All language subtitles for Palazzo.Di.Cozzo.2021.720p.WEB.H264-CBFM.[eng]

(unzips)

(instrumental music)

(soft music)

(instrumental music)

- [Maddalena] The good stuff.

- [Franco] Very good stuff.

(instrumental music)

(Franco coughs)

This every morning.

Then, we've got the gift.

Inside here, look.

This is good too, smell it.

- [Maddalena] Good.

(instrumental music)

Beautiful.

(instrumental music)

With the custom, you've got
to be always ready, pronto

and full of perfume.

(Franco speaks in Italian)

(instrumental music)

- [Narrator] In 1956, Franco
Cozzo arrived in Australia

from Italy.

He spoke no English, he
had two quid in his pocket

and he was virtually on his own.

He's your real
Aussie success story.

He married here, he
raised his family here

and he made his fortune here.

His furniture business grows
and expands at a rapid rate.

And he's become a household
word here in Victoria

because of his commercials
on morning and late night TV.

(soft music)

- Say hello to Franco Cozzo.

(audience applauds)

(whimsical music)

- Hi.

(whimsical music)

(audience applauds)

- How are you?

- Very well Don.

Molto bene.
- Molto bene, yes.

I'm not too concerned
about you being on the show

because I know that you relax
quite easily on television.

You've had your own television
show as a matter of fact.

Well, I don't really think you
look very comfortable here.

Let me just fix something
up for you, all right.

Stand up just for a second.

Fellas.

(audience exclaims)

You can just bring
that out here.

(audience applauds)

(Franco speaks in Italian)

- I hate plain, that's why
I searched Franco Cozzo.

- I remember watching his
commercials 50 years ago.

- Maybe one of them is here
to see me, I'm not sure.

- I'm here to see you.

- No, you're coming
to see the furniture.

(ladies laugh)

(instrumental music)

- [Woman] What furniture
have you bought?

- I bought a table and
some chairs from Venice.

I can't believe how beautiful.

- Yes, yes, beautiful.

- Just passed.

By the time Franco
Cozzo gets here

it will already be secondhand.

(instrumental music)

(Franco speaks in Italian)

- Ellen, come here darling.

You are the best
woman in the world.

- I know, I tell
myself that every day,

but I just don't believe it yet.

- This is mine.

- Yes, yes.

You love the cake.

That is the friend I
invite because she bake.

- Magnifica.

- [Woman 2] I can't believe
we're seeing you in real life.

- [Ellen] And he's
eating your cake.

- Whoa.

(Franco speaks in Italian)

- Yeah it's beautiful.

- I like the gold.

- Yes, it's beautiful.

- I might ask for
more gold over there.

- Yeah.

(Franco speaks in Italian)

- Franco, it's not
your chair, so.

- She's got you trained to
the perfection, hasn't she?

- What I can do.

- Yes.

- I gotta do what
they want me to do.

(instrumental music)

(Franco speaks in Italian)

I want to be artist to
myself, I want to be singer

I want to be everything,
but I have very tough daddy.

I cannot do that.

I want to be someone.

I gotta be, must.

Talk with myself.

You have no future with the
other people there in Italy,

go to Australia.

(instrumental music)

I leave Italy, 22nd
of December, 1955, 55.

(instrumental music)

(Franco speaks in Italian)

(instrumental music)

But we arrived 26 January '56.

(bright music)

When I arrived in Australia
at the port of Melbourne

nobody come and pick me up.

She took me taxi
(Franco whistles)

(bright music)

The life is outstanding,
beautiful Melbourne.

(bright music)

(Franco speaks in Italian)

(bright music)

- [Gerardo] So in
the postwar period,

around 370,000 Italians
arrived in Australia.

The official policy back
then was assimilation.

It meant that anyone
who came to Australia

had to adapt to
Australian culture.

The story that strikes me
the most about the 1950s,

about being a
migrant in Australia

was one told to me by
my uncle, who said that,

as soon as you got
up in the morning,

the first thing you could
smell was bacon and eggs

because the streets were full

of the smell of bacon and eggs.

You couldn't get a coffee
if your life depended on it.

Because coffee drinking
was viewed with suspicion.

If you spoke Italian
in the street

with someone from your own
and village or whatever

people would look at you and
maybe even accost you and say,

you shouldn't be
speaking Italian.

I mean, there was
hostility to people

speaking another language.

(soft music)

(Franco speaks in Italian)

- Happy, happy, happy man.

(soft music)

(Franco speaks in Italian)

- [Don] You didn't speak any
English when you came here.

- Not even today
I speak English.

I move my hands
to speak English.

- [Don] But you were a
door to door salesman.

- Yes.

Well, when I arrived
in Australia Don

I did salesman door by door

and I'll show you the way
I did it, if you want.

- [Don] Sure.
- If you let me do it,

I'll do it.

See, I was young and nice
looking, not like today.

And I was in west Melbourne.

