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Santo Cilauro | |
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Born | Santo Luigi Cilauro 25 November 1961 |
Nationality | Australian |
Other names | Snatto Ghauro, Zladko Vladcik |
Alma mater | University of Melbourne (BA, LL.B.) |
Occupations |
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Known for | The Late Show , The Panel , The Dish , The Castle , Frontline and Santo, Sam and Ed's Cup Fever! |
Children | 2 |
Santo Luigi Cilauro (born 25 November 1961) [1] is an Australian comedian, television and feature film producer, screenwriter, actor, author and cameraman who is also a co-founder of The D-Generation . Known as the weatherman in Frontline , he is also an author and former radio presenter on Triple M, and achieved worldwide fame with the viral video Elektronik Supersonik. [2] [ failed verification ]
Cilauro was born in 1961 in Melbourne, Australia to parents of Italian descent. Cilauro attended Xavier College and the University of Melbourne and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Laws in 1987. [1]
In 1984, while walking to his aunt's house in Melbourne, he stumbled across a Juventus press conference during their tour of Australia, and after seeing coach Giovanni Trapattoni struggle to answer questions in English, used his Italian skills to translate, which resulted in Cilauro becoming the team translator for the rest of the tour. [3]
In 2021, Cilauro became the patron of the Australasian Centre of Italian Studies. [4]
Cilauro started collaborating with Rob Sitch and Tom Gleisner in comedy theatre productions and tours. He is one of the co-founders of The D-Generation. [5]
Cilauro wrote for, and performed in, the troupe's show during its 1986–87 run on ABC TV (which also led to the album The Satanic Sketches). Cilauro continued as a member of the D-Gen when the team hosted their Breakfast Show on Triple M radio (1986–1992), appearing as the simple-minded "Wayne from St Albans" and "Gino Tagliatoni" amongst other roles. Cilauro was a writer/performer on the D-Generation's 1992–1993 sketch comedy The Late Show , appearing on such segments as Graham & the Colonel, The Oz Brothers and Jeff & Terry Bailey.[ citation needed ]
After the second and last season of The Late Show, Cilauro starred as Stix in the 1994 ABC cop show satire Funky Squad , which he also co-created and served as one of the writer/producer/directors. He went on to help set up the Working Dog production company and was one of the writer/producer/directors of Frontline (1994–97), in which he also had a recurring onscreen role as weatherman Geoffrey Salter. Since then, Cilauro has co-written Working Dog's popular films The Castle (1997) and The Dish (2000) and appeared as a regular member (and occasional host) of the 1998–2003 Network 10 programme The Panel .
Cilauro has been an executive producer of several Working Dog productions, including The Panel, A River Somewhere (1997–98), and All Aussie Adventures (2001–02). He played the Head of Market Research, Theo Tsolakis, on The Hollowmen (2008), a series which Cilauro co-wrote and co-produced. Cilauro also played IT technician Griffin on the Shaun Micallef sitcom Welcher & Welcher (2003) and K2 on the 1996 Working Dog radio sketch Johnny Swank .
