Alessandro Alessandroni(1925-2017)

Alessandro Alessandroni was born in Rome. He came to fame for playing the guitar and "the whistle" theme on Sergio Leone's A Fistful of Dollars (1964) on music composed by Ennio Morricone. Alessandroni started playing at age 11. When still a teenager, he formed a band playing in several venues in Italy and he was already fond of guitar, piano, sax, flute and other instruments. After graduating from the Conservatory in Rome, he was discovered by Nino Rota who wanted him in his orchestra. Already known within Cinecittà for his whistling ability, he was called by Morricone to work on "A Fistfull of Dollars". Their collaboration continued on For a Few Dollars More (1965), The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966) and _Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)_. Always in 1968, Alessandroni was called by composer Piero Umiliani to perform on _Sweden: Heaven and Hell (1968)_. For the movie, Alessandroni, together with his wife Giulia, provided the vocals for the song "Mah Nà Mah Nà" that became instantly both a hit and a catchphrase and it has since been often used in several sketches worldwide like in The Red Skelton Hour (1951), Sesame Street (1969), The Muppet Show (1976), The Benny Hill Show (1969).