- [Don] Yeah.

- I knock on the
door, nick, nick.

And ladies come up
and open the door

and say "what you want?"

I said, "I'm sorry, I
don't speak English."

Blot, she closes the door.

And then I ask myself,

what I have to do,
who is Italian?

Maltese, Greek, 10 people.

Which you know, Don.

- How do you tell the
difference you mean?

- How do you tell the
difference of new Australians

when they're arriving
in Australia.

(Franco speaks in Italian)

Italians, the first time
they buy their own house

single front house,
they paint white inside

inside of the house.

Maltese, blue. Greek,
I think is pink.

(audience laughs)

And I say to myself,
this must be the gear.

Then, you know, on the
front of a single front,

they got a piece of land there.

- Yeah, little, garden like.

- You know what they're doing?

- [Don] What?

- They put a tomato,
basil, broccoli.

You cannot miss that.

And you know, when I
see house like that,

I knock on the door and
say "Are you Italian?"

Oh yes, I'm Italian.

So do you want to
buy a refrigerator?

(instrumental music)

(Franco speaks in Italian)

(dog barks in distance)

(instrumental music)

(Franco speaks in Italian)

(woman speaks in Italian)

(Franco speaks in Italian)

It is wonderful.

I'm very proud to introduce
this in Melbourne.

Some might think,
the best of the best.

I love it.

(Franco speaks in Italian)

(Franco speaks in Italian)

(Franco speaks in Italian)

- [Maddalena] Why
did you buy so much?

(soft music)

- [Gianna] Our parents,
they had really good taste.

- [Serge] Well, they
were all tailors.

My dad was a tailor. My
mum was a seamstress.

My grandfather was a tailor.

They had an
appreciation for style.

When they got here, of course
they couldn't speak English.

And it was hard to communicate
and hard to assimilate.

Franco Cozzo would
speak Italian.

Yeah, they could relate to him.

(soft music)

- Our parents came from Ragusa,
Sicily and migrated in 1952.

They had cousins here that
moved over here and said,

you know like, there's
so much opportunity.

We've already bought a
house, we bought a car.

Yeah, they got lured here.

And on the pretext that they
could make more money quickly,

more quicker than they were.

- [Serge] And they
went through the war,

the war times and so on and
things were really bleak.

And I remember my dad
was always complaining

that they sometimes struggled
to have enough food to eat.

- They were a typical family
that would buy Franco Cozzo

your average working
class family,

I think that's like
saved and saved.

So yeah, so we were
emptying up the house

and my mum saved everything.

So she didn't really
throw anything away

and I found these receipts.

And so it's dated the
third of the third '76

for a total of 17,000.

- Well, I remember a new car,

would've been about
$3,000 back then.

So yeah, that was quite a bit.

- It actually kind of made
me feel really emotional

because to know that my parents
were working class parents

and had saved so much money
to buy this furniture.

It just like really
breaks my heart.

(instrumental music)

I know in Sicily, the rogue
architecture's really prevalent.

So I think that's probably
what carried over.

- I remember mom mentioning
some like palaces and so on

in the area.

They would've seen those

and got that appreciation
for that type of design.

- Here, they probably
wanted to create.

Sorry.

Yeah, like a sense of home.

It's amazing. I mean, it's just,

you can't see that
as just furniture,

but it kind of holds
all these memories.

(soft music)

- [Gisella] My dad's
business was Italian culture.

It actually enhanced
Italian families

because they could actually
put an Italian couch

in their household

and they could actually say
(Gisella speaks in Italian)

It comes from Italy,
it's made in Italy

and we're in Australia.

(bright music)

Italian culture was
represented by the furniture,

by the food, by the way we
dress, by the way we spoke.

I'm number four,
sister number four.

I've got two little
ones after me.

And I've got two elder
sisters and an elder brother.

We always used to do
our homework on our own

'cause mom and dad were so busy.

Even on a Sunday, we were
open in North Melbourne.

It was talk of the block,
it was 24/7, really.

(Franco speaks in Italian)

- Franco Cozzo is
what I would think of

as a migrant entrepreneur.

Who's bringing together the
new technology of television

to showcase what is a developing
commercial enterprise.

- [Announcer] Stand by
for the opening night

of the national
television service.

(upbeat music)

- Hello there and good evening,

ladies and gentlemen
and children.

I'm here to welcome you in
that small, bright screen

in your living room that
you are watching now,

or perhaps as many
of you are doing,

looking through shop windows
of television screens

in the streets.

- Two really big
things are happening

in the mid to late 1950s.

There's a revolution
in the way in which,

Australians see their
world through television.

And at the same time, there's
a huge influx of migrants

coming from a range of countries
and transforming society.

- Carosello, show number eight,

recorded on the eighth
of the second in '68.

Welcome to Carosello
presented by Franco Cozzo.

