Enrico Simonetti
Enrico Simonetti (29 January 1924 – 28 May 1978) was an Italian pianist, composer, conductor, and television and radio presenter.
Enrico Simonetti | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | January 29, 1924 |
| Died | 28 May 1978 (aged 54) Rome |
Life and career
Born in Alassio, Savona, Simonetti graduated in piano at the Santa Cecilia Conservatory in Rome.[1][2] A lover of jazz, in the early 1950s he founded a musical jazz band with Piero Piccioni and Bruno Martino, with whom he performed in the most important nightclubs of the time.[1][2] In 1953 he moved with his family to Brasil, where he got an immediate success as musician, composer and also entertainer, hosting a long running television program, Simonetti Show, lasted 147 episodes;[1][2] thanks to his popularity he was made an honorary citizen of Brazil, and introduced into the "Candido Randon da Silva" order.[2] In 1964 he came back in Italy, where he joined RAI television, making his debut in the show Chitarra, amore mio.[1][2] He was active as a television and radio host (often in couple with Isabella Biagini), a film composer, and even an occasional actor. Simonetti died at age 54, as a result of complications following a major surgical operation to remove a tumor in the throat.[2]
His film scores include Macumba Love (1960), Special Killers (1973), Il magnate (1973) and Per amore di Cesarina (1976).
He was the father of composer and musician Claudio Simonetti.[2]
Selected filmography
- Lights Out (1953)
- A Flea on the Scales (1953)
- Leonora of the Seven Seas (1955)
- Macumba Love (1960)
- I Kiss the Hand (1973)
- Special Killers (1973)
- Il magnate (1973)
- Lover Boy (1975)
- Per amore di Cesarina (1976)
- Scandalo in famiglia (1976)
