Giacomo Poretti

Poretti was born in Villa Cortese, then a frazione of Busto Garolfo, into a working-class family.^[1] From a young age, he developed a passion for theater and tried to join the popular "I Legnanesi" company, but without success.^[2] He abandoned his studies to become a surveyor and worked as a metalworker and nurse at the hospital in Legnano, also dedicating himself to cabaret and politics with Proletarian Democracy.^[1][2]

In 1983, Poretti graduated from the theatrical school in Busto Arsizio and made his stage debut.^[1] Together with his girlfriend Marina Massironi, he formed the cabaret duo "Hansel e Strüdel".^[1] In 1985, he left his hospital job and worked as a summer camp director in Sardinia, where he met Aldo Baglio and Giovanni Storti.^[2] They founded the comedy trio "Aldo, Giovanni e Giacomo" in 1991.^[1]

The trio achieved great success in Italy, initially through theater performances and appearances on national TV shows.^[1] Poretti became extremely popular for the character Tafazzi, created together with Carlo Turati for some performances at the end of the 1980s, and portrayed on Mai dire Gol starting in 1995. The name "Tafazzi" entered common language, with the words "tafazzista" or "tafazzismo", as a reference for the quintessential masochistic behavior of the character.^[3][4][5] In 1996, it was also the name given to a newly discovered protein, tafazzin.^[6]

In the late-1990s and early 2000s, the trio released a series of hit films that broke box office records, including Three Men and a Leg (1997), That's Life (1998), Ask Me If I'm Happy (2000), and The Legend of Al, John and Jack (2002).^[1][7]

In the 2010s, Poretti began collaborating with La Stampa as a columnist.^[1] In 2013, his autobiography Alto come un vaso di gerani was published, and in 2015, his first novel, Al paradiso è meglio credere, was released.^[1] In 2018 Poretti debuted as a television host with the program Scarp de' tenis and staged successful theatrical shows.^[8] Since 2019, he has been directing the Teatro Oscar in Milan.^[9]

In 2022, he created the podcast PoretCast, hosting various public figures.^[10]

Poretti was married to Marina Massironi from 1986 to 1990, and he is currently married to Daniela Cristofori.^[11] Poretti and Cristofori have a son named Emanuele, born in 2006.^[12]