Topo Gigio

Topo Gigio was the lead character of a children's puppet show on Italian television, in the early 1960s. The character was created by artist Maria Perego in 1958 and has been customarily voiced by actor Giuseppe (Peppino) Mazzullo. The name means "Louie Mouse" in English.

Topo Gigio, a soft foam mouse with dreamy eyes and childish personality, was very popular in Italy for many years — not only on TV but also in children magazines, such as the classical Corriere dei Piccoli, animated cartoons, movies, and merchandising. Its popularity spread to the world after being featured on Ed Sullivan's weekly TV show in the U.S. Today Topo Gigio still has a cohort of 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. In 1965, a feature length motion picture "Le Avventure di topo Gigio" ("The Adventures of Topo Gigio") was released internationally.

The endearing puppet has made appearances and has a fan base in many other countries — including Dominican Republic, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Japan, Mexico, Nicaragua, Venezuela, and Perú.

Ed Sullivan Show

Every week, America tuned into "The Ed Sullivan Show" and every week, the TV audience was charmed by the antics of the adorable mouse, Topo Gigio. Created by a highly creative troupe of puppeteers, it took four people to bring the 10" tall character to life, three to manipulate him and one to create his sweet voice.

Appearing over 50 times, the little Italian mouse would appear on stage and greet Ed with a sugary "Hello Eddie!". Topo also was quite the lover, often speaking of his girlfriend "Rosie", but the enduring image is how Topo ended his weekly visits, literally crooning to Ed, "Keesa me goo'night, Eddie".

Topo Gigio closed the final "Ed Sullivan Show" in 1971, but his success wasn't limited to his airtime with Ed. The character was introduced in South America, Spain and in Japan, which spawned a successful Japanese animated series. There was also a feature film released in 1965 entitled "The Magic World of Topo Gigio" and Topo continues, to this day, as a well-known character in mainstay of Italian and Spanish speaking territories. He is also "the spokes-mouse" for the United Nations.

References in Popular Culture

*In Japan, Topo Gigio was the protagonist of "Topo Gigio and the Missile War" (1966, dir. Kon Ichikawa) and a 1988 cartoon produced by Nippon Animation.
*In Latin America, Topo Gigio became a smash hit in 1968, widely remembered even now, featuring Braulio Castillo, Julio Aleman and later, Raul Astor (Raúl Ignacio Spangenberg). Gigio had several LPs with songs sung by Gabriel Garzón. The show was produced in Peru, and then in Mexico. He made a comeback for the 2006 Germany World Cup, in short segments of a sports show.
*A mention of Topo Gigio was made in the 1999 film "Being John Malkovich". In the film Craig Schwartz (John Cusack) is in control of John Horatio Malkovich (John 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."
*Another mention occurs in the 1994 film "The Santa Clause". When Scott Calvin (Tim Allen) 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 Topo dresses as and imitates Santa.
*The music video for Billy Joel's hit song, "Tell Her About It", which puts Joel on the stage of the Ed Sullivan show, begins with Ed Sullivan saying, "Thank you, Topo Gigio."
*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.
*Topo Gigio is the official mascot of the uruguayan club Huracán Buceo since 1969.
*Guardian Guide journalist Charlie Brooker, in his Screen-Burn column [1] likened All Saints Natalie Appleton to Topo Gigio after her appearance in "I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!"
*In the syndicated comic strip 9 Chickweed Lane, on July 16, 2008, Edda refers to her new dance partner as Topo Gigio.
*In the episode "The Last Temptation of Cory" of the television series Boy Meets World the character Missy Robinson mistakenly calls Topanga "Topo Gigio."
*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.

External links

* [http://www.tvacres.com/puppets_topogigio.htm TV Acres: Topo Gigio]
* [http://toys-collectibles.50webs.com/topo-gigio/index.html TV toys-collectibles: Topo Gigio]
* [http://www.tmz.com/2008/08/20/shawn-johnson-you-little-rat/ TMZ.com/Shawn Johnson comparison]

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