Jerry Calà remembers Guido Nicheli: "There was an automatic understanding between us"

Jerry Calà and Guido Nicheli, alias the Dogui, is a perfect combination of the Italian cinema of the 80s. From Christmas Holidays to Sapore di Mare up to the last film Vita Smeralda, in 2006 before the Milanese actor passed away. 

Jerry Calà wanted to remember him in one of his posts on Facebook during the quarantine, taken from his book Una Vita da Libidine, in which he remembers his friend during the filming of Professione Vacanze. 

In the cast I involved my friends, first of all my friend Zampetti, Guido Nicheli. We often worked together, the great Dogui and I, and he was always the one who stood above me, my bugbear, my superior, the cumenda that claims or, as in Yuppies, my director. There was an automatic understanding between us in acting. Guido was one of the greatest Italian character actors, although little exploited due to the usual Cineroman snobbery. In the environment of terraced cinemas there is always someone who sooner or later, when he hears a name, says: "No, that's enough, he's dead", and the others follow him.
I am happy to have allowed the Dogui to make a final interpretation shortly before his disappearance. In Vita Smeralda - a 2006 film I directed and starred in - he was the captain of a boat that I rented to host a Russian who was so messy that the situation worsened. And, once again, Guido was angry with me!
We were really close friends, and we dated often. He had a particular philosophy: all human beings are animals and he is the pilot fish. He was a great when he drew up his ranking of the most important things: in first place his mother, in second place spaghetti.

The same Jerry Calà he then went on to talk about his interpretation

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Many comedians from the Nordic area (including myself) have drawn and pilfered from him, because the Dogui at dinner dispensed jokes that were then copied by those who listened to them. His particular way of speaking has inspired a good part of cabaret Milan.
Yet Nicheli was not born as an actor, but as a representative of liquors. That's why he went around the clubs and they knew him everywhere. He also went to the Derby, and even there he rattled off his philosophy pills on animal-men, until the other comedians, amused by his way of doing, convinced him to go on stage. Dogui accepted and from there his career began. Now that he's gone, Guido has legions of adoring fans online. It's a nice way to remember that.

Article Jerry Calà remembers Guido Nicheli: "There was an automatic understanding between us" From We of the 80-90s.