- [Announcer] Live
from Melbourne

it's Carosello presented
by Franco Cozzo

and produced by Sergio
G and the Flippers.

(drums music)

(Italian music)

- [Franco] Every week,
Sunday 12 o'clock

when the people
are having dinner

Franco Cozzo
presenting Carosello

and that was beautiful, and
that was our very prayer.

(Italian music)

- It was the very
first non-English show

on Australian television.

So it was a really
major benchmark

showcasing all
Italian, local artists.

(vibrant music)

Sergio G and the Flippers,

they were a very popular band
in the Italian music scene.

- They had to choose the artist

who they thought would be good,

but Franco Cozzo
had the last say.

- [Aline] It was his show.

He conceived it and it was
obviously a medium for him

to advertise his furniture.

- [John] He wanted music
that was simple and popular

that everybody would love.

By memory come through,
actually watching the show.

And for me as an
anglo-Australian,

it was like something
from another planet.

You'd stare and
listen, this is weird.

This is weird, but
it was fascinating.

(vibrant music)

(Franco speaks in Italian)

(vibrant music)

- [Aline] Carosello
helped to find a space

in the broader mainstream

and for the broader Australian
public for Italian culture

and the community.

(vibrant music)

- What migrant
cultures tend to do

in the country they land in

is that they
transform the reality,

such that the local population
feels that there's a change.

These people are doing
things differently

they don't behave like we do.

So rather than
assimilating to the point

where everything's
exactly the same

suddenly things, people start
doing things differently

and the streets scapes changing.

Having experienced Italian
culture in Australia,

and then seeing it on
television in a sense,

there was no going
back after that,

you could only go forward.

You couldn't go back to
an old way of thinking.

- Grand sale, grand
sale, grand sale.

Where?

In Brunswick and Footscray.

Franco Cozzo, I have the
pleasure to present to you

(Franco speaks in Italian)

bedroom set, dining
room and wonderful land.

Why don't you come
for yourself and

(Franco speaks in Italian)

- I think it's through the ads

that Franco Cozzo really starts
to bring together his status

as a personality.

(Franco speaks in Italian)

- They're going crazy
with this commercial.

(Franco speaks in Greek)

Australia, I'm very proud
to bring to you this

(Franco speaks in Italian)

Yes, only can buy
from Franco Cozzo.

- The viewers, they
were shocked to hear

the Greek and the Italian,
what the hell is this?

Who is this guy
entering our homes?

Who is he?

- For him to go on television
speaking Italian, my God,

it'll blow you away.

(Franco speaks in Italian)

- It's almost like
saying someone get off

get off the Luna module
and walk on the moon.

It was on that level.

(Franco speaks in Italian)

- If you have the stuff, the
material to be someone, do it,

but you gotta have something.

Why don't you come for yourself

and look at this
magnificent couch.

Only can be found from Franco
Cozzo, buy from Franco Cozzo.

(Franco speaks in Italian)

- The formula for a Franco Cozzo
ad, and there is a formula.

He could take on Coke in terms
of branding in consistency.

Now I know it wasn't by design.

It'S almost by accident,
but if you unpack his ads,

he ticks all the boxes in
terms of communications theory

and what you need to
do to encode in memory.

- The best furniture
you want to buy,

Franco Cozzo is not far away

North Melbourne and Footscray.

(Franco speaks in Italian)

- He uses either the same
language or the same rhyme,

and it even rhymes
in another language

which is very powerful.

- [Announcer] The expert
in imported furniture.

If the best of furniture
you want to buy,

Franco Cozzo is not far away.

- And I love the genius of

if it's the best
furniture you want to buy,

then Franco Cozzo
isn't far away.

Like this is the stuff
that could only be unlocked

because of his Italian quirks.

(Franco speaks in Italian)

- [Announcer] Buy
from Franco Cozzo.

- There was very clever
marketing going around this too.

They were placed on
Sunday television

around the time of world
championship wrestling,

which was universally
liked by Italian migrants.

- [Announcer] People in our
studio, a capacity crowd,

Mario Milano from
Trieste, Italy.

- [Gerardo] Because there's
Mario Milano, the golden Greek,

of course, because
everyone was involved.

- [Announcer] Horah, Milano
nearly had Tiger Singh.

Only the gouging of the
eyes by Tiger Singh.

Now Milano's not
worried about Singh

he's turned on big bad John.

- And then there
was at peak theatre,

which was the Sword and Sandal,

new films that they have
on a Sunday afternoon,

which I used to
watch religiously.

Why?

Because they were about when
Italy was a great country.

They were about our heritage.

(Franco speaks in Italian)

- [Gerardo] And who
should turn up the ads?

Franco Cozzo.

(Franco Cozzo speaks in Italian)

So, it was like, he
inherited the Roman Empire.

(dramatic classical music)

(soft classical music)

- [Angela] I was born
in a little town in
Pago Veiano, Italy

We lived off whatever we grew.

My mother had nine children,
five boys and four girls.