During the 2010 FIFA World Cup, he hosted a nightly comedy/variety show called Santo, Sam and Ed's Cup Fever! live from Melbourne alongside Ed Kavalee and Sam Pang. In 2014 Cilauro joined his Working Dog colleagues Sitch and Gleisner to stage the group's first play, The Speechmaker. [6]
Year | Production | Credit | Role | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2012 | Any Questions for Ben? | Producer, Writer & Camera Operator | |||
2009 | Shintaro! | Himself | Documentary | ||
2007 | The Sound of Aus | ||||
2004 | Herman, the Legal Labrador | Sal the Hot Dog Vendor | Voice only | ||
2001 | Numero Bruno | Himself | Documentary | ||
2000 | The Dish | Producer, Writer & Second Unit Director | |||
1997 | The Castle | Writer & Camera Operator | |||
1996 | The Campaign | Director, Writer, Producer & Cinematographer | Himself – Narrator | Documentary | |
1988 | Billy's Shout | Director | TV Short | ||
Year(s) | Television Show | Credit | Role | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2016-19 | Utopia | Creator, Executive Producer, Writer | |||
2016 | Pacific Heat | Creator, Executive Producer, Writer | |||
2014–Present | Have You Been Paying Attention? | Panelist | Himself | ||
2013–15 | Santo, Sam and Ed's Total Football | Executive Producer & Writer | Himself | ||
2012 | Audrey's Kitchen | Executive Producer | |||
Santo, Sam and Ed's Sports Fever! | Executive Producer & Writer | Himself | |||
Pictures of You | Executive Producer | ||||
2010 | Santo, Sam and Ed's Cup Fever! | Executive Producer & Writer | Himself | ||
2008 | The Hollowmen | Creator, Producer, Writer & Camera Operator | Theo Tsolakis | ||
2007 | The Panel: Christmas Wrap | Executive Producer | Himself | ||
2006 | |||||
2006–2009 | Thank God You're Here | Creator, Camera Operator (Series 1–3), Writer & Executive Producer | |||
2004 | Russell Coight's Celebrity Challenge | ||||
2003 | Welcher & Welcher | Griffin Griggs | |||
2001–2002 | Russell Coight's All Aussie Adventures | Writer & Camera Operator | |||
1998–2005 | The Panel | Executive Producer | Himself | ||
1997–1998 | A River Somewhere | ||||
1995 | Funky Squad | Creator, Director, Producer & Writer | Stix ('Joey Alvarez') | ||
1994–1997 | Frontline | Geoffrey Salter | |||
1994 | Homicide... 30 Years On | Himself | |||
1993 | Bargearse | Director & Writer | Poloneck | ||
The Olden Days | Various | ||||
1992–1993 | The Late Show | ||||
1988 | The D Generation Goes Commercial | Writer | |||
1986–1987 | The D Generation | ||||
Cilauro, along with Rob Sitch and Tom Gleisner, created the popular Internet phenomenon character Zladko "ZLAD!" Vladcik, a Molvanian synth-pop musician. Zlad was performed by Cilauro to accompany the Jetlag Travel Guide to Molvanîa. [7] [8] Cilauro was, with Sitch and Gleisner, co-author of the Jetlag Travel Guides to Molvanîa, Phaic Tăn and San Sombrèro.
Two music videos were performed by Cilauro as Zladko, for "Elektronik – Supersonik" and "I Am The Anti-Pope". [9]
Frontline is an Australian comedy television series which satirised Australian television current affairs programmes and reporting. It ran for three series of 13 half-hour episodes and was broadcast on ABC TV in 1994, 1995 and 1997.
Jane Kennedy is an Australian actress, radio presenter and television producer, best known for her work with Working Dog Productions, a group of performers responsible for a variety of television and films. She previously was a co-host of KennedyMolloy on Triple M with Mick Molloy.
Thomas Edmund Gleisner is an Australian comedian, television presenter, producer, director, writer, occasional actor and author. Gleisner currently hosts Network 10's Have You Been Paying Attention?.
Robert Ian Sitch is an Australian director, producer, screenwriter, actor and comedian. He is known for his 1990s comedy series Frontline, and the long-running comedy series Utopia.
Working Dog Productions is a film and television production company based in Melbourne, Australia. It was formed in 1993 by actors Santo Cilauro, Rob Sitch, Jane Kennedy, Tom Gleisner, and producer Michael Hirsh. The company changed its name to Working Dog Productions Pty Ltd in 1996. The company's mascot is an Australian Cattle Dog.
The Late Show is a popular Australian comedy sketch and satire show, which ran for two seasons on the ABC. It aired weekly on Saturday nights from 18 July 1992 to 30 October 1993.
Anthony Francis Martin is a New Zealand comedian, writer and actor, who has had a successful TV, radio, stand-up and film career in Australia.
Molvanîa is a book parodying travel guidebooks. The guide describes the fictional country Molvanîa, a post-Soviet state, a nation described as "the birthplace of the whooping cough" and "owner of Europe's oldest nuclear reactor". It was created by Australians Tom Gleisner, Santo Cilauro and Rob Sitch. Along with the other Jetlag Travel volumes, 2004's Phaic Tăn and 2006's San Sombrèro, the book parodies both the language of heritage tourism and the legacy of colonialism and imperialism. The book has been criticised for promoting racial stereotypes.
