Spoof Actor Sorry for Those Who Can’t Laugh
ROME — A comedian whose portrayal of the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in a television spoof prompted Iran to order the expulsion of three Italian diplomats said Friday he feels sorry for those who can’t laugh at themselves.
The sketch, broadcast Nov. 21 on the television network RAI, poked fun at the U.S.-Iranian arms deal and had a scene in which President Reagan tries to sell Khomeini wristwatches, socks and other items.
In the sketch, comedian Tullio Solenghi, wearing a white beard and black turban, played Khomeini.
“We were misunderstood,” Solenghi told the Rome newspaper Il Messaggero. “I maintain that the characterization of Khomeini that I did was polite, and I even made him likable.”
“Our trade is being comics and we invite everybody to laugh at themselves. We’re sorry for those who can’t,” he added.
Solenghi noted that the actors in the past have lampooned Libyan leader Moammar Kadafi, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, Britain’s Princess Diana and Pope John Paul II.
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