Italian director Mario Monicelli dead at 95

Italian director Mario Monicelli dead at 95

2010-11-30 15:11:11 GMT+7 (ICT)

ROME, ITALY (BNO NEWS) -- Italian director Mario Monicelli died on Monday after committing suicide by jumping to his death from a fifth floor in Rome, the ANSA news agency reported. He was 95.

Monicelli was being treated at the San Giovanni hospital in the Italian capital of Rome. He was recently diagnosed with a prostate tumor and his condition was said to be terminal. The father of Monicelli, Tomasso, a writer and journalist, also committed suicide in 1946.

ANSA reported that the director jumped from the balcony of the hospital's urology department at around 9 p.m. local time after returning from cancer treatment. His body was discovered by hospital workers.

Monicelli did not leave behind any suicide note to explain his decision to jump from the window, which is about ten meters high.

Monicelli is considered to be the father of Italian comedy and worked along many great figures of Italian cinema such as Marcello Mastroianni, Toto and Alberto Sordi. He was nominated twice for an Oscar, in 1965 for "Casanova" and in 1963 for "I Compagni."

He also directed Mastroianni in the worldwide-acclaimed "Big Deal on Madonna Street" in 1958. He received a Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival in 1959 for "The Great War." He was honored with a lifetime achievement award in 1991.

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