Franco Zeffirelli, an Italian director behind Hollywood classics such as “Romeo and Juliet,” and famed productions at the Metropolitan Opera House, has died. He was 96.
Zeffirelli died at his home in Rome Saturday, said his son, Luciano Zeffirelli.
“He had suffered for a while, but he left in a peaceful way,” he told The Associated Press.
Zeffirelli was known for making classical works, including Shakespeare and opera, popular among the modern masses.
“I am not a film director. I am a director who uses different instruments to express his dreams and his stories — to make people dream,” Zeffirelli told The AP in 2006.
His staging of Shakespeare’s “Falstaff” for New York’s Metropolitan Opera House debuted in 1964 to rave reviews, and he went on to direct 11 productions there, Variety reported. In 2008, he took to the Met stage to celebrate the 347th performance of his 1981 production of “La Boheme.”
Born in Florence on Feb. 12, 1923, Zeffirelli was an unlikely Italian standout in the American movie world, working with stars including Elizabeth Taylor, Mel Gibson, Cher and Judi Dench.
In addition to producing movies, plays and operas, Italian luminaries often called on Zeffirelli for his theatrical talents.
The Vatican asked him to help produce live telecasts for the 1978 papal induction and Holy Year opening ceremonies in 1983 at St. Peter’s Basilica.
In his early career, he was known for his romantic films, before turning to spiritual themes.
His movie rendition of “Romeo and Juliet” set box-office records in the US, and became the most successful Shakespearean movie in history, netting $52 million in ticket sales.
In 1977, the pope endorsed Zaffirelli’s “Jesus of Nazareth” mini-TV-series.
Zeffirelli credits his interest in English literature to his early language lessons with a British expatriate living in Florence.
During World War II he acted as an interpreter for British troops. In 2004, the country named him an honorary knight, making him the only Italian to have ever received the honor.
The lifelong bachelor has struggled with health issues since he contracted a life-threatening infection during a hip surgery in 1999. Even then, his spirits remained high.
“I always have to cling on to this or that to walk . . . but the mind is absolutely intact,” he said at the time.
With Wires