Italian director Mario Monicelli, one of the fathers of the commedia all'Italiana, committed suicide Tuesday November 29, 2010 by jumping from the window of the hospital in which he had just been admitted for a tumour.
Monicelli, 95, was – alongside Dino Risi, Luigi Comencini and Steno – a key figure of the golden era of Italian cinema. His work includes the Oscar-nominated "Big Deal on Madonna Street" (1958), "The Great War" (1959, Golden Lion winner at the Venice Film Festival) and "For Love and Gold" (1965). His last feature was "Desert Roses", in 2006, followed in 2008 by the documentary, "Vicino al Colosseo c'รจ Monti".
