Happy Birthday Fantozzi! Do you remember when you “wrote” in the Sailing Newspaper?

Film buffs and Fantozzi friends will already know: on March 27, 1975, exactly 50 years ago, “Fantozzi,” the first film in the successful saga of the tragicomic mask created by Paolo Villaggio, was released in theaters, directed by Luciano Salce. But perhaps not everyone knows that Fantozzi wrote — in the Giornale della Vela.

Fantozzi in the Journal of Sailing (1978)

In 1978 (in issue No. 9, October/November) Paolo Villaggio in the GdV recounted an astonishing adventure with a Flying Junior at the Genoa Boat Show, a fair he knew very well. Villaggio actually went boating as a young man, but by motorboat.

Enjoy the following article, which is an excerpt from the piece published in ’78 and try to imagine Villaggio’s narration voice as you read, you will enjoy it more.

“Saturday 2 p.m., Boat Show Outer Marina, sailboat booth… The salesman immediately loaded him onto a Flying Junior and in front of the chilled crowd of visitors began the demonstration. “Here,” he said, “is a kind volunteer who has volunteered for the very difficult sea trial.”

And he detached the moorings. The sailboat departed. There was a strong polar wind, the sea temperature was such that there were many white bears screaming with cold on ice floes. He stood up from the back. The demonstrator held out his hand, saying, “Bravo you are a brave man!” Fantozzi made a movement to shake the hand reaching out to him but slipped suddenly and struck his right shin with terrifying violence against a sharp brass edge. He fainted. The demonstrator revived him with a shot of Bolivian brandy called “Infierno de Fiama.”

He went up with his head suddenly screaming and was hit in the nose by a mainsail shot that reduced him to a mask of blood. He crashed his incisors into an iron fender while gritting 32 his teeth. He got back up as the demonstrator shouted, “Attention, now tacking aboard, watch your head.”

He was struck in the back of the head by a second monstrous mainsail shot that this time caught him from behind and flung him onto the polar ice floe. He was left in his shirt and underwear in the accident.

He had also lost his iron shoes. He dragged himself ashore, half walking on the pack and half swimming chased by white bears. He was pulled up by another booth attendant who applauded him and said, “Well done, that’s who’s going to buy a nice boat!” He signed in front of an amused crowd 200 million promissory notes also in the company’s name. He had bought the “Princess Ann,” an old English hospital ship from 1901.”

• Here is the link to the full PDF article

“COCKS THAT ELBOW!” FROM FANTOZZI VS. EVERYBODY, 1980