Rischiatutto
Which campaign did Mike Bongiorno participate from 1970 to 1974?
Mike Bongiorno Michael Nicholas Salvatore Bongiorno ( ; May 26 , 1924 – September 8 , 2009 ) was an Italian-American television host . After a few experiences in the US , he started working on Italian TV in the 1950s and was considered to be the most popular host in Italy . He was also known by the nickname il Re del Quiz ( The Quiz King ) , and the peculiarity of starting all his shows with his trademark greeting : Allegria ! ( Cheers! , Joy! ) . Early years . Bongiorno was born in New York City to parents of Italian descent . He moved to Turin ( his mothers native city ) , when he was young . His father was a Sicilian-American lawyer of partial Arbëreshë origin . During World War II Mike abandoned his studies and joined a group of Italian partisans . He was captured and spent seven months in the San Vittore prison in Milan and was then deported to a German concentration camp . He was liberated before the end of the war due to an exchange of war prisoners between the United States and Germany . He returned to New York and in 1946 started work at the radio headquarters of Il Progresso Italo-Americano ( The Italian-American Progress ) newspaper . Career . Bongiorno returned to Italy in 1953 . He appeared on the first day of official public TV transmissions in Italy with Arrivi e partenze ( Arrivals and Departures ) on the TV channel RAI . From 1955 to 1959 he hosted the quiz show Lascia o raddoppia? , the Italian version