family. In Genoa he completed his studies, and also started acting in a little theater of a parish. Since the early 1970s, he was one of the most active character actors in Italian cinema, often cast in humorous roles. He was also cast in several international productions, such as Midnight Express (in the role of Yesil, the Turkish lawyer who unsuccessfully defended Billy Hayes in court) and The Name of the Rose, mainly thanks to his foreign language skills. Diogene was also active as a stand-up comedian, and he was the organizer of the beauty contest "Miss Top Model Universe".
Diogene died of a heart attack, aged 57 years old.
Selected filmography
Due mafiosi contro Al Capone (1966) - Night club Announcer Maria Rosa la guardona (1973) Teresa the Thief (1973) Il colonnello Buttiglione diventa generale (1974) Kidnap (1974) - Nino Ante Up (1974) - Peppino il Barbiere Buttiglione diventa capo del servizio segreto (1975) - Tenente Parisi The Suspicious Death of a Minor (1975) - Pesce's Lawyer (uncredited) Nude per l'assassino (1975) - Maurizio Teasers (1975) - Monica's Lover La collegiale (1975) - Carlo De Marchi Il giustiziere di mezzogiorno (1975) - Vigile Corrotto Sex with a Smile (1976) - Ignazio, her husband (segment "I soldi in banca") La madama (1976) - Fruttivendolo As of Tomorrow (1976) - Garage Owner (uncredited) Roma, l'altra faccia della violenza (1976) - Lawyer Goodnight, Ladies and Gentlemen (1976) - Grocer (uncredited) Cuginetta, amore mio! (1976) - Sciaccaluga Tentacles (1977) - Chuck Taxi Girl (1977) - Sheik Abdul Lala Midnight Express (1978) - Yesil Gardenia (1979) - Friend of Gardenia A Policewoman on the Porno Squad (1979) - Joe Maccarone I contrabbandieri di Santa Lucia (1979) - Achmet Supersexymarket (1979) Saturday, Sunday and Friday (1979) - The lawyer (segment "Venerdì") Il viziaccio (1980) City of Women (1980) - Party Guest (uncredited) L'insegnante al mare con tutta la classe (1980) - Headmaster Delitto a Porta Romana (1980) - Busoni - the usurer Trhauma (1980) - Bitto Il terno a letto (1980) Madly in Love (1981) - Capo cameriere Il paramedico (1982) - 'Palletta'-The Car Wrecker La casa stregata (1982) Attenti a quei P2 (1982) - Emiro Kashieri Giovani, belle... probabilmente ricche (1982) - L'avvocato Grand Hotel Excelsior (1980) - Ing. Binotti Attila flagello di Dio (1982) - Mercante genovese Heads I Win, Tails You Lose (1982) - The soccer team's owner Stesso mare stessa spiaggia (1983) - Piero The World of Don Camillo (1984) - Binella Il ragazzo di campagna (1984) - 1st Recruitment Manager Madman at War (1985) - Nitti Killer contro killers (1985) - Hagen The Mines of Kilimanjaro (1986) - Tai-Ling The Name of the Rose (1986) - Päpstliche Gesandte #1 7 chili in 7 giorni (1986) - Assessore Turri Il burbero (1986) - Controllore vagoni letto Il lupo di mare (1987) Russicum - I giorni del diavolo (1988) The Big Blue (1988) - Receptionist Interzone (1989) - Rat There Was a Castle with Forty Dogs (1990) - Padre di Violetta The Bachelor (1990) Occhio alla perestrojka (1990) - Racist Receptionist Fuga da Kayenta (1991) - Sheriff Baker Acquitted for Having Committed the Deed (1992) Ci hai rotto papà (1993) - Colonnello Nardini Piccolo grande amore (1993) Caino e Caino (1993) - Direttore della Casa di Riposo The House of the Spirits (1993) - Man at the Party 18000 giorni fa (1993) - Dottor Bianchi Policemen (1995) - Bunny The Stendhal Syndrome (1996) - Victim's husband Esercizi di stile (1996) Con rabbia e con amore (1997) - Man with white Mercedes near the beach Il tocco - La sfida (1997) - Omaccio Figurine (1997) - Mister Atlas La classe non è acqua (1997) - Professore siciliano Boom (1999) - Coluso (Segment: Il figlio di Claudio Villa) Voci (2000) - Libraio Proibito baciare (2000) The Bankers of God: The Calvi Affair (2002) - Luigi Mennini Il compagno americano (2003) - Carboni
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