Franco Merli

Franco Merli (born 31 October 1956, Rome, Italy) is an Italian actor, who is best known for his role in Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom.

Very little is known about Franco Merli, who appeared in several Italian films throughout the 1970s. He was born on 31 October 1956 in Rome, Italy. In 1973, famous Italian poet and filmmaker Pier Paolo Pasolini discovered Merli. The 16-year-old was working as a petrol station attendant at that time (as Ninetto Davoli, a friend of Pasolini and actor in most of his films, recounts). Pasolini was searching for a young man to play the lead in his upcoming feature Arabian Nights (Il fiore delle mille e una notte). The director immediately knew that Franco Merli, with his small but muscular physique, dark Mediterranean looks, and ready smile, was the perfect choice for the role of Nur Ed Din. Or, as he once said: "(...) a boy from Corleone (in Sicily) who has the innocence of his sixteen years in the physique of an eighteen-year-old."

Arabian Nights appeared in 1974 and was an international success; Merli got a taste for the film business. Following his debut he appeared with his hair dyed blond in Gianni Martucci's 1975 comedy La collegiale.

In 1975 Pasolini hired him once again, for the role of one of the male victims in his infamous Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom. In this film, Merli was, like the other non-professional actors, addressed by his real first name, Franco. The director chose Merli once again, not only because he embodied the "Pasolini-type" to a fault but also because the young actor had already proven in Arabian Nights that he was perfectly comfortable appearing nude in front of a camera. In a way, Salò made Franco's face immortal since one of the most highly publicised images of the film was the close-up of young Merli as his tongue is cut out in the final torture scenes. Another famous still from the scene where the victims are forced to pose as dogs, prominently showed Franco naked, on all fours, only wearing a dog collar - a fact that didn't enhance his career (see below).

Franco Merli obviously had at least one uncomfortable moment during the shooting of Salò o le 120 giornate di Sodoma, as Ezio Manni – who played the guard who falls in love with the black servant girl (Ines Pellegrini) – remembers. Perhaps surprisingly it wasn’t about nudity or the degrading things he and the other actors playing the victims had to undergo in front of the camera but occurred during the scene where Merli is chosen as having the most beautiful rear. The scene calls for Franco to be shot as a "reward" for having won the contest. Reportedly the youngster suddenly went berserk when the gun was put to his head, throwing the scene. Manni says that it took quite some time to calm Merli down again and persuade him to go through with the shot as planned.

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