Enrico Simonetti (29 January 1924 – 28 May 1978) was an Italian pianist, composer, conductor, and television and radio presenter.

Life and career

Born in Alassio, a Province of Savona, Simonetti studied piano at the

Santa Cecilia Conservatory The Conservatorio di Musica Santa Cecilia is a state conservatory in Rome. History The institution has its roots dated back to the Congregazione de' musici di Roma named after Saint Cecilia in 1565 (now Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia). Sinc ...

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 ...

.Aldo Grasso, Massimo Scaglioni. ''Enciclopedia della Televisione''. Garzanti, 1996–2003. . A lover of

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

, in the early 1950s he founded a jazz band with

Piero Piccioni Piero Piccioni (; December 6, 1921 – July 23, 2004) was an Italian film score composer and lawyer. A pianist, organist, conductor, composer, he was also the prolific author of more than 300 film soundtracks. He played for the first time on ...

and

Bruno Martino Bruno Martino (11 November 1925 – 12 June 2000) was an Italian composer, singer, and pianist. Career Martino learned to play the piano at the age of fourteen. A Jazz fan, he spent the early years of his career performing with European radio an ...

, with whom he performed in the most important nightclubs of the time. In 1953 he moved, with his family, to Brazil, where he found immediate success as musician, composer and entertainer, hosting a long running television program, ''Simonetti Show'', which lasted for 147 episodes; thanks to his popularity he was made an honorary citizen of Brazil and was introduced into the "Candido Randon da Silva" order. In 1964 he came back to Italy, where he joined

RAI RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana (; commercially styled as Rai since 2000; known until 1954 as Radio Audizioni Italiane) is the national public broadcasting company of Italy, owned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. RAI operates many ter ...

television, making his debut in the show ''Chitarra, amore mio''. He was active as a television and radio host (often paired with

Isabella Biagini Isabella Biagini, born Concetta Biagini, (8 December 1940 – 14 April 2018) was an Italian actress and showgirl. Life and career Biagini was born in Rome on 8 December 1940. She debuted in childhood as a radio actress and advertising model. ...

), as a film composer, and even an occasional actor. Simonetti died at age 54 from complications following a major surgical operation to remove a tumor in his throat. His film scores include ''

Macumba Love ''Macumba Love'' is a 1960 American adventure horror film directed and co-produced by Douglas Fowley and written by Norman Graham. The film stars Walter Reed, Ziva Rodann, William Wellman Jr., June Wilkinson and Ruth de Souza. The film cente ...

'' (1960), '' Special Killers'' (1973), ''

Il magnate ''Il magnate'' (''The Tycoon'') is a 1973 Italian comedy film written and directed by Giovanni Grimaldi. Plot Furio Cicerone, a large Sicilian entrepreneur who came from the ranks, finds himself hindered by a loan from a bank due to an indispe ...

'' (1973) and '' Per amore di Cesarina'' (1976). He was the father of composer and musician

Claudio Simonetti Claudio Simonetti (born 19 February 1952) is an Italian musician and film composer. He moved with his family from Brazil to Italy at the age of 11. The keyboardist of the progressive rock band Goblin, Simonetti has specialized in the scores for ...

Selected filmography

* '' Lights Out'' (1953) * ''

A Flea on the Scales ''A Flea on the Scales'' (Portuguese: ''Uma Pulga na Balança'') is a 1953 Brazilian comedy film directed by Luciano Salce and starring Waldemar Wey, Gilda Nery and Geraldo José de Almeida.Molinterno p.289 Cast * Waldemar Wey as Dorival * ...

'' (1953) * '' Leonora of the Seven Seas'' (1955) * ''

'' (1960) *''

I Kiss the Hand ''I Kiss the Hand'' ( it, Baciamo le mani, also known as ''Family Killer'') is a 1973 Italian crime film directed by Vittorio Schiraldi and starring Arthur Kennedy, John Saxon and Agostina Belli. It is based on a novel by the same Vittorio Schi ...

'' (1973) *'' Special Killers'' (1973) *''

'' (1973) *'' Lover Boy'' (1975) *'' Per amore di Cesarina'' (1976) *''

Scandalo in famiglia ''Scandalo in famiglia'' (''Scandal in the family'') is a 1976 Italian commedia sexy all'italiana directed by Marcello Andrei. Plot Elena loves her uncle, but she is forced to marry a nobleman. The only solution is the adultery. So she still k ...

'' (1976)

References

External links

* *
Enrico Simonetti
at

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the ...

1924 births 1978 deaths Italian film score composers Italian male film score composers People from the Province of Savona Italian male conductors (music) Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia alumni Italian television personalities Italian radio presenters 20th-century Italian conductors (music) 20th-century pianists 20th-century Italian composers Italian male pianists 20th-century Italian male musicians {{conductor-stub