Five boys and two girls died

because we didn't
have a doctor in town.

The nearest doctor was
about 12 kilometres away.

My father and Franco Cozzo were
on the same ship from Italy.

They both became
friends on the boat.

When Franco Cozzo opened his
first shop in north Melbourne

dad and I went there
and they hugged.

And how are you and all that

and yeah, but then
they lost touch.

- [Announcer] And furniture
means Franco Cozzo.

- [Angela] We used
to love his ads.

There's Franco again.

(Franco speaks in Italian)

(Angela speaks in Italian)

(soft music)

Probably 90% of my furniture
is from Franco Cozzo.

It was a gradual collection
over many, many, many years.

Oh, I've always loved
baroque furniture, always.

This is very sort
of Italian to me.

I buy this furniture
because like it

not to show off or
you have to like it

it's because I like it.

That simple.

I think I like the gaudiness
of it and the artwork.

They're all handmade
and all hand painted.

So no two pieces are the same.

Sometimes when people
come here, they just go,

where'd you get that?

It's not everybody's taste,

but it's people that
have good tastes.

(classical music)

- Well, the baroque is
quite a beautiful concept.

There's a bit of dispute
over the origin of the word,

but apparently it means
an imperfect Pearl.

(classical music)

In Italy,

the baroque style was the
dominant style of wealth

that shows status, prestige,
was in the churches.

The aristocrats would've
had baroque furniture.

We're talking about the 17th

through to the mid 18th century.

(upbeat music)

And we shouldn't discount
the importance of the baroque

even today with
people like Versace,

Dolce&Gabbana who thrive
in the baroque style.

(upbeat music)

Just to get an idea
of what baroque means,

it's the raw, the flesh that
expresses strong emotions,

death, life, ectasy.

The other aspect is that
baroque takes craftsmanship.

It's artisanal.

It takes a lot of skill.

There aren't straight lines.
So it's quite sensual.

Textiles are very
rich or embroidered.

And a lot of Italians
came from backgrounds

where these were very
much rooted in the society

and the culture.

Certainly if you like the human

and you put the human
above the machine,

you're gonna want Baroque
because the Baroque

has human hands all over it.

Papa Francesco.

No difference. Franco
Cozzo and papa Francesco.

Franco Cozzo.

(Franco speaks in Italian)

(Franco speaks in Italian)

- [Maddalena] So why
don't you just retire?

(Franco speaks in Italian)

- This one here, I'll
have to let you know

because I'm not sure
if they still stock it.

- [Client] Okay.

- And then this is these.

- So you want a three, a two
plus two single arm chairs.

Okay, yeah.

Okay, I'll let you know.

- All right, thank you.

- Okay. Thank you so much.

- No worries.
- Thank you.

- See you.
- See you later love.

Okay.

Done.

I started working there in 1981.

I worked in Footscray,

Franco advertised in
the Globo la Fiamma

and that's where I
saw Franco Cozzo.

They were advertising the
position for a secretary

who spoke and wrote Italian

and that's how I got the job.

I really didn't get to meet
him 'til the following year.

So and nothing. I met
him, hi, how are you?

Nothing.

It wasn't until later on
that we hooked up together.

If it's a thing you say.

Yeah, it wasn't
until quite later.

Yeah.

We just clicked, it was easy.

You know, easy to fall in love.

We have four lovely daughters.

They grew up with a famous dad.

Most people don't get to
see Franco playing around.

When we are all together,
all we do is laugh.

Let's water you dear.

There you go.

- There you go.

- [Maddalena] Yeah.

- [Maddalena] Just for
generation, that's all.

Different generation.

- Is it okay?

- Good.

(Franco speaks in Italian)

Beautiful.

- There we go.

Off you go.

(Franco speaks in Italian)

- We make a deal.

- Yeah, okay.

- [Maddalena] Tell me
about your children.

- How many children I got?

(Franco clears throat)

And the first marriage,

61, 54, 51, 49, 47 and 44.

Second marriage, 33,
30, 27, 14, the best.

A lot of children, you know why?

Because I was
alone in my family.

I have one sister I lost her
when she was 12 years old.

And I said to myself when
I eat at home with my mom

if one day I'm married,
I want a soccer team.

And I'll have 10.

(soft music)

- [Maddalena] What
happened to your sister?

40 years, 45, 50 years ago.

Vincenzina Cozzo.

Bellissimo.

- [Maddalena] So
when you left Sicily.

(soft music)

(Franco speaks in Italian)

(soft instrumental music)

- [Announcer] It's that style
that's made Franco Cozzo

one of a Melbourne's latest
and most unusual cult figures

Today, the Footscray council
put on a special show

for Franco.

He was awarded with a plaque

for his contribution
to the city.

- [Announcer] It's what
the Sicilian born Franco

does to the word Footscray
or is that Footscray

that seems to appeal.

