Topo Gigio
Topo Gigio was the lead character of a children's puppet show on Italian television in the early 1960s. The character, created in 1958 by artist Maria Perego, debuted on Italian television in 1959 and has been customarily voiced by actor Giuseppe "Peppino" Mazzullo and later Davide Garbolino. The Italian nickname "Gigi" is a derivative of Luigi, so Topo Gigio could be translated as Louie Mouse.
Topo Gigio, a soft foam mouse with dreamy eyes and a friendly, childish personality, was very popular in Italy for many years—not only on TV, but also in children's magazines, such as the classical Corriere dei Piccoli, animated cartoons, merchandising and movies. In 1963, the character's popularity spread to the world after being featured on The Ed Sullivan Show in the US.
Today, Topo Gigio still has faithful fans and has become an icon of Italian pop culture. He performs regularly at Zecchino d'Oro festival and other programs created by Antoniano and RAI. The character also spawned two feature-length motion pictures, The Magic World of Topo Gigio and Topo Gigio and the Missile War, an anime series, and a 2020 animated series of the same name.
The puppet has made appearances and has a fan base in many other countries—including Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Ecuador, Guatemala, Japan, Mexico, Nicaragua, Honduras, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Romania, Uruguay, Venezuela and the former Yugoslavia.
Dedicated media
Television
- Topo Gigio was created in 1958 by the artist "Madame" Maria Perego and starred in a children's television show in Italy in the early 1960s. He remains a fixture of Italian pop culture and still performs regularly at festivals in Italy.
- He was immensely popular in his home country and became a worldwide sensation after his recurring appearances, beginning in 1963, on The Ed Sullivan Show, in the United States. Created by a troupe of Italian puppeteers, it took four people to bring the 10-inch-tall character to life: three to manipulate him, and one to create his voice. The puppet stood in a special "limbo" black art stage with black velvet curtains, designed to absorb as much ambient light as possible, which helped hide the puppeteers, who were also dressed in black from head to toe. Each puppeteer operated a different part of Gigio's foam rubber body by using several wooden dowel rods. The illusion was quite remarkable, since unlike traditional hand puppets, Topo Gigio could actually appear to walk on his feet, sing, make subtle hand gestures, and even walk up Ed Sullivan's arm and perch on his shoulder. Careful lighting and TV camera adjustment made the "black art" illusion perfect for the television audience, though on at least one appearance, Ed asked the puppeteers to come out and take a bow, revealing their black-clad appearance. In more than fifty appearances on the show, the mouse would appear on stage and greet Sullivan with, "Hello, Eddie!". Gigio would occasionally talk about his girlfriend, Rosie. Gigio ended his weekly visits by crooning to the host, "Eddie, kiss me goodnight!". Topo Gigio closed Sullivan's final show in 1971.
- During the first half of the 1960s, Topo Gigio also appeared in a TV music show presented by the British singer Chris Howland, both in Austria and Germany.
- Also in the early 1960s, in Austria, Mike Molto had a special small show to help the advertising industry. Austrian television advertising first started in 1959.
- In Spanish America, Topo Gigio became a smash hit in 1968, featuring Braulio Castillo, Raúl Astor, and later, Julio Alemán. The show was produced in Peru and then in Mexico. The character still appears in Italian and Spanish speaking territories.
- A 1969 color television show especially for children in Austria and Switzerland was called Cappuccetto and Her Adventures with her friends Lupo Lupone, Professor Lhotko, a fox, some other animals of the forest, her grandmother, and a music band with five little mushrooms playing on guitars and singing.
- The character was also introduced in Japan, South America, and Spain. Topo Gigio, a Japanese animated television series produced by Nippon Animation, aired in Japan for two seasons, in 1988.
- An Italian animated series started being released on RAIplay on April 8, 2020.
Films
- The feature film The Magic World of Topo Gigio
- Topo Gigio and the Missile War, a Japanese-Italian international co-production film directed by Kon Ichikawa
Music
- Topo Gigio had several LPs with songs sung by Gabriel Garzón.
