Andrea Purgatori (1 February 1953 – 19 July 2023) was an Italian journalist, writer, screenwriter, television presenter and occasional actor.

Andrea Purgatori
Purgatori in Fascisti su Marte (2006)
Born1 February 1953 (1953-02)
Rome, Italy
Died19 July 2023 (2023-07-20) (aged 70)
Rome, Italy
Occupations
  • Author
  • journalist
  • screenwriter
  • actor
  • television presenter
Height1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Spouse
Nicola Schmitz
(m. 1992, divorced)
PartnerErrica Dall'Ara

Life and career

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Born in Rome, in 1974 Purgatori started his career as a journalist, and in 1976 he began a long collaboration with the newspaper Corriere della Sera, in which he served as an investigative journalist and a war correspondent.[1] He later collaborated with other publications, including Le Monde diplomatique, The Huffington Post, Vanity Fair and L'Unità.[2]

As a screenwriter Purgatori's credits include several Marco Risi's films, notably The Rubber Wall (1991), based on his own investigation about the Ustica affair, and Fort Apache Napoli (2010), about the murder of journalist Giancarlo Siani, as well as films by Giuliano Montaldo, Michele Placido, Carlo Verdone, Alessandro Di Robilant.[1][2] He was also an occasional actor, mainly in projects involving comedian Corrado Guzzanti, with whom he also collaborated as a writer in a number of television and stage projects.[2][3]

From 2017, Purgatori wrote and hosted the program Atlantide on La7; in 2019, the program was awarded the Flaiano Prize for best cultural television show.[1] In 2022, he appeared prominently in the Netflix documentary series Vatican Girl: The Disappearance of Emanuela Orlandi.[4] He was also an essayist, and in 2019 he made his debut as a novelist with Quattro piccole ostriche.[5]

An environmental activist, Purgatori served as president of the Italian branch of Greenpeace from 2014 to 2020.[1][6] He died of cancer in Rome, on 19 July 2023, at the age of 70.[7] Purgatori was the father of the actor Edoardo Purgatori and was a fan of the Serie A club A.S. Roma.[2][8]

He considered himself a "dubious believer".[9]

Filmography

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Screenwriting credits

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Year Title Notes
1987 Specters
1989 Maya
1990 Panama Sugar
1991 The Rubber Wall
1992 Nel continente nero
1994 Law of Courage
1995 State Secret
1998 Last Cut
Vite blindate Television film
1999 Fine secolo Miniseries
2000 Sospetti TV series (season 1)
2001 L'attentatumi
2003–2010 Un caso di coscienza TV series (co-writer)
2006 Il fantasma di Corleone
Attacco allo Stato Television film
Fratelli
2006–2007 Nati ieri TV series (co-writer)
2008 Caravaggio Television film
Il bambino della domenica
2010 Angel of Evil
2011 The Entrepreneur
2012 Inspector Nardone TV series
2013 Cha cha cha
2015 Ragion di Stato Television film
2016 Lampedusa - Dall'orizzonte in poi Miniseries
2022 Vatican Girl: La scomparsa di Manuela Orlandi Docuseries

Acting roles

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Year Title Role(s) Notes
1991 The Rubber Wall Journalist Cameo appearance
2001 Three Wives Beatrice's friend Cameo appearance
2006 Fascisti su Marte Fecchia
2008, 2022 Boris Lawyer Kalemzuck TV series (4 episodes)
2010 Due vite per caso Lawyer Cameo appearance
2012 A Flat for Three Claudio Romeres
2016 Ears Otolaryngologist
2016 The Big Score Theatre man Cameo appearance
2017 1993 Niccolò Pizzetti TV series (3 episodes)
2018 Just Believe Rabbi
2022 Vatican Girl: La scomparsa di Manuela Orlandi Himself Docuseries
The Bad Guy Himself TV series (episode "Pilot")
2024 Flaminia Mr. De Rotier

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Purgatori, Andrea". Enciclopedia Treccani (in Italian). Retrieved 19 July 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d "Morto Andrea Purgatori, giornalista d'inchiesta e conduttore di Atlantide". Il Sole 24 Ore (in Italian). 19 July 2023. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
  3. ^ Parrella, Andrea (19 July 2023). "Corrado Guzzanti saluta Andrea Purgatori: "Uno dei miei più cari amici, compagno di molte follie"". Fanpage (in Italian). Retrieved 19 July 2023.
  4. ^ ""Vatican girl", la docuserie sul caso Orlandi con Purgatori: "Quelle attenzioni da un prelato"". Corriere della Sera (in Italian). 19 July 2023. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
  5. ^ ""Quattro piccole ostriche", Andrea Purgatori e la spy story dell'estate". Il Messaggero (in Italian). 28 June 2019. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
  6. ^ "Morte Andrea Purgatori, quando da presidente di Greenpeace invitò Renzi sulla Rainbow Warrior nel 2014". La Repubblica (in Italian). 19 July 2023. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
  7. ^ "Andrea Purgatori, addio a un grande giornalista". Oggi (in Italian). 19 July 2023. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
  8. ^ "ADDIO ANDREA PURGATORI: CRONISTA DI RAZZA E ROMANISTA VERO" (in Italian). 19 July 2023. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
  9. ^ Giordano, Lucio (4 August 2023). "Addio Andrea, la tua scomparsa è avvolta nel mistero come le vicende dei tuo servizi in TV". Dipiù (in Italian). No. 31. pp. 14–17.
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