Mauro di Francesco, the memory of Jerry Calà: «He was a boy prodigy, the best». Diego Abatantuono: «Friends for 50 years, I lost a brother»

«I feel terrible pain. The news of Mauro’s loss broke my heart. We will all miss him.” For Jerry Calà Mauro di Francesco, the Milanese actor who passed away at the age of 74, was a friend before a colleague. The two artists had shared the stage together since the 1970s. «We spent a lifetime together – recalls Calà –: Derby was our home, where we met every night. He was an excellent actor, who had started to make himself known as a boy playing Robby in the 1968 Rai drama “La Arrow Nera” alongside Loretta Goggi. He was what is called a boy prodigy.” Calà remembers his friend’s character qualities: «Maurino – as he affectionately calls him – he was a funny man, he made me, I Gatti, Diego Abatantuono laugh. He was the life of the party. He had some unique quirks, like when he imitated Romagna grandmothers, making us die of laughter.”

The former Gatto and Di Francesco had made films together that are now cult films such as “Abbronzatissimi” and “I’m Going to Live Alone King” and was in the cast of “Sapore di mare 2”. Calà had also directed him in his film, «Odyssey in the hospice» of 2019in which Di Francesco, in the film, played the director of the retirement home where I Gatti di Vicolo Miracoli were guests ante tempore. «I wanted to bring my friends together – says Calà -: it’s a film I made for friendship and company. For a month we lived in a farmhouse on the outskirts of Rome. In the evening we had dinner together. Maurino was the fulcrum of our evenings. This is the last memory I carry in my heart of him.” Calà’s desire is that that last film together “be dusted off, to pay homage to Maurino”. In recent times Di Francesco «had retired to live in the Tuscan countryside with his wife. He was calm, he painted and was very good.” His wife is Antonella Palma di Fratianni whom he married in 1997, while his son Daniel was born from his first marriage with the French actress Pascale Reynaud.

Diego Abatantuono struggles to speak, as he shared the most important sets with Di Francesco in the first part of his career. Just to name a few, those of «Attila scourge of God», «The figs», «Truly exceptional». «Ours – states Abatantuono – is a very long friendship, We met 55 years ago and have always stayed in touch. I feel great sadness, his loss weighs a lot, like when a brother passes away and you start to feel regret… I was very close to him and his wife.” The news of his death also took Abatantuono by surprise. «We spoke a month ago – he says -. He was fine, he was cheerful.” At the Derby the cabaret saw them together in the Repellent Group, created by Enzo Jannacci and Beppe Viola, together with Massimo Boldi, Giorgio Faletti, Giorgio Porcaro. «I still remember a caricature that a friend made of us at the Derby – these are Abatantuono’s words -: there is me, Maurino, Porcaro, Faletti and another friend can be glimpsed. I’m the only one alive from that group, so it’s easy to imagine my state of mind.” A memory also arrived on social media from Francesco Oppini and Alba Parietti: «You were a marvel of kindness, but above all a good person. We will miss you dearly.”