Pippo Baudo

Giuseppe Raimondo Vittorio "Pippo" Baudo (7 June 1936 – 16 August 2025) was an Italian television presenter. One of the most notable in his native country, he had a career spanning six decades, which included 13 editions of the Sanremo Music Festival – the highest number for a single presenter.

Baudo was often nicknamed "Superpippo" (referencing the Italian name of Super Goof). Baudo was also the artistic director and president of the Teatro Stabile di Catania from 2000 to 2007.

Career

Baudo was born in Militello in Val di Catania, Sicily, the son of a lawyer and a housewife. While studying law at the University of Catania, he started performing as an actor and presenter, becoming the sidekick of comedian Tuccio Musumeci. He graduated with a degree in law, despite his interest in entertainment, and never practiced as a lawyer. At the end of the 1950s, he became a singer and pianist for Orchestra Moonlight. In 1959, for the first time, Pippo appeared on Italian TV during an episode of the Enzo Tortora's show La conchiglia d'oro. He had his breakout in 1966, as the presenter of the musical show Settevoci.

In 1968, Baudo hosted the Sanremo Music Festival for the first time; he eventually hosted the festival 13 times, the last one in 2008, also serving as artistic director in numerous editions. On the opening night of the Sanremo Music Festival 1995, shortly after the beginning of the show a man, Pino Pagano, climbed onto of the gallery of the Teatro Ariston threatening to commit suicide by jumping; he was persuaded to step back by Baudo himself amid the applause of the audience. He also hosted two editions of Canzonissima, six editions of Un disco per l'estate, as well as numerous editions of Domenica in and Fantastico.