Cino Tortorella

Felice "Cino" Tortorella[1] (27 June 1927 – 23 March 2017),[2][3][4] was an Italian television presenter, best known for creating and conducting the Zecchino d'Oro[5] festival of children's songs.

Felice Tortorella
Born(1927-06-27)27 June 1927
Ventimiglia, Italy
Died23 March 2017(2017-03-23) (aged 89)
Milan, Italy
OccupationTelevision host

Zecchino d'Oro and Topo Gigio

Cino (hypocorism of Felice) Tortorella was born in Ventimiglia, Italy. Tortorella began his career in 1956 with a comedy entitled Zurlì, Mago Lipperlì ("Zurlì, the almost Magician") and Mago Zurlì, il mago del giovedì ("Zurlì, the Thursday magician").

Three years later, he inaugurated the Zecchino d'Oro (The Golden Coin) festival, in which he played the role of Mago Zurlì until 1972. He also created several other shows on RAI TV and private Italian networks such as Antenna 3 Lombardia, where in the late '70s and early '80s he was the most important TV director.

During his shows, Tortorella often conversed with the puppet Topo Gigio, an anthropomorfic mouse created by Maria Perego and dubbed by Peppino Mazzullo. While a popular attraction in Italy, exposure via The Ed Sullivan Show made them famous around the world.

Legacy

In 2002, Tortorella's name was written into the Guinness book as of the person having been conducting the same program (Zecchino d'Oro) for the longest ever time in the world.[6][7]

References
  1. Addio Cino Tortorella, scompare Zurlì, il mago più amato dai bimbi (in Italian)
  2. ""Mago Zurlì è morto da 30 anni e io sono resuscitato due volte" - Soggetti Smarriti - Libero Quotidiano". Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2013-05-16.
  3. "Rai, si candida Mago Zurlì "Il mio vice sarà Topo Gigio"".
  4. "Cino Tortorella, ovvero il Mago Zurlė - tv - Foto - Virgilio Cinema e TV". Archived from the original on 2014-12-15. Retrieved 2013-05-16.
  5. "In ospedale Cino Tortorella il mago Zurlì dello Zecchino - Spettacoli". il Giornale (in Italian). 29 November 2009. Retrieved 20 March 2011.
  6. Dell'Orto, Alessandro (16 January 2012). ""Mago Zurlì è morto da 30 anni e io sono resuscitato due volte"". Libero Quotidiano. Retrieved 9 July 2017. Sa che nel 2002 sono entrato nel Guinness dei primati?
  7. Emanuelli, Massimo (2004). 50 anni di storia della televisione attraverso la stampa settimanale (in Italian). GRECO & GRECO Editori. p. 98. ISBN 978-88-7980-346-5. Retrieved 20 March 2011.
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