Giuseppe Vittorio Raimondo Baudo (born 7 June 1936), known as Pippo Baudo, is one of the most famous Italian
television presenters
A television presenter (or television host, some become a "television personality") is a person who introduces, hosts television show, television programs, often serving as a mediator for the program and the audience. Nowadays, it is common for ...
, with a career spanning six decades. He is often nicknamed "Superpippo" (referencing the Italian name of
Super Goof
Goofy is a cartoon character created by The Walt Disney Company. He is a tall, anthropomorphic dog who typically wears a turtle neck and vest, with pants, shoes, white gloves, and a tall hat originally designed as a rumpled fedora. Goofy is ...
). Baudo has also been the artistic director and president of the
Teatro Stabile di Catania The Teatro Stabile di Catania (Permanent theatre of Catania) is a theatrical institution based in Catania, Sicily, Italy which was formed in 1958. It has two theatres, the Teatro Giovanni Verga, the Teatro Angelo Musco. Annually, the program offer ...
.
Career
![Pippo Baudo 1975](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cb/Pippo_Baudo_1975.jpg)
Baudo was born in
Militello in Val di Catania
Militello in Val di Catania ( Sicilian: ''Militeḍḍu'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Catania in the Italian region Sicily, located about southeast of Palermo and about southwest of Catania, on the last slopes ...
. While studying law at the
University of Catania
The University of Catania ( it, Università degli Studi di Catania) is a university located in Catania, Sicily. Founded in 1434, it is the oldest university in Sicily, the 13th oldest in Italy, and the 29th oldest university in the world. With a ...
, he became involved in entertainment as an actor and host. He also learned to play the piano. He graduated with a degree in law, despite his interest in entertainment. At the end of the 1950s, he became a singer and pianist for Orchestra Moonlight. In 1959, for the first time, Pippo appeared on Italian TV during a "Caravella dei Successi" episode, broadcast from
Palermo
Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan ...
.
He gained success hosting several
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 ...
programmes, as well as serving as the artistic director. Pippo signed to
Mediaset
Mediaset Italia S.p.A., also known as Mediaset, is an Italian-based mass media company which is the largest commercial broadcaster in the country. The company is controlled by the holding company MFE - MediaForEurope. Founded in 1987 by former ...
but has never been able to reclaim his past success. He experienced a resurgence in his career when he hosted "Novecento" on RAI, which led to re-hosting the popular Sunday-afternoon show named "Domenica In" and the "
Festival della canzone italiana
The Sanremo Music Festival, officially the Italian Song Festival () and commonly known as just (), is the most popular Italian song contest and awards ceremony, held annually in the city of Sanremo, Liguria. It is the longest-running annual ...
".
In the 1970s, he helped establish and work for the
Catania
Catania (, , Sicilian and ) is the second largest municipality in Sicily, after Palermo. Despite its reputation as the second city of the island, Catania is the largest Sicilian conurbation, among the largest in Italy, as evidenced also by ...
-based private channel "
Antenna Sicilia
Antenna Sicilia is a regional Italian television station own and operated by La Sicilia, a daily newspaper for the island of Sicily. The most popular program of the channel is "Insieme
Together ( it, Insieme), whose complete name was Italy Euro ...
". In 1987, he hosted "Festival" on Mediaset after a controversy with RAI president, Enrico Manca. However, years later he worked again for RAI; his show "Serata d'Onore" having been broadcast on
Rai Due
Rai 2 is an Italian free-to-air television channel owned and operated by state-owned public broadcaster RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana. It is the company's second television channel, and is known for broadcasting ''TG2'' news bulletins, talk ...
.
In the opening night of the
Sanremo Music Festival 1995, shortly after the beginning of the show a man, Pino Pagano, sat on the edge of the gallery of the theater showing his intention to commit suicide by jumping below: he was eventually stopped by Baudo himself amid the applause of the audience.
In 1997, he signed again to Mediaset, but his shows "La canzone del secolo" and "Tiramisù" had very little success. In 1999, Baudo was asked by
Rai Tre
Rai 3 (formerly Rete 3) is an Italian free-to-air television channel owned and operated by state-owned public broadcaster RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana. It was launched on 15 December 1979 and its programming is centred towards cultural and ...
to host a new
prime time
Prime time or the peak time is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for a television show. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to ...
program, "Giorno dopo Giorno", it is now called "Novecento".
In 2002, he hosted the
Festival di Sanremo
The Sanremo Music Festival, officially the Italian Song Festival () and commonly known as just (), is the most popular Italian song contest and awards ceremony, held annually in the city of Sanremo, Liguria. It is the longest-running annual ...
, after the 2001 edition had been a fiasco. He chose co-hosts
Manuela Arcuri
Manuela Arcuri (born 8 January 1977, in Anagni) is an Italian actress, model and soubrette. She was the protagonist of two successful TV series, '' L'onore e il rispetto'' and '' Il peccato e la vergogna''.
Biography
Arcuri was born in Anagni, ...
and
Vittoria Belvedere
Vittoria Belvedere (born 17 January 1972) is an Italian actress from Vibo Valentia in Calabria, southern Italy. She has appeared in several films but most of her work is television based.
Career
In 1992, she made her debut in the film ''In camer ...
. He left
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 ...
in 2004, but he came back in 2005, with the programme "Sabato Italiano", on
Rai Uno
Rai 1 () is an Italian free-to-air television channel owned and operated by state-owned public broadcaster RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana. It is the company's flagship television channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream and general ...
. On 2 October 2005 he hosted for the eighth time the Sunday-afternoon program
Domenica in
''Domenica in'' is an Italian Sunday long-running television show broadcast by Rai 1
Rai 1 () is an Italian free-to-air television channel owned and operated by state-owned public broadcaster RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana. It is the com ...
(1979–1985, 1991–1992, 2005–2010).
In 2008, he hosted, for his thirteenth time, the
Festival di Sanremo
The Sanremo Music Festival, officially the Italian Song Festival () and commonly known as just (), is the most popular Italian song contest and awards ceremony, held annually in the city of Sanremo, Liguria. It is the longest-running annual ...
, exceeding
Mike Bongiorno
Michael Nicholas Salvatore Bongiorno (; May 26, 1924 – September 8, 2009) was an Italian-American television host. After a few experiences in the US, he started working on RAI in the 1950s and was considered to be the most popular host in Italy ...
, who hosted eleven times.
Personal life
In 2004, Baudo and his wife, Italian
soprano
A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...
Katia Ricciarelli
Catiuscia Maria Stella Ricciarelli (born 16 January 1946), known as Katia Ricciarelli (), is an Italian soprano and actress.
Biography
Born in Rovigo, Veneto, to a very poor family, she struggled during her younger years when she studied music. ...
, divorced, who had been married since 1986. He has two children, Alessandro, born in 1962, who lives in Australia, and Tiziana, born in 1970 from his first wife.
Honour
* : Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (21 july 2021)
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baudo, Pippo
1936 births
Living people
People from Militello in Val di Catania
Italian television presenters
Mass media people from Sicily
Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic