Luigi "Gigi" Sabani (5 October 1952 – 4 September 2007) was an Italian TV

impersonator An impersonator is someone who imitates or copies the behavior or actions of another. There are many reasons for impersonating someone: *Living history: After close study of some historical figure, a performer may dress and speak "as" that ...

Biography and career

Born in Rome, Sabani made his television debut in the late 1970s as an impersonator: his most famous imitations included those of

Adriano Celentano Adriano Celentano (; born 6 January 1938) is an Italian singer-songwriter, actor, showman, and filmmaker. He is dubbed ''Il Molleggiato'' ('the springy one') because of his energetic dancing. Celentano's many albums frequently enjoyed both com ...

and

Mike Bongiorno Michael Nicholas Salvatore Bongiorno (; May 26, 1924 – September 8, 2009) was an American Italian television presenter. After a few experiences in the U.S., he started working on RAI in the 1950s and was considered to be the most popular host ...

. From 1983 to 1986 he hosted the Italian version of the show ''

The Price Is Right ''The Price Is Right'' is an American television game show where contestants compete by guessing the prices of merchandise to win cash and prizes. A 1972 revival by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman of their The Price Is Right (1956 American game ...

'' (''

OK, il Prezzo è Giusto! ''OK, Il Prezzo è Giusto!'' ("OK! The Price Is Right") is the Italian adaptation of the American game show ''The Price Is Right'' that aired on Italia 1, Canale 5 and Rete 4. It was hosted by Gigi Sabani, Iva Zanicchi, Emanuela Folliero and Mar ...

'') along with (and later succeeded by) Italian singer

Iva Zanicchi Iva Zanicchi (; born 18 January 1940) is an Italian pop singer and politician. She has a mezzo-soprano voice and is nick-named by the press as the "Eagle from Ligonchio" (). Biography Iva Zanicchi was born in Ligonchio, in the province of ...

. He participated at Festival di Sanremo in 1989. His best-known song was ''A me mi torna in mente una canzone'' (1983). In 1997, he was implicated in a judicial case for fraud in sexual matters and induction to prostitution: he was arrested, but was discharged as the case was filed, and Sabani claimed damages. That was an abrupt halt to a blooming career, that made him from the early 1980s one of the most popular artist of the Italian TV.Translated from ''La Repubblica'' of 5 September 2007 On 4 September 2007, just 31 days before he would have turned 55, he died of

myocardial infarction A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

while visiting his sister. His fiancée, actress Raffaella Ponzo, found out days later that she was pregnant with his child. She gave birth to his son on 19 May 2008.

References

1952 births 2007 deaths Italian comedy musicians Italian television personalities Singers from Rome 20th-century Italian male singers 20th-century Italian comedians Burials at the Cimitero Flaminio Italian male comedians Comedians from Rome {{Italy-singer-stub