Italian
Little-known aspects of his professional life
With the funeral now concluded in his hometown, after the intense days of remembrance that preceded it – including the lying in state at the Teatro delle Vittorie in Rome, his “home” as many called it – and after the flood of words and tributes dedicated to him, there are still sides of Pippo Baudo’s professional life that remain less known.
The man of thirteen Sanremo Festivals, the last in 2008, which he insisted on hosting despite his health conditions in order to rival Mike Bongiorno, and the discoverer of countless talents – from Laura Pausini to Giorgia, from Lorella Cuccarini to Heather Parisi, to name just a few – also endured bitter disappointments in his career. Yet he always held his head high, staying true to his values.
The first episode dates back to 1997, when Baudo starred in the stage show “The Man Who Invented Television” by Garinei and Giovannini. By then, he was already a legend of the small screen, but the production failed. One evening at the grand Teatro Smeraldo in Milan, only four people were seated in the audience. A gentleman at heart, he never forgot those four spectators. As a great showman, he managed to make the most of that difficult moment.
The curtain opened, and Baudo immediately realized the emptiness before him. But he went on: two hours of show. The final applause was sparse, but heartfelt. The four spectators went backstage to greet him, and he welcomed them with a warm embrace full of gratitude. He was not sad, only a little bitter. With irony, he remarked that perhaps the absent audience “had preferred to stay home watching TV.” He thanked those four with genuine affection — and his gratitude lasted forever. Like a true Sicilian gentleman, he never forgot them, sending each of them Christmas and Easter greetings every year.
Another setback was his unsuccessful stint at Mediaset. For a time, he was sidelined. But with great humility, ready to start over, he accepted a daytime program in 1999. It marked his comeback, as he regained the love of his audience, declaring: “It’s wonderful to start again, on any network and at any time.”
There was also a curious, little-known venture: a recipe record album. Baudo never accepted to host a cooking show in his career. “I can’t stand cooking shows anymore; people are eating at all hours and they’re all the same,” he told Corriere della Sera in 2019. Yet, in the late 1970s, he presented an album of regional songs tied to traditional dishes (for instance, “Risi e Bisi” for Veneto, or “Filetti di Merluzzo alla Napoletana” for Campania).
Another unexpected side of Baudo was his love for Bologna, especially its street jazz. Four years ago, at La Strada del Jazz festival founded by Paolo Alberti, the orchestra performed arrangements of Donna Rosa, La Quadriglia, and Una domenica così — songs Baudo himself had written, inspired by the great pianists of the African American jazz tradition.
Bologna also meant friendship with Lucio Dalla. “I had the great honor of listening to one of his masterpieces, Caruso, in preview,” Baudo recalled in an interview with Il Resto del Carlino.
As these lines suggest, there is still much we don’t know about him. But time will bring these stories back to us like a breath of wind, reminding us of his presence — baudeggiando, as the Treccani dictionary notes, with all the neologisms created in his honor.