- There's only one way
I can say otherwise

North Melbourne
Footscray, nothing else.

I cannot say the way you say.

- [Gerardo] His accent
was typically an accent

that was hybridised between
English and Italian.

He leveraged his lack
of knowledge of English.

The fact that he was
learning the language

into an advantage.

- I knock on the
door, nick, nick.

- [Gerardo] And he's not
phased by how much laughter

and how much ridicule
you gonna heap on him.

There's something
else happening there.

He's selling his furniture.
He's making money.

(Franco speaks in Italian)

- Tell me, are you
friend of Franco Cozzo?

Why you like Franco
Cozzo? Tell me.

- Because.

- Oh my God, my dad
was a superstar, like
a Hollywood actor.

That's why I think
maybe, you know,

he wanted to become an artist.

He was such a good looker.

- Franco Cozzo is a born artist

that perhaps never had a
chance to become an artist.

I think that Franco Cozzo
could have been on TV.

He could have been
in the show business

because he's got the knack.

(romantic music)

I was doing a lot of floor
shows around Melbourne

and here I am singing and
the microphone stops working.

So I thought, oh
my God, now what?

The guys are trying to
sort this out for me.

In the meantime, what do I do?

I'm standing there
with all these people.

There are 4-500 people in the
room and I had nothing to do.

And I start screaming
(Tony speaks in Italian)

and everybody start to laugh
so broke the ice, right?

Within a few minutes,

everybody will start screaming
because nothing was happening

And I thought, wow, this
is an amazing reaction.

Maybe we should
think about a song.

So we finalised the
arrangements of the song.

And then of course we
had to get Mr. Cozzo in

to do his introduction
and finale.

(instrumental music)

This is the vinyl
Franco Cozzo on TV.

And this is Tony Cursio
from yours truly.

- [Franco] Start.

(Franco speaks in Italian)

(upbeat instrumental music)

(Tony sings in Italian)

- [Tony] And then the
radio stations of course

they started playing
it straight away

and it went berserk
and I thought geez,

we're onto something here.

(upbeat instrumental music)

♪ He talks in Italian,
he's Italian, everybody
on the telly ♪

♪ Come and see me,
I'll make you rich ♪

♪ You try to watch a movie
very soon he comes on smiling ♪

♪ Very nicely,
blah, blah, blah ♪

(Tony sings in Italian)

(Franco speaks in Italian)

- The song then of course
created a platform Franco Cozzo,

which enhanced his exposure.

- To most television viewers.
They're just plain terrible.

But to their accountants, they
can be terribly successful.

We're talking about
those businessmen

who take it upon themselves

to star in their own
television commercials,

selling anything from
furniture to used cars.

Now, usually these
people start out

just trying to save money
on their advertising budget,

but some have
become so successful

that they're now stars
in their own right.

♪ Every day, he's
on the television ♪

- [Reporter] For Franco Cozzo,

TV appearances,
records and so on

are just stepping stones
to even dizzier heights.

All this self-promotion
could be leading

to a political career.

- I've not been asked yet
but if the right party

will moving, I'll be ready.

I'm ready to go into
the politics now.

- [Reporter] Yes.

You don't think that
people would have trouble

taking you seriously
as a politician

after they've seen
you on television in
the advertisements?

- I don't think so. They
will be very pleased.

- When I wrote the song, there
was a little bit of push back

from some parts of the community

as "what are you
do in promoting,

this clown or this character?"

- Grand sale, grand
sale, grand sale.

- [Tony] The real Franco Cozzo
or the Frank Franco Cozzo.

A lot of people think that
Franco Cozzo is just an actor.

- He's so good, believe me.

I wish he come and work for me.

- I can understand
very deeply why people

were uncomfortable
with anything to do

any sort of celebration or
iconization of Franco Cozzo.

Franco Cozzo was popular
among people of non

inflicted backgrounds because
he fits this stereotype.

The flamboyant Italian.

- Welcome to Franco Cozzo.

I'll be here in a hooters cry.

We have the biggest,
the boldest, the best.

- [Gerardo] The
suspicion would be

who's made him into an icon?

Is it the Anglos?

Are you making fun of us?

Why pick on him?

Why don't you find someone
else who is more prominent,

an intellectual or someone
else, an Italian- Australian

who's done great things.

Why him?

A furniture salesman.

- Grand sale, grand
sale, grand sale

for the first time
ever, I give you 30% off

everything you come
and buy from my store.

- That's right, dad. 30%
off everything in the store.

- There's 30% off everything
in both our stores.

(kids speak in Italian)

- I think advertising was
in the blood of our family.

It was in our blood
and it was meant to be.

That overseas, I was
creating jingles.

(instrumental music)

♪ I feel good, I feel fine,
because I know my loving heart ♪

I did like many, many
years of advertising

and writing jingles in Milan.

(soft music)

(soft music)

We were stars too in
such a superstar family.

