Gian Franco Corsi Zeffirelli (12 February 1923 – 15 June 2019), was an Italian director and producer of operas, films, and television. He was also a senator from 1994 until 2001 for the Italian centre-right Forza Italia party.
Films he directed included the 1968 romantic drama Romeo and Juliet, for which he received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Directing, and his 1967 adaptation of The Taming of the Shrew with Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. His miniseries Jesus of Nazareth (1977) earned both national and international acclaim and is still frequently shown at Christmas and Easter in many countries.
A Grande Ufficiale OMRI of the Italian Republic since 1977, Zeffirelli also received an honorary British knighthood in 2004 when he was created a KBE. He was awarded the Premio Colosseo in 2009 by the city of Rome.
Filmography on TV Tropes:
- The Taming of the Shrew (1967)
- Romeo and Juliet (1968)
- Jesus of Nazareth (1977)
- Endless Love (1981)
- Cavalleria Rusticana (1982)
- La Traviata (1983)
- Otello (1986)
- Hamlet (1990)
- Jane Eyre (1996)
