Renato Pozzetto and Cochi Ponzoni are an Italian musical and comedy duo who works as Cochi e Renato.

Cochi e Renato in 1972

Life and career

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Ponzoni and Pozzetto were childhood friends, and they grew accustomed to perform together in front of an audience of friends and relatives.[1][2] Their professional debut took place in 1965 in the small cabaret club Cab 64 in Milan, where they performed along with Lino Toffolo and Bruno Lauzi.[1] They were also joined by Enzo Jannacci and Felice Andreasi with whom they formed the comedy ensemble Motore, who had a good success in Milan.[1] The couple became first known in the late 1960s thanks to the RAI innovative variety shows Quelli della domenica (1968) and È domenica, ma senza impegno (1969).[1][2] Characterized by a peculiar comic verve, filled with paradoxical and surreal moods, their popularity increased in the early 1970s with the variety show Il poeta e il contadino and with the participation with the musical show Canzonissima.[1][2] The couple began to crack in 1974, when Pozzetto started devoting himself to a full-time film career.[1] After a long separation, Ponzoni and Pozzetto reunited in 2000s for a series of television and stage projects.[1]

Cochi e Renato were also very active as singer-songwriters (often with the collaboration of Enzo Jannacci), and they had several commercial hits;[3][4] their most successful song is "E la vita la vita", which reached the first place at the Italian charts in 1974.[1][4]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Enrico Lancia, Roberto Poppi. Dizionario del cinema italiano: Gli artisti. Gli attori dal 1930 ai giorni nostri. Gremese Editore, 2003. ISBN 8884402697.
  2. ^ a b c Aldo Grasso, Massimo Scaglioni, Enciclopedia della Televisione, Garzanti, Milano, 1996 – 2003. ISBN 881150466X.
  3. ^ Enrico Deregibus (8 October 2010). Dizionario completo della Canzone Italiana. Giunti Editore, 2010. ISBN 978-8809756250.
  4. ^ a b Dario Salvatori (1989). Storia dell'Hit Parade. Gramese, 1989. ISBN 8876054391.
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