Michael Nicholas Salvatore Bongiorno (; May 26, 1924 – September 8, 2009) was an

Italian-American Italian Americans ( it, italoamericani or ''italo-americani'', ) are Americans who have full or partial Italian ancestry. The largest concentrations of Italian Americans are in the urban Northeast and industrial Midwestern metropolitan areas, ...

television host 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 garne ...

. After a few experiences in the US, he started working on

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 the 1950s and was considered to be the most popular host in Italy. He was also known by the nickname ''il Re del Quiz'' ("The Quiz King"), and the peculiarity of starting all his shows with his trademark greeting: ''Allegria!'' ("Cheers!", "Joy!").

Early years

Bongiorno was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

to parents of Italian descent. He moved to

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The ...

(his mother's native city), when he was young. His father was a Sicilian-American lawyer of partial Arbëreshë origin. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, he abandoned his studies and joined a group of Italian partisans. He was captured and spent seven months in the San Vittore prison in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

and was then deported to a German concentration camp. He was liberated before the end of the war due to an exchange of war prisoners between the United States and Germany. He returned to New York and in 1946 started work at the radio headquarters of '' Il Progresso Italo-Americano'' (The Italian-American Progress) newspaper.

Career

Bongiorno returned to Italy in 1953. He appeared on the first day of official public TV transmissions in Italy with ''Arrivi e partenze'' (Arrivals and Departures) on the TV channel

. From 1955 to 1959, he hosted the quiz show '' Lascia o raddoppia?'', the Italian version of USA's ''

The $64,000 Question ''The $64,000 Question'' was an American game show broadcast in primetime on CBS-TV from 1955 to 1958, which became embroiled in the 1950s quiz show scandals. Contestants answered general knowledge questions, earning money which doubled as the ...

''. Another program was ''Campanile Sera'' (Bell Tower Evening, 1959–1962), in which southern and northern Italian towns challenged each other with questions, and practical games played by citizens in the same towns. In 1963,

Umberto Eco Umberto Eco (5 January 1932 – 19 February 2016) was an Italian medievalist, philosopher, semiotician, novelist, cultural critic, and political and social commentator. In English, he is best known for his popular 1980 novel ''The Name of th ...

wrote an essay entitled ''Phenomenology of Mike Bongiorno'', a bestseller in which he used advanced academic theories to shed light on Mike Bongiorno and his way of communicating. Eco held that Bongiorno was so good at portraying himself as no better than average in every respect that 100% of his audience could feel good about themselves. Beginning in 1963, he hosted the first of eleven editions of the

Sanremo Festival The Sanremo Music Festival, officially the Italian Song Festival () and commonly known as just (), is the most popular Italian culture, Italian song contest and awards ceremony, held annually in the city of Sanremo, Liguria. It is the longes ...

. Then he hosted the quiz programs ''Caccia al numero'' (Number Hunt, 1962), ''La Fiera dei Sogni'' (Dream Fair, 1962–1965) and ''Giochi in Famiglia'' (Games in Family, 1966–1969). But the greatest success came with the quiz program ''Rischiatutto'' (1970–1974), an adapted Italian version of ''

Jeopardy! ''Jeopardy!'' is an American game show created by Merv Griffin. The show is a quiz competition that reverses the traditional question-and-answer format of many quiz shows. Rather than being given questions, contestants are instead given gene ...

'', with 20 to 30 million watchers every Thursday night, the highest audience in the history of Italian TV. Other programs hosted by Bongiorno were the news talk show ''Ieri e Oggi'' (''Yesterday and Today'', 1976) and the quiz programs ''Scommettiamo?'' ('' Wanna Bet?'', 1976–1978), inspired by horse-racing, and a remake of ''Lascia o raddoppia?'' in 1979. BaudoBongiornoCorradoTortora

Bongiorno moved to Tele Milano (now Canale 5), one of the first Italian commercial TV channels owned by Mediaset, the media company founded by

Silvio Berlusconi Silvio Berlusconi ( ; ; born 29 September 1936) is an Italian media tycoon and politician who served as Prime Minister of Italy in four governments from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006 and 2008 to 2011. He was a member of the Chamber of Deputies f ...