♪ Somehow, even now

(audience applauds)

- Does this young lady,
Gisella, hi Gisella.

I haven't even met you before.

- No.

- Is the daughter of a
very, very famous person

here at network 10 and I'm
sure everybody around Australia

would like to say hello
to the one and only

inimitable Mr. Franco
Cozzo, Gisella's dad

and here's Franco.

(audience applauds)

Very lovely to have
you with us Franco.

- Thank you Johnny.

- And Franco, just before
we take a little break,

would you please say
those very famous words

through all the community
throughout Australia,

away you go.

(Franco speaks in Italian)

- He loved being in
front of the camera.

He loves that, you
know, being out there,

but he did have a wife.

He did have a person
behind him and a family

and lots of daughters and son

and people that believed in him.

You can't do
anything on your own.

(Franco speaks in Italian)

- The county court today
sentenced the son of flamboyant

furniture king, Franco
Cozzo to four years jail

for drug trafficking.

- [Reporter] Legal
counsel for Cozzo

claimed he had been devastated
after his father Franco Cozzo

married another woman,
20 years his junior.

Counsel also claimed that Cozzo

who has been addicted to cocaine

felt pressure from his father,

known for his flamboyant
furniture advertisements.

(Franco speaks in Italian)

Cozzo admitted selling
heroin kept in furniture

at his father's Footscray
store on two occasions.

In the first, he sold an
ounce of the drug for $10,000.

In the second, half
an ounce for $5,000.

- [Man] Do you hear
about Frank Cozzo's son?

I knew that shop
was a drug front.

(suspenseful music)

- Hello.

- [Woman On Phone] I
doubt it was just his son.

Guy is Sicilian after all.

- I mean, who would
ever buy that furniture?

- As if he made all that
money selling baroque lounges.

(quirky music)

- They were selling
drugs at the shop.

- He put it in the furniture,
in the legs of the lounges.

(Franco speaks in Italian)

(ambient music)

Grand opening in Footscray.

Grand apertura.

(Franco speaks in Italian)

(upbeat ambient music)

- [Reporter 2] Local furniture
salesman, Franco Cozzo's

Brunswick store was attacked
by vandals late last night.

A soft drink bottle
filled with kerosene

was placed against one of the
shop's plate glass windows

at about 3:00 AM causing
about $500 damage

to the Sydney road building.

Franco Cozzo has never
had anything like this

happen to him in his 30
year business career.

He finds it difficult
to explain the attack.

Could it have been a customer?

- No, for sure.

My customers, they're all
happy and all my friends.

(Franco speaks in Italian)

(Franco speaks in Italian)

(upbeat music)

- [Kathryn] I love
Franco Cozzo furniture.

There's an opulence to it
that I just absolutely love.

I feel so special in my bed.

I know it. I just love it.

(upbeat music)

I wanted it for so long,

but then when I was
set to buy some,

I was sharing a studio with
some boys and they said,

you'll never get laid
if you get that stuff.

(Kathryn laughs hysterically)

Yeah, they said I needed
to go for the more sleek

and if I brought a boy home
with that, it'll be fine.

But if I brought
a boy home to the,

the really over the
top Barbie stuff

that they'd run a mile.

(Kathryn laughs)

(retro music)

You never just walk
past Franco Cozzo.

You stop, you look
in the window.

You hope to see Franco
'cause it's like,

I saw Franco in the shop.

(retro music)

You know, there's
been a few sagas

and things that have happened,

which only meant that
people loved him more.

In my circle, everyone
loves Franco Cozzo.

They just love the aesthetic.

It's got such a cult following.

(upbeat music)

- I love you people.

- We love you too Franco.

- Grand final, grand
final, grand final.

- [Announcer] Got more for
Twitter for Franco Cozzo

I'll tell you that.

How good is that?

(upbeat ambient music)

- Franco's murals,

is probably like one of
my more recognised works.

They're like, oh, you're
the guy who painted Franco.

The mural depicts young Franco.

And he's got like cherubs,
like angels around his head.

And he's releasing this
furniture with wings.

It's like part of
a local identity.

And and recognition of
the migrant generations.

(train dings)

Franco represents
that generation of
the Greek and Italian

migrants who were
the main population
around Footscray area.

That generation of migrants
like well and truly accepted

and part of the fabric
of the area, you know?

But now you have the
Vietnamese and the Africans,

or the Eastern Europeans or
like whatever, Mongolian.

it's a migrant dream and
Franco's image is that.

(man speaks in foreign language)

(indistinct chatter)

(both chuckle)

- I wish I can
speak your language.

Tell him.

(man speaks in foreign language)

(customer speaks in
foreign language)

Okay.

(customer speaks in
foreign language)

- Okay?
- No.

(both laugh)

(customer coughs)

Impossible.

- Okay.

♪ I love you, I love you

Okay.

Then.

(customer speaks in
foreign language)

(customer speaks in
foreign language)

- Please yourself?

