LOS ANGELES—Gabriele Galetta, the beloved cousin of Rocco Siffredi who collaborated with him for more than three decades on hundreds of adult movies, passed away suddenly Monday at his home in Italy.
Known professionally as Gabriel Zero, Galetta died of a heart attack in the town of Ortona in the Italian region of Abruzzo, Siffredi told AVN. He was 58.
“He was at home with his wife Nayeli and went to the bathroom and he didn’t come out,” Siffredi said. “He didn’t even make any noise. They called the ambulance but he was declared dead right away.”
Siffredi said that Galetta was a heavy smoker but appeared to be in good health.
“He was fine. He didn’t like to go to the doctor to check himself at all. He was the kind of guy who thought nothing would kill him,” said Siffredi, the AVN Hall of Fame performer/director, who like Galetta, was also born in Ortona.
“He was very high-energy. Everybody—all the actors that worked with him—will tell you he had so much energy. We used to tell him one day he will die of a heart attack, and that’s the way it went through.”
A humble, unsung creative force behind the scenes for the Budapest, Hungary-based Rocco Siffredi Productions since 1988, Galetta wrote all of Siffredi’s major movies, including the 2003 AVN Award-winning Best Video Feature, The Ass Collector, and 2019’s critically acclaimed Rocco’s Time Master. If the legendary Italian Stallion was performing in a sex scene for one of his productions, Galetta was the man shooting it.
Siffredi said Galetta’s last big movie, Game of Whores, will be released sometime in June through his longtime distributor Evil Angel.
“And it’s one of the best movies we made actually,” Siffredi said. “He was putting in so much effort as always. He was the main creative side of my features. He always had the passion."
Siffredi said Evil Angel founder John Stagliano would call he and Galetta “the dream couple.”
“Me as an actor and him as an artist,” Siffredi continued. “John used to say, ‘You guys together—nobody can beat you. You guys are fucking crazy motherfuckers.’”
Siffredi said Galetta had the type of personality that elicited strong feelings one way or the other.
“Either you love him or you hate him. He’s not the kind of guy who is good for everybody—no way,” he said.
“Most of the girls though. They are crying today because they respected him so much. They are completely shocked. The people who really love our business—they absolutely loved him. This is a big, big loss.
“He brought real passion. … He chose his work as a performer at the beginning, all when his daughter was only 4. He left his job at a bank to join his dream. This is a choice you can only make if you are one thousand percent sure about something.”
He worked with Siffredi on various projects for 32 years.
“He always used to get the best out of everybody," Siffredi recalled. "He used to be so strong on directing and telling people what to do. He used to be really, really strong on set.
“I’ve gotten thousands and thousands of messages from all over the world from people who are in unbelievable shock.”
Siffredi remembered how Galetta would smile easily—and big—and how he would always tell him things like, “'Thanks for making my life the way I dream about. If it wasn’t for you I wouldn’t have such a life.'”
Siffredi continued, “He didn’t care to put out his face out in the front. When I would tell him, ‘Why don’t we write your name as the director? You made this movie from A to Z.’ He would say, ‘I don’t care, Rocco Siffredi is better for selling.’ That’s what he used to say. That’s how humble he was.
“He was a guy who protected me over and over—in any condition. He was always there. I feel like a big huge part of me is dead also already because at the moment I’m almost not believing it.
“He used to say, ‘We are lucky because we work with what we love in life.' That was Gabi’s philosophy. We work with what we dream since we are young. He was my real cousin. His mother and my mother were sisters.”
In addition to his wife, Galetta is survived by two adult children—a daughter and son—and an 8-year-old daughter.
“They will face a new reality but I’m here for them,” Siffredi said. “I will not forget what Gabriele did for me. I told them don’t worry about anything. They believe very much that he’s here. I told the little daughter when my mother died I felt she was with me all the time and somehow I felt strong. Let’s keep going. I always promised him if anything happened to him I would be there for his family.
“Gabi said, ‘We may have only 10 years of life left. Let’s live it full of passion and full of dedication. This was about 10 years ago and he was not wrong.”
Siffredi said Galetta directed several American actresses over the years. He also discovered AVN Hall of Fame performer Manuel Ferrara.
"Manuel Ferrara just sent me an SMS saying he was heartbroken,” Siffredi said. “He said, 'Thanks to Gabi and you I am what I am here in the States.'”
Ferrara tweeted, "FUCK! A friend of mine passed away today ... he changed my life forever when he took me with him all over Europe to work. Without him I would’ve never met Rocco and come to the US. Rest In Peace Grande Gabriel Zero."
Veteran director Kevin Moore told AVN, "I spent a month working with Gabi and Rocco many years back. I thought I knew everything back then. After working with Gabi I realized how little I knew. He had a work ethic like no other."
Siffredi said there would be a memorial service on Wednesday in Ortona.
“He was a true artist who gave so much," Siffredi said. "When I’m not in front of the camera, I do the camera. But when I’m in front of the camera, he was doing the camera. Most of the ideas were his. The scripts, he co-directed. We would always co-direct. We would always cooperate.
"It’s going to be complicated to restart without him. Life goes on for sure and I have to face a new reality, a new way. We had 30 years of cooperation. I think my son [Lorenzo] will start to help me.”
