Mario Armond Zamparelli (June 4, 1921 – September 8, 2012) was an American artist and designer, best known for his connection with

Howard Hughes Howard Robard Hughes Jr. (December 24, 1905 – April 5, 1976) was an American business magnate, record-setting pilot, engineer, film producer, and philanthropist, known during his lifetime as one of the most influential and richest people in th ...

Life

Zamparelli was perhaps best known for his connection with

. For 18 years, Zamparelli was Chief Executive Designer of Hughes' empire, and created the corporate identity of

TWA Trans World Airlines (TWA) was a major American airline which operated from 1930 until 2001. It was formed as Transcontinental & Western Air to operate a route from New York City to Los Angeles via St. Louis, Kansas City, and other stops, with ...

, Hughes Airwest,

Hughes Helicopters Hughes Helicopters was a major manufacturer of military and civil helicopters from the 1950s to the 1980s. The company began in 1947, as a unit of Hughes Aircraft, then was part of the Hughes Tool Company after 1955. It became the Hughes Helic ...

, the

Summa Corporation Summa Corporation was a holding company for the business interests of Howard Hughes after he sold the tool division of Hughes Tool Company in 1972. Its holdings included casino hotels, aviation businesses, and television channels. After Hughes's d ...

Howard Hughes Medical Institute The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) is an American non-profit medical research organization based in Chevy Chase, Maryland. It was founded in 1953 by Howard Hughes, an American business magnate, investor, record-setting pilot, engineer, fil ...

and was the artist for Hughes'

RKO General RKO General, Inc. (previously General Teleradio, RKO Teleradio Pictures, and RKO Teleradio) was, from 1952 through 1991, the main holding company for the noncore businesses of the General Tire, General Tire and Rubber Company and, after General Ti ...

movies posters. He designed interiors and exteriors of many of the legendary Las Vegas hotels, including the

Frontier Hotel The New Frontier (formerly Hotel Last Frontier and The Frontier) was a hotel and casino on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. The property began as a casino and dance club known as Pair O' Dice, opened in 1931. It was sold in 1941, and inco ...

, the

Desert Inn The Desert Inn, also known as the D.I., was a hotel and casino on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, which operated from April 24, 1950, to August 28, 2000. Designed by architect Hugh Taylor and interior design by Jac Lessman, it was the ...

the Sands The Sands Hotel and Casino was a historic American hotel and casino on the Las Vegas Strip in Nevada, United States, that operated from 1952 to 1996. Designed by architect Wayne McAllister, with a prominent high sign, the Sands was the sevent ...

, Tropicana, among other Hughes' hotels and casinos and property holdings. He was also responsible for the only portrait of Howard Hughes in existence that was commissioned by Hughes himself. Zamparelli was also responsible for many of the iconic corporate design identities of many products such as TWA, Datsun,

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

, Hunts, Union Bank,

Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...

, Southern California Gas Company, Kimberly Clark,

Mattel Mattel, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company founded in January 1945 and headquartered in El Segundo, California. The company has presence in 35 countries and territories and sells products in more ...

, the

Norton Simon Norton Winfred Simon (February 5, 1907 – June 2, 1993) was an American industrialist and philanthropist. He was at one time one of the wealthiest men in America. At the time of his death, he had amassed a net worth of nearly US$10 billion. S ...

Corporation, among many others. He also designed the Home of the Future for Disney. At a young age it was realized Zamparelli had the mind of a genius and an extraordinary talent in art, he started his career working in illustration for such magazines as

Cosmopolitan Cosmopolitan may refer to: Food and drink * Cosmopolitan (cocktail), also known as a "Cosmo" History * Rootless cosmopolitan, a Soviet derogatory epithet during Joseph Stalin's anti-Semitic campaign of 1949–1953 Hotels and resorts * Cosmopoli ...

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine ** ''Vogue China'', ...

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentlema ...

, and

Harpers Bazaar ''Harper's Bazaar'' is an American monthly women's fashion magazine. It was first published in New York City on November 2, 1867, as the weekly ''Harper's Bazar''. ''Harper's Bazaar'' is published by Hearst and considers itself to be the st ...

until he was handpicked by Howard Hughes as personal artist for his empire. He was a fine artist, writer, avid photographer and musician, having played in a band with the legendary jazz artist

Dave Brubeck David Warren Brubeck (; December 6, 1920 – December 5, 2012) was an American jazz pianist and composer. Often regarded as a foremost exponent of cool jazz, Brubeck's work is characterized by unusual time signatures and superimposing contrasti ...

in his younger years. He was also poet and an avid art collector and art teacher and was truly respected artist among his peers in the art world. He is the Who's Who in the American West and Who's Who in American Art. He has won numerous awards, including a

Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...

for "Best Documentary" for a BBC Four Hour "Hollywood Golden Years" documentary featuring Zamparelli's life.

Family

Zamparelli married

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

n beauty queen and actress Maureen Hingert in 1958. They have three daughters —

Gina Zamparelli Gina N. Zamparelli (8 May 1959 – 21 May 2018) was an American, Los Angeles–based, concert promoter. Family Zamparelli was the daughter of Sri-Lankan model and Miss Universe title-holder Maureen Hingert and American designer Mario Armond Zam ...

, a well-known concert promoter in Los Angeles; Marisa Zamparelli; and their youngest daughter, Andrea Laura Zamparelli. In 2013, Zamparelli's daughters are preparing to publish a book written by Mario Zamparelli about his life and times with Howard Hughes, titled ''Enigma'',Publishers Marketplace: Rights News and Offerings
/ref> a new account of the controversial lifestyle of Howard Hughes.

References

External links

2012 deaths American industrial designers American illustrators 1921 births {{US-artist-stub