In 1955 his family moved to Milan, where he joined evening classes and began working as a window-dresser and then as a door-to-door salesman for a pastry company.

He played in the group I Mimitoki before joining the better-known La pattuglia azzurra ("The Blue Patrol"), which was headed by a young Claudio Lippi.

Boldi's continued his drumming career at Derby Club, established in 1959 as a jazz venue by Gianni Bongiovanni and his wife Angela.

Among the artists he worked with were Enzo Jannacci, Cochi e Renato, Giorgio Gaber, Bruno Lauzi, Umberto Bindi, Gino Paoli, Paolo Villaggio, Walter Waldi and Enrico Intra, joint founder of the club.

The title came from a Boldi catch phrase that appeared in a song he wrote with his friends Enzo Jannacci and Paolo Beldì.

An ad-lib by Teocoli gave rise to Boldi's most famous and popular character, Massima Cipollino, the improbable, blundering presenter of a private newscast, in which he would take calls from the program director on a telephone on his desk, replying on air "Vvvvvvv....vvvaaaaaa Beneeeeeee!!!!!"

On Mediaset, he took part in Drive In, Risatissima, Grand Hotel, Sabato al circo, La strana coppia.

Canale 5 also gave Boldi his first fictional television role, as Lorenzo Fumagalli ("big dad") in the series Un ciclone in famiglia, directed by Carlo Vanzina.

[3] Since separating from De Sica, Boldi has played in Olé (2006), Matrimonio alle Bahamas (2007) and La fidanzata di papà ("Dad's girlfriend") (2008).