Italian director Franco Zeffirelli, acclaimed in film, theater and opera, dies at 96
Italian film, theater and opera director Franco Zeffirelli, known for his over-the-top productions, once described a scene of a father reacting to his son's desire to work in the theater.
"He just broke everything in sight. Having exhausted the china and glass, he opened a drawer and pulled out a revolver, which he started to wave about.
"'I made you, now I'll unmake you!'"
The scene was not from one of Zeffirelli's flamboyant movies or operas. It was from his life.
Zeffirelli, 96, whose life, like his productions, was full of grand characters, outsized passions, temperamental rages and torrid love affairs, died Saturday in Rome.
"He left in a peaceful way" after a long illness, his son Luciano told The Associated Press.
Zeffirelli is most widely known for his films, including the 1968 critical and box office hit "Romeo and Juliet" and a 1990 "Hamlet" with Mel Gibson, among other Shakespeare adaptations. His non-Bard movies included a remake of the classic "The Champ" (1979), with Jon Voight; "Tea with