, to host ''I sogni nel cassetto'' (literally "The dreams in the drawer", 1979–1980). After a brief return to RAI with the news-game ''Flash'' (1980–1982), he continued working for Mediaset quiz programmes ''Bis'' ( Concentation) (1981–1990), ''Superflash'' (1982–1985), ''Pentathlon'' (1985–1987), ''Telemike'' (1987–1992), ''Tris'' (1990–1991), the math game ''Tutti per uno'' (

Family Feud ''Family Feud'' is an American television game show created by Mark Goodson. It features two families who compete to name the most popular answers to survey questions in order to win cash and prizes. The show has had three separate runs, th ...

, 1992) and from 1989 to 2003 ''La ruota della fortuna'' ''( Wheel of Fortune)''. From 1991 to 2001, Bongiorno hosted ''Bravo, Bravissimo'', a festival featuring preteen musicians, dancers and singers from all over the world. He won 24

Telegatto Telegatto (a composition of ''television'' and ''gatto'', meaning "cat", after the trophy, which is a little statue representing a cat), was an Italian television award first conceived in 1971 following the contest Gran Premio internazionale dell ...

, the Italian TV prize. Until 2005, he hosted ''Genius'' on Rete 4, an afternoon quiz show aimed at 12- to 14-year-olds. In 2006 and 2007 he hosted his last quiz show ''Il Migliore'' ( Britain's Brainiest Kid) on Rete 4. He was also a guest on the second episode of the Gianfranco Funari's show ''Apocalypse Show'' on

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 company's flagship television channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream and gener ...

. On December 13, 2007, Bongiorno was awarded an honorary degree Honoris Causa by

IULM University of Milan The IULM University - Milan ( it, Libera Università di Lingue e Comunicazione IULM ) is a university located in Milan, Italy. It was founded in 1968 and is organized in four faculties. . History and profile The University Institute for ...

. On March 26, 2009 Bongiorno signed for

SKY Italia Sky Italia S.r.l. is an Italian satellite television platform owned by the American media conglomerate Comcast. Sky Italia also broadcasts three national free-to-air television channels: TV8, Cielo and Sky TG24. As of 2018, following an ag ...

after Mediaset decided not to renew his contract, where he planned to host a new game show on

SKY Uno Sky Uno ( en, Sky One) is an Italian entertainment television channel, based on the defunct reality television channel '' SKY Vivo'', both owned and broadcast by Sky Italia. It broadcasts the Italian version of the shows ''The X Factor'', ''Got ...

called ''RiSKYtutto'' (a modern edition of his popular show ''Rischiatutto''), which had been scheduled to air in the autumn of 2009.

Death

On September 8, 2009, at the age of 85, Bongiorno died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...

, while leaving the Hotel Metropole, Monte-Carlo after a short holiday with his wife Daniela Zuccoli. His body

lay in repose Lying in repose is the tradition in which the body of a deceased person, often of high social stature, is made available for public viewing. Lying in repose differs from the more formal honor of lying in state, which is generally held at the pr ...

for a few days at the

Triennale The Triennale di Milano is a design and art museum in the Parco Sempione in Milan, in Lombardy in northern Italy. It is housed in the Palazzo dell'Arte, which was designed by Giovanni Muzio and built between 1931 and 1933; construction was fi ...

in Milan before a state funeral was held in the Milan Cathedral on September 12, 2009. Many Italian TV stars such as

Rosario Fiorello Rosario Tindaro Fiorello (born 16 May 1960), known just as Fiorello, is an Italian comedian, singer, radio, and television presenter. Career Fiorello was born in Catania, Sicily, and raised in Augusta, Sicily. He began his career working in tour ...

Pippo Baudo Giuseppe Vittorio Raimondo Baudo (born 7 June 1936), known as Pippo Baudo, is one of the most famous Italian television presenters, with a career spanning six decades. He is often nicknamed "Superpippo" (referencing the Italian name of Super Go ...

Fabio Fazio Fabio Fazio (; born 30 November 1964) is an Italian television presenter. After debuting in 1982, he presented many TV programs, including '' Quelli che... il Calcio'', '' Vieni via con me'' and ''Quello che (non) ho''. Since 2003, he presents t ...

