How Dario Fo Learned That He Won the Nobel Prize

Dario Fo, the Italian playwright/actor/painter/political rabble-rouser who won the 1997 Nobel Prize for Literature, passed away today at the age of 90.

Italian media are filing their remembrances of Fo today. This one, of how he found out how he won the Nobel, is surreal.

Fo and TV show host Ambra Angiolini were filming a show for RAI 3 called Roma/Milano, which paired famous people together for a drive from Milan to Rome. While driving along the autostrada, a car pulls up next to Angiolini and Fo with a sign that reads, “Hai vinto il Nobel.”

Fo sees the sign and then realizes what has happened, “Non ne parlavo per scaramanzia.” (“I didn’t talk about it because I didn’t want to jinx it.”)

Dario Fo is best known for his works Mistero Buffo, Accidental Death of an Anarchist, and We Won’t Pay! We Won’t Pay!

But one of my favorite Fo works is this simple quote that is attributed to him:

“Know how to live the time that is given you.”

Post first published on October 13, 2016