Michael Molloy is an Australian comedian, writer, producer, actor and television and radio presenter who has been active in radio, television, stand-up and film. He currently hosts The Front Bar on the Seven Network.
The D-Generation was a popular and influential Australian TV sketch comedy show, produced and broadcast by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) for two series, between 1986 and 1987. A further four specials were broadcast on the Seven Network between 1988 and 1989. The show would also serve as a stepping stone for many early incarnations of iconic characters, including Lynne Postlethwaite, Gina Hard-Faced B***h, Eileen Maverick and Kelvin Cunnington.
Mary Coustas is an Australian actress, comedian and television personality and writer. Originally from Melbourne, Coustas often performs as the character "Effie", a stereotypical second-generation Greek Australian prone to malapropisms. She completed a Bachelor of Arts at Deakin University in Melbourne, majoring in performing arts and sub-majoring in journalism.
Funky Squad was a short-lived 1995 Australian comedy television series which satirised 1970s-era U.S. police television dramas, such as The Mod Squad. Only seven half-hour episodes were produced, which were broadcast on the ABC. Real television commercials from the 1970s were shown during the program's "commercial breaks".
This is a list of the 13 episodes of series one of Frontline, which first aired in 1994. In series 1, Frontline chronicles the behind-the-scenes workings of a struggling current affairs show competing with dominant players for audience share. The series is shot in mockumentary style.
This is a list of the 13 episodes of series two of Frontline, which first aired in 1995. In series 2, Frontline struggles with ratings, and the network's varying attempts to heighten the ratings. The series is shot in mockumentary style. All of the show's episodes were written and directed by Rob Sitch, Jane Kennedy, Santo Cilauro – who also did most of the camera work – and Tom Gleisner.
This is a list of the 13 episodes of series three of Frontline, which aired in 1997. In the third and final season, the show-within-the-show becomes the most respected and well-rated current affairs program in Australia however the politics and manipulations behind the scenes remain the same.
"Five in a Row" was a 1989 single by Australian comedy team, The D-Generation. It was released in November 1989 and reached a peak position of number 12 on the ARIA Singles Chart. It was co-written by The D-Generation members, Santo Cilauro, Tony Martin, Rob Sitch, and Tom Gleisner. Music written and produced by Colin Setches and John Grant.
The Hollowmen is an Australian television comedy series set in the offices of the Central Policy Unit, a fictional political advisory unit personally set up by the Prime Minister to help him get re-elected. Their brief is long-term vision; to stop worrying about tomorrow's headlines, and focus on next week's.
Utopia, internationally titled Dreamland, is an Australian television comedy series by Working Dog Productions that premiered on the ABC on 13 August 2014. The series follows the working lives of a team in the fictional Nation Building Authority, a newly created government organisation. The Authority is responsible for overseeing major infrastructure projects, from announcement to unveiling. The series explores the collision between bureaucracy and grand ambitions. The second series aired in 2015, beginning with the first episode on 19 August 2015. The third series aired in 2017, beginning with the first episode on 19 July 2017. The fourth series aired in 2019, beginning on 21 August 2019. A fifth series aired from 7 June 2023.
Pacific Heat is an Australian adult animated sitcom co-created by Rob Sitch, Santo Cilauro, and Tom Gleisner. The series is a Working Dog production for Foxtel's The Comedy Channel. The series, which was first commissioned by Foxtel in February 2014, premiered on The Comedy Channel on 27 November 2016. It was repeated on Network Ten on Monday 8 May for special preview and Eleven on Wednesday 10 May 2017.
"Five More in a Row" is a 1990 single by Australian comedy team, The D-Generation. It was released in September 1990 and reached a peak position of number 37 on the ARIA Singles Chart. It was co-written by The D-Generation members, Santo Cilauro, Tony Martin, Rob Sitch, and Tom Gleisner. Music written and produced by Colin Setches and John Grant.