One of the performers remembered for his work on the classic miniseries Jesus of Nazareth and a long list of other prominent film and television projects has passed away.
Italian outlets report that veteran actor and voice artist Pino Colizzi has died; Il Messaggero says the cause of death was not disclosed, while DiRE lists his date of death as February 14. He was 88 years old.
Colizzi is best known internationally for his appearance in Franco Zeffirelli’s 1977 biblical drama Jesus of Nazareth, in which he played Jobab, one of the two thieves crucified alongside Jesus. In addition to that on-screen role, he was also the Italian-language voice for Robert Powell’s portrayal of Jesus in that production.
Beyond that landmark, Colizzi built an extensive career as a dubbing artist, lending his voice to many well-known English-speaking actors for Italian releases. Among the performers he dubbed are Robert De Niro (The Godfather Part II), James Caan (The Godfather), Jack Nicholson (Mars Attacks!), Tom Selleck (Three Men and a Little Lady), Richard Dreyfuss (Jaws; Close Encounters of the Third Kind), Michael Douglas (Fatal Attraction; The China Syndrome), Michael Caine (Sleuth) and Christopher Reeve (the first three Superman films).
His voice work also extended to beloved animated and family titles. Colizzi provided Italian-language voices for Disney’s Fantasia and Robin Hood, voiced characters in Don Bluth’s All Dogs Go to Heaven, and contributed to the Nickelodeon series ChalkZone.
Colizzi’s passing comes less than a year after the death of another actor from the Jesus of Nazareth ensemble, Lee Montague, who played the prophet Habakkuk in the miniseries. Several other notable cast members from that production have also died in recent years, including James Earl Jones (who played Balthazar) and Christopher Plummer (Herod Antipas).
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