Enrico Simonetti

Enrico Simonetti
File:Enrico Simonetti 1970b.jpg
Born	(1924-01-29)January 29, 1924 Alassio
Died	Rome

Enrico Simonetti (29 January 1924 – 28 May 1978) was an Italian pianist, composer, conductor, and television and radio presenter.

Life and career

Born in Alassio, Savona, Simonetti graduated in piano at the Santa Cecilia Conservatory in Rome. A lover of jazz, in the early 1950s he founded a musical jazz band with Piero Piccioni and Bruno Martino, with whom he performed in the most important nightclubs of the time. In 1953 he moved with his family to Brasil, where he got an immediate success as musician, composer and also entertainer, hosting a long running television program, Simonetti Show, lasted 147 episodes; thanks to his popularity he was made an honorary citizen of Brazil, and introduced into the "Candido Randon da Silva" order. In 1964 he came back in Italy, where he joined RAI television, making his debut in the show Chitarra, amore mio. He was active as a television and radio host (often in couple with Isabella Biagini), a film composer, and even an occasional actor. Simonetti died at age 54, as a result of complications following a major surgical operation to remove a tumor in the throat.

His film scores include Macumba Love (1960), I Kiss the Hand (1973), Special Killers (1973), Il magnate (1973), Lover Boy (1975), Per amore di Cesarina (1976) and Scandalo in famiglia (1976).

He was the father of composer and musician Claudio Simonetti.

External links

• Enrico Simonetti at the Internet Movie Database
• Enrico Simonetti at AllMusic
• Enrico Simonetti at Discogs