, Sandra Mondaini, Alba Parietti,

Paola Barale Paola Barale (born 28 April 1967 in Fossano, Italy) is an Italian TV hostess and actress. She was married to Gianni Sperti. Her television career began by chance, in fact, she desired to become a gymnastics teacher and she had graduated from ...

Carlo Conti Carlo Natale Marino Conti (born 13 March 1961), simply known as Carlo Conti, is an Italian television presenter. Life and career Born in Florence, Conti graduated in accountancy, then he was a bank teller from 1981 to 1986.. After some experi ...

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, Marco Columbro and several other entertainers attended the service which was held by Bishop Erminio De Scalzi. Bongiorno was buried in the family tomb, at Dagnente Cemetery, near Arona in

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

. On January 25, 2011, the tomb was ransacked and his body, along with the coffin, was stolen. On December 8, 2011, Bongiorno's body was recovered from a field near Milan.

Honours and awards

Honours

In 1996, Bongiorno was made a Commander of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus by

Vittorio Emanuele, Prince of Naples , house = Savoy , spouse = , issue = Prince Emanuele Filiberto, Prince of Venice , father = Umberto II of Italy , mother = Princess Marie-José of Belgium , birth_date = , birth_place = Naples, Kingdo ...

, the last

Crown Prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title is crown princess, which may refer either to an heiress apparent or, especially in earlier times, to the wi ...

of the former

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy ( it, Regno d'Italia) was a state that existed from 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Sardinia was proclaimed King of Italy, until 1946, when civil discontent led to an institutional referendum to abandon the monarchy and f ...

, and Head of the House of Savoy. On May 26, 2004, on occasion of his 80th birthday, Bongiorno was appointed a Grand Officer of the

Order of Merit of the Italian Republic The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic ( it, Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana) is the senior Italian order of merit. It was established in 1951 by the second President of the Italian Republic, Luigi Einaudi. The highest-ranking ...

by the then Italian President

Carlo Azeglio Ciampi Carlo Azeglio Ciampi (; 9 December 1920 – 16 September 2016) was an Italian politician and banker who was the prime minister of Italy from 1993 to 1994 and the president of Italy from 1999 to 2006. Biography Education Ciampi was born i ...

Honorary degree

In the autumn of 2007, Bongiorno received an

Honorary degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...

in Television, Film and Multimedia production from the

Awards

*1984

- Best TV quiz, for presenting television quiz "Superflash" on Canale 5 *1985 Telegatto - Best TV quiz, for presenting television quiz "Superflash" on Canale 5 *1986 Telegatto - Best TV quiz, for presenting television quiz "Superflash" on Canale 5 *1987 Telegatto - Best TV quiz, for presenting television game show "Pentathlon" on Canale 5 *1988 Telegatto - Best TV quiz, for presenting television game quiz "Telemike" on Canale 5 *1989 Telegatto - Best TV quiz, for presenting television game quiz "Telemike" on Canale 5 *1990 Telegatto - Best TV quiz, for presenting television game quiz "Telemike" on Canale 5 *1991 Telegatto - Best TV quiz, for presenting television game quiz "Telemike" on Canale 5 *1992 Telegatto - Best quiz and game shows, presenting " La Ruota Della Fortuna", the Italian version of Wheel of Fortune *1993 Telegatto - Best quiz and game shows, presenting "La Ruota Della Fortuna", the Italian version of Wheel of Fortune *1994 Telegatto - Best quiz and game shows, presenting "La Ruota Della Fortuna", the Italian version of Wheel of Fortune *1995 Telegatto - Best quiz and game shows, presenting "La Ruota Della Fortuna", the Italian version of Wheel of Fortune *1996 Telegatto platinum, for a lifelong career (for the 50-year career in television) *1997 Telegatto - Best Music Program, for hosting " Festival della canzone italiana" *2003 Telegatto - What's on TV, for hosting " Grand Prix International TV" *2006 Telegatto platinum, for a lifelong career *2008 Premio Club Santa Chiara, for a lifelong career *2011 Premio America of the Italy-USA Foundation in memory

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bongiorno, Mike 1924 births 2009 deaths Television personalities from New York City American game show hosts Italian television presenters American people of Arbëreshë descent American people of Italian descent Italian people of Arbëreshë descent People of Sicilian descent American emigrants to Italy Knights of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus Italian resistance movement members Nazi concentration camp survivors