- (customer speaks
in foreign language)

- Okay.

- Ciao.

Goodbye.

- See you.

- [Franco] I'll
see you tomorrow.

Bye bye.
- Bye.

- [Franco] Thank you.

(Franco speaks in Italian)

(soft music)

(Franco speaks in Italian)

(Franco hums)

(soft music)

(Franco speaks in Italian)

(soft music)

- [Maddalena] Why are
you still here Franco?

- First, I like it
because I like to stay

in the middle of the public.

What I will do if I'm
not being, inside here?

I'll go crazy.

Where do I go?

To Cafe espresso, to
the club, to play cards.

I'm not that man there,
I never play cards.

I'm a businessman.

- Work is his whole life.

It's his whole life.

You know, it's like a habit.
You can't break your habits.

It took him a long
time to decide

to sell or not to
sell Footscray.

Every day, every day.

Oh, I don't know
what I should do.

Whether to sell it or not.

(Franco speaks in Italian)

- Another Melbourne institution
could be about to disappear

with furniture
King Franco Cozzo,

putting his landmark
Footscray store on the market.

It's been home to his
iconic business since 1968.

And Franco says,

he'll take as much as he
can get for the building

in a grand sale.

- How are you? Nice meet you.

Ed.

- Edward.

Sit down please.
- Thank you.

- Now, what I can do?

Tell me, Paul.

Put the paper on the table.

Will Franco get to
strike or nothing?

- Is there a lease in
place at the moment?

- No lease.

- [Edward] No lease?

- Yesterday, I can
give you the building.

- [Edward] Okay.

(Franco speaks in Italian)

- [Edward] Perfect.

- No worries. Clean
title, clean everything

like Franco Cozzo.

- [Edward] Fantastic, excellent.

- [Franco] You have
a customer for it?

- Maybe.

- [Franco] Okay, when
you have a customer,

we'll talk about it.

- Okay.

- Money, I give you the key.

- Please sit down.

- Don't worry, sit
down, don't worry.

- He's got a few chairs here.

- Lucky, got a
fair bit of chairs.

(instrumental music)

- This area is maturing.
The station is now finished.

This is a great
position, you know?

- We've got a whole.

- So you would get, I said
to Eugene 10 levels, yeah?

(whimsical music)

- All the furniture
will be removed.

So it's vacant possession.

It's approximately
1,000 square metres.

So in total it's about 2,000.

- And permits are as a showroom?

- Yes, yes.

It's a showroom. It
has been that way.

- Okay.

- So yeah, you got permits.

- So this was used as a
showroom back in the day?

- Oh yeah but now its just
been converted to storage

as the business has gone on.

- Okay.

- So, it's gonna take
him a little time,

but he'll get rid
of all the stuff.

(Franco speaks in Italian)

- It's a location that
everybody will remember.

(Franco speaks in Italian)

- Yeah and my goal
is to keep the name

somehow within the development.

- That's something
we can talk about.

- Hopefully we can come up
with a number that's compelling

that your family's
gonna be happy with.

(Franco speaks in Italian)

- Thank you.
- No worries.

- We'll walk in the
next couple weeks.

Franco.

- Furniture king Franco Cozzo
is determined to stay put

despite his Footscray store
catching the eye of developers.

- The 82 year old
announced plans

to sell the Footscray
store earlier this year,

but changed his mind after
a wave of public support.

♪ Footscray, Footscray,
buy from Franco Cozzo ♪

(Franco speaks in Italian)

- Is this showroom
actually open?

- [Maddalena] Six days a week.

- Six days a week.

That would be the old
Senor Cozzo, would it?

- [Maddalena] It is.

- My God, a living legend.

Senor Cozzo.

- Prego!

- The pleasure to meet
you. I was just passing by

walking past, have grown
up watching your lovely...

- Commercial.

- The commercials, the store.

- Grand sale, grand
sale, grand sale.

I assume you don't
speak Italian.

- What I'm curious about is,

so have you passed on
the business your family?

- [Franco] To nobody.

- So you're still the man?

- [Franco] I'm
still at number one.

- Fantastic.

Franco Cozzo.

- [Franco] Thank you very much.

Only one.

I gotta finish the business,
but when it might be,

if one or two of them,
my kids carry on, okay

but I don't think so.
I can't press my kids.

I'm not terror father.
I'm peaceful father.

Wonderful father.

We have discussion last night.

Daddy, might be, might
be, might be, might be.

I don't like might be.

They're supposed
to say, yes we do.

(Franco speaks in Italian)

- [Maddalena] Did he want you?

- He wanted me to stay near
him and carry on the company,

but it was too light because
he'd been very tough.

Tough, tough, tough.

And I say to myself, I gotta go

(soft ambient music)

(Franco speaks in Italian)

He was a very tough man.

(Franco speaks in Italian)

- Guys, are we gonna
the bride a clap?

