Donald Benjamin Lurio, better known by his stage name of Don Lurio (15 November 1929, in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

– 26 January 2003, in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

) was an American-born Jewish Italian

dancer Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoi ...

choreographer Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who cr ...

and

TV presenter A television presenter (or television host, some become a "television personality") is a person who introduces, hosts television programs, often serving as a mediator for the program and the audience. Nowadays, it is common for people who garner ...

for RAI, the Italian radio and television public service.

Biography

Born in the

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in a family of Italian Jewish origin, Lurio operated a dance studio on

Broadway theatre Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences), 130 of the 144 extant and extinct Broadway venues use (used) the spelling ''Th ...

with

Bob Fosse Robert Louis Fosse (; June 23, 1927 – September 23, 1987) was an American actor, choreographer, dancer, and film and stage director. He directed and choreographed musical works on stage and screen, including the stage musicals ''The Pajam ...

and Jack Cole. In 1957 the group toured Europe and Lurio decided to settle in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. He appeared in several Italian films and TV shows in the 1960s and 1970s. He also appeared in a handful of British films. He choreographed the interval act for the

Eurovision Song Contest 1970 The Eurovision Song Contest 1970 was the 15th edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest and took place in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Nederlandse Omroep Stichting (NOS), the ...

with his ensemble, The Don Lurio Dancers. One of his most popular number, the song ''Testa, Spalla'' (Head, Shoulder), was premiered on the show ''Hai visto mai?'' in 1973 when performed in a duet with showgirl

Lola Falana Loletha Elayne Falana or Loletha Elaine Falana (born September 11, 1942), better known by her stage name Lola Falana, is an American singer, dancer, and actress. Early life Lola Falana was born in Camden, New Jersey. She was the third of si ...

. Openly

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

(which was considered scandalous at the time, and not only in Italy), Lurio had a long-term relationship with Livio Costagli, who died in 1994 at the age of 44 years from complications caused by

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...

. Lurio died in Rome in 2003 from respiratory failure. As his will, the National Academy of Dance in Rome has a grant named after him.

Selected filmography

* ''Casinò de Paris'' (1957) * ''Rocco e le sorelle'' (1961) * ''Pugni pupe e marinai'' (1961) * ''

Toto's First Night ''Toto's First Night'' (Italian: ''Totò di notte n. 1'') is a 1962 Italian musical comedy film directed by Mario Amendola and starring Totò and Erminio Macario.Bìspuri p.264 Plot Ninì and Mimi are two friends, itinerant players, who can not ...

'' (1962) * ''Canzoni a tempo di twist'' (1962) * ''Il magnifico Bobo'' (1967) * '' "FF.SS." - Cioè: "...che mi hai portato a fare sopra a Posillipo se non mi vuoi più bene?"'' (1982) * ''Arrivano i miei'' (1982) * ''Quo vadiz?'' (1984) * ''

The Fish in Love ''The Fish in Love'' ( it, Il pesce innamorato) is a 1999 Italian romantic comedy film directed by Leonardo Pieraccioni, who also stars alongside Yamila Diaz. Pieraccioni stars as Arturo, a writer of children's books, and Diaz stars as Matilde, ...

'' (1999)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lurio, Don 1929 births 2003 deaths American male dancers Italian male dancers American choreographers Italian choreographers American television hosts Italian television presenters American people of Italian descent American emigrants to Italy 20th-century American dancers 20th-century Italian dancers Gay Jews American LGBT entertainers Italian LGBT entertainers American LGBT broadcasters Italian LGBT broadcasters American gay men Italian gay men Gay dancers LGBT choreographers Respiratory disease deaths in Lazio Deaths from respiratory failure 20th-century American LGBT people 20th-century Italian LGBT people