Spokesperson and mascot
- He is "the spokes-mouse" for the United Nations.
- Topo Gigio has been the official mascot of the Uruguayan club Huracán Buceo since 1968.
Appearances and references in popular culture
Comics
- In the syndicated comic strip 9 Chickweed Lane, on July 16, 2008, Edda refers to her new dance partner as Topo Gigio.
Films
- Another mention occurs in the film The Santa Clause. When Scott Calvin is giving alternative names for Santa Claus to the police officer in the interrogation scene, Scott imitates Ed Sullivan when he says the name "Topo Gigio". This is a reference to at least one episode of The Ed Sullivan Show, in which Gigio dresses as and imitates Santa.
- A mention of Topo Gigio was made in the film Being John Malkovich. In the movie, Craig Schwartz is in control of John Horatio Malkovich ; while instructing a class of puppetry, he angrily corrects a student's poor performance of the marionettes, instructing that puppetry without emotion is "a novelty act. It's Topo Gigio."
Music
- The music video for Billy Joel's song "Tell Her About It", which puts Joel on the stage of The Ed Sullivan Show, begins with Sullivan saying, "Thank you, Topo Gigio".
- Popular Mexican singer Victor Yturbe mentions the line "Quiero hacerle al Topo Gigio" in his single "Sabes de que Tengo Ganas".
Restaurants
- Topo Gigio Ristorante in Chicago is named after Topo Gigio in honor of the character
- Topo Gigio Italian Restaurant, based in Swansea, South Wales, was established 1979.
- Topo Gigio is a restaurant based in Greenside, Johannesburg in South Africa.
- Topo Gigio Ristorante Italiano in Frankfurt in Germany
- Topogigio Ristorante Italiano in Wimborne, Dorset
Schools
- In Fortaleza, there is a school named after the character.
Sports
- Argentine footballer Carlos Tevez claimed that his goal celebrations were to honour Topo Gigio after Manchester City's 2–1 win over his former club and fierce rivals Manchester United in the League Cup semi-final first leg 2009/10 season. Tevez claimed that his Argentine team mate Juan Román Riquelme also honours Topo Gigio with his goal celebrations.
Stage productions
- Craig Lucas's play Blue Window mentions Topo Gigio.
- In the musical Forever Plaid, the number "Lady of Spain" ends with the phrase "Kiss Topo Gigio Goodnight."
Television
- In Season 4 Episode 1 "The Next Voice You Hear..." of the sitcom Night Court, when Rosalind "Roz" Russell was introduced for the first time she mentioned that her brother Topo Gigio has not seen their mother in 30 years.
- In the episode "The Last Temptation of Cory" of the television series Boy Meets World, the character Missy Robinson mistakenly calls Topanga "Topo Gigio".
- He made a comeback for the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, in short segments of a sports show.
- On an episode of Fantasy Football League during the 1998 FIFA World Cup, a 'lookalikes' segment commented that Dutch goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar resembled Topo Gigio.
- The Guardian Guide journalist Charlie Brooker, in his Screen-Burn column, likened All Saints Natalie Appleton to Topo Gigio after her appearance in I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!.
- Topo Gigio was a favorite reference in the earlier seasons of the American television series Mystery Science Theater 3000, usually with the character Crow T. Robot announcing "Ladies and gentlemen, Topo Gigio!" in the voice of Ed Sullivan.
- In 1965, Topo Gigio appeared on the first of many occasions in ITV's Sunday Night at the London Palladium with Jimmy Tarbuck, Nina & Frederik and Lonnie Donegan.
- Late Show with David Letterman, which recorded in the Ed Sullivan Theater, has made a number of references to Topo Gigio, most elaborately on March 19, 1993, with an appearance by Calvert DeForest as Gigio, wearing a grey mouse costume and shouting non sequiturs about Sullivan and Batman.
- On August 20, 2008, TMZ.com compared Shawn Johnson to Topo Gigio, which ultimately got the reference removed from the site due to a public uproar.