Alberto Sordi (15 June 1920 – 24 February 2003) was an Italian actor, comedian, voice dubber, director, singer, composer and screenwriter.

Together with Nino Manfredi, Vittorio Gassman and Ugo Tognazzi he formed a quartet that starred in the most popular movies of this genre.

Sordi established himself as an icon from a career that spanned seven decades of Italian cinema with his skills in comedy and light drama.

Sordi won five Nastro d'argento, ten David di Donatello, a Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement, and many other awards and accolades.

His father Pietro Sordi (1879–1941) was a music professor, he played tuba contrabbasso in the orchestra of the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma.

Only the maternal grandfather Primo Righetti encouraged Alberto Sordi to try himself as a performer and even presented him with a tuxedo with some money inside the pocket.

He formed a comic duo with his childhood friend, they debuted at Cinema Teatro Pace in Milan but had little success and had to go back to Rome.

As recalled by Sordi himself, he went into the auditions with no specific dubbing experience and with little expectation of success, given the competition from established professionals in the industry.

It was MGM dubbing director Franco Schirato who considered Sordi's low register and 'warm and mellow' voice an ideal match for the character's considerable size (although Hardy's voice was actually in the tenor register); he was therefore cast without delay, debuting in the dubbing of the comedy Below Zero in 1939, followed by the feature film The Flying Deuces in the same year.

His own voice was dubbed over by Gualtiero De Angelis in Cuori nella tormenta and Carlo Romano in Bullet for Stefano.

[5][7] Sordi finally managed to make his debut in the revue theatre in the company of Guido Riccioli and Nanda Primavera in the 1938–1939 season with the show Ma in campagna è un'altra... rosa.

[8] In this period, he played minor roles in Giararub directed by Goffredo Alessandrini, La Signorina by Ladislao Kish, Le signorine della villa accanto by Gian Paolo Rosmino.

[10] In 1951 he first started collaborating with Federico Fellini: they made The White Sheik in 1952 and I vitelloni in 1953, a movie about young slackers, in which he plays a weak immature loafer.

Some important characters he did were Ubaldo Impallato in Bravissimo, Peppino in Fortunella, Bepi in Venice, the Moon and You, Alberto Nardi in Il vedovo.

The Great War marks a turning point in his career, when Sordi moved on from playing meager 'average Italians' to interpreting complex dramatic characters.

The 1960 film Everybody Go Home directed by Luigi Comencini also was a great success, it was referred to as one of the most important cinema in post-war Italy.

[22] In 1984, he directed and co-scripted Tutti dentro (Off to jail, everybody), in which he played a judge who has warrants for corruption served on ministers and businessmen.

[26][25] In 1966, Sordi made his directorial debut with the comedy Fumo di Londra, acting as both writer and performer in the lead role.

[27] In 1984, he directed and co-scripted Tutti dentro (Off to jail, everybody), in which he played a judge who has warrants for corruption served on ministers and businessmen.

The niece of Alberto Sordi recalled that he remained forever grateful to grandfather Primo Righetti for his constant support at the early stages of career.

They remained close, when Primo Reghetti experienced health problems in the late years, Sordi paid for his treatment in the best private clinics.

[3] The peers recalled that Sordi avoided the VIP social gatherings and parties, especially in the 1960s, the time of 'Dolce Vita', while most of his colleagues enjoyed nightlife, he was always busy working and releasing 13-15 movies a year.

At the 22nd Berlin International Film Festival, he won the Silver Bear for Best Actor award for Detenuto in attesa di giudizio.

The third foundation, titled Fondazione Museo Alberto Sordi, was registered in 2011, when Aurelia had already displayed symptoms of dementia.

According to Aurelia's will, also written in 2011, Fondazione Museo Alberto Sordi inherited the fortune of more than 30 mln euro and a Roman villa in via Druso, 45, where she and her brother had been living since 1958.