(people cheer and clap)

(retro music)

Don't worry about the bill.
It's all been paid for.

It's all done.

- Here we go.

One last one.

(photographer speaks in Italian)

- I have got no mother, no
father, no sister, no brother.

Nobody.

If I not be happy with my
kids who am I to be happy?

(wedding music)

(bell chimes)

(Franco speaks in Italian)

Good afternoon, good evening.

It is my privilege, my
pleasure to see you tonight

and be here.

Angelina.

(attendees cheers)

Okay.

Okay.

(Franco speaks in Italian)

Thank you.

(attendees applaud)

(soft music)

(upbeat music)

(Franco speaks in Italian)

(Ross speaks in Italian)

(Ross speaks in Italian)

(Franco speaks in Italian)

(Ross speaks in Italian)

(Franco speaks in Italian)

(soft music)

(Franco speaks in Italian)

- [Tony] I don't think
Franco Cozzo has evolved

with the styles, with the
changing of the times.

I mean, if you are an actor
or if you're a musician,

your greatest hits
is gonna determine

what type of artist you are.

So if you are country Western,

and then you're trying
to get into rap,

I don't think it's gonna work.

So for Franco Cozzo, he
remained true to what he is.

And obviously times has changed

and he's decided to keep going
with what he's started with.

- For Franco, he was
so much the brand.

And if he didn't change,
nothing needed to change.

And maybe a bit of an ego

got in the way of really
understanding his audience

and how he should pivot.

- I like your hair.

Beautiful hair you have.

- That's my mother right there.

- Thank you.

- [Franco] Hey.
- That's my mother.

She's interested.
- [Franco] Your mom?

- Yeah.

- [Franco] She look very young.

- Yeah, she looks young.

- Yeah.

- Thank you.

- Thank you.

(soft music)

(Franco speaks in Italian)

- What is arguably
one of Melbourne's

most famous furniture
Showrooms has been sold.

Furniture king Franco Cozzo
has sold his Footscray

headquarters for $6 million.

(phone rings)

- Hello my friend,
I'm Franco Cozzo

from Brunwicks and Footscray.

Not listen to anybody.

I'm staying in Footscray,
I am in Footscray.

I'll tell you when
I go from Footscray.

- [Secretary] Franco
Cozzo, may I help you?

That we're selling?

Well, they all seem
to think it's true.

I haven't seen any money, so.

(phone rings)

- Franco Cozzo.

Hey Cal, my boy.

- We've been here for a while.
Yes, we still sell furniture.

- You saw me, where?

Not yet.

No.

(phone rings)

- No, soon it will
be sold, soon.

- David, how you doing love?

Not too, too badly, thank you.

I'll put him on. Just
hold on please David.

- Let me know when you see
Franco Cozzo on TV again.

Okay.

Thank you Josh.

I'll say ciao Josh.

Not yet goddammit.

For that money is a peanut.

They gotta come
up and up and up.

- [Maddalena] No.

- Yes.

- [Maddalena] That's big news.

(tense music)

- How are you my boy?

- Have you been well?

- Okay.

(Franco sings in Italian)

(Maddalena speaks in Italian)

(Franco speaks in Italian)

(Franco speaks in Italian)

Ciao.

(soft instrumental music)

Grand sale, grand
sale, grand sale.

(Franco speaks in Italian)

(vibrant music)

(upbeat music)

♪ I wanna die in a
Franco Cozzo bed ♪

♪ I wanna die in a
Franco Cozzo bed ♪

♪ I wanna die in a
Franco Cozzo bed ♪

♪ Wanna be below silken sheets

♪ Soft and white
beneath my cheeks ♪

♪ All classic style

♪ That's where I'll be
when I'm gonna die ♪

♪ I wanna die on a
Franco Cozzo bed ♪

♪ I wanna die on a
Franco Cozzo bed ♪

♪ I wanna die on a
Franco Cozzo bed ♪

♪ Chandelier above my bed

♪ Shining brightly on the bed.

♪ Exquisite look
can only touch ♪

♪ That's where I'll be
when I bite the dust ♪

♪ I wanna die on a
Franco Cozzo bed ♪

♪ I wanna die on a
Franco Cozzo bed ♪

♪ I wanna die on a
Franco Cozzo bed ♪

(upbeat music)

♪ I wanna die on a
Franco Cozzo bed ♪

♪ I wanna die on a
Franco Cozzo bed ♪

♪ I wanna die on a
Franco Cozzo bed ♪

(upbeat music)

♪ I wanna die, I wanna die,
I wanna die, I wanna die ♪

♪ I wanna die, I wanna die,
I wanna die, I wanna die ♪

♪ Die, die, die, die,
die, die, die, die, die ♪

♪ I wanna die on a
Franco Cozzo bed ♪

♪ I wanna die on a
Franco Cozzo bed ♪

♪ I wanna die on a
Franco Cozzo bed ♪

(upbeat music)