Carlo Bonomi

Not to be confused with Carlo Bononi.

Carlo Bonomi
Bonomi at a dubbing session in 1996
Born(1937-03-12)12 March 1937
Milan, Italy
Died6 August 2022(2022-08-06) (aged 85)
Milan, Italy
OccupationVoice actor
Years active1963–2008

Carlo Bonomi (12 March 1937 – 6 August 2022)[1] was an Italian voice actor who was best known for his voiceover work as the voice of Mr. Linea in the animated series La Linea as well as Pingu and various other characters in series 1–4 of the stop-motion children's television series of the same name.[2][3]

Career

Bonomi voiced many characters for the Italian advertising show Carosello. The language of noises he had developed and used for the earlier Osvaldo Cavandoli's La Linea from 1971 to 1986 was reinterpreted for the acclaimed TV series Pingu on SF DRS during its first four seasons produced between 1990 and 2000, where Bonomi voiced all the characters without a script.[2][4][5][6] His grammelot was originally intended to be a parody of the Milanese dialect, and it was inspired by three abstract languages traditionally used by clowns in France and Italy.[7][3][8]

When in 2003 the show's rights were acquired by HIT Entertainment, Bonomi was replaced by London-based voice actors David Sant and Marcello Magni.[7][9][10][8][11]

In 1984, he provided the laughter voices for the cartoon series Stripy. In 1985, he recorded the railway announcements for the central station of Milan, which remained in use until 2008. Bonomi was also very active as a voice actor in Italian radio dramas, and was the Italian voice for several popular cartoon characters, including Mickey Mouse and Fred Flintstone.[7]

In 2008, he acted the voices for the yellow tribe in Spore, which was also his final role before his retirement from acting later that year.

Death

Bonomi died on 6 August 2022 in his home town in Milan, Italy, at the age of 85.[12]

Filmography

Film

Animation

Video games

  • Pingu: A Barrel of Fun! (1997) – Pingu, Robby
  • Fun! Fun! Pingu (1999) – All characters
  • Spore (2008) – Additional voices

Live-action

  • Eurovision Song Contest (TV series) (1965, 1990, 1992) – Swiss Commentator (voice)
  • Le mie prigioni (TV series) (1968) – Il segretario
  • Ogni Regno (1969) – Narrator (voice)
  • La freccia nera (TV series) (1969) – Un alabardiere
  • Durante l'estate (1971) – Voice dubbing (uncredited)

Other works

References

  1. ^ Antonio Genna. "Carlo Bonomi". Il mondo dei doppiatori (in Italian).
  2. ^ a b c d "The Man Who Voiced Pingu Looks COMPLETELY Different to How We Imagined - Entertainment - Heart Radio". Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 31 December 2016.
  3. ^ a b Thorne, Tony. "Pingu's Lingo, or How to Get By in Penguinese".
  4. ^ "The man who voiced Pingu is NOT what we expected". Her.ie.
  5. ^ Jade, Kelly (14 September 2016). "Ever wanted to know what the guy who voiced Pingu looks like? Well here he is – Metro".
  6. ^ Hardiman, Jess. "'Pingu' Illustrator Tony Wolf Dies At 88".
  7. ^ a b c Wahlgren, Yens (2 February 2021). The Universal Translator. The History Press. ISBN 978-0-7509-9592-4.
  8. ^ a b Stevens, Danna (February 2008). "The March of the Pingu". Slate.
  9. ^ "How we made Pingu". The Guardian. 11 January 2016.
  10. ^ "Anyone out there speak Pinguish?".[permanent dead link‍]
  11. ^ "Pingu gets new voice". Irish Examiner. 17 August 2003.
  12. ^ "Tributes pour in for Carlo Bonomi the original voice of Pingu who died aged 85". Euro Weekly News. 7 August 2022. Retrieved 8 August 2022.