Emerging from a Milanese family of Venetian descent, Lionello honed his craft at the Accademia dei Filodrammatici before joining Antonio Gandusio’s troupe in 1949. A breakthrough on stage arrived with the 1951 comedy La pulce all’orecchio, after which he spent several seasons with Wanda Osiris’s company. His national profile rose in 1960 when he co-hosted RAI’s Saturday night musical Canzonissima,…
