Cino Tortorella facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Felice Tortorella
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| Born | 27 June 1927 Ventimiglia, Italy
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| Died | 23 March 2017 (aged 89) Milan, Italy
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| Occupation | Television host |
Felice "Cino" Tortorella (born June 27, 1927 – died March 23, 2017) was a famous Italian television host. He is best known for creating and hosting the Zecchino d'Oro festival. This festival features children's songs and is very popular in Italy.
Meet Cino Tortorella
Cino Tortorella was born in Ventimiglia, Italy. "Cino" was a nickname for Felice. He started his career in 1956 with a comedy show. It was called Zurlì, Mago Lipperlì. Later, he had another show called Zurlì, il mago del giovedì. In these shows, he played a character called Mago Zurlì, who was a magician.
The Golden Coin Festival
Three years later, in 1959, Cino Tortorella started the Zecchino d'Oro festival. The name means "The Golden Coin." He continued to play Mago Zurlì in this festival until 1972. This made him very well-known.
He also created many other TV shows. These shows were on RAI TV, which is Italy's public television. He also worked for private Italian TV channels like Antenna 3 Lombardia. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, he was a very important TV director.
Cino and Topo Gigio
During his shows, Cino Tortorella often talked with a puppet named Topo Gigio. Topo Gigio was a cute mouse puppet. Maria Perego created Topo Gigio. Peppino Mazzullo gave the puppet its voice.
Topo Gigio was very popular in Italy. But thanks to shows like The Ed Sullivan Show in the United States, Topo Gigio became famous all over the world. Many people loved watching Cino and Topo Gigio together.
A Lasting Legacy
In 2002, Cino Tortorella's name was added to the Guinness World Records book. He earned this record for hosting the same program, Zecchino d'Oro, for the longest time ever. This shows how much he loved his work and how much people loved him. His work brought joy to many children and families.
