Cino Tortorella | |
---|---|
Born |
Ventimiglia, Italy |
27 June 1927
Occupation | Television host |
Cino Tortorella, born 27 June 1927, is a former Italian television presenter, best known for creating and conducting the Zecchino d'Oro festival of children's songs.
Born in Ventimiglia, Italy, Tortorella began his career in the 1950s with a comedy entitled Zurlì, mago Lipperlì ("Zurlì, the Magician of There", 1956). Three years later, he inaugurated the Zecchino d'Oro, 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 first '80s was the most important TV Director.
With Tortorella as the voice of Topo Gigio, he became a regular on The Ed Sullivan Show. While a popular attraction in Italy, exposure via The Ed Sullivan Show made them famous around the world.
In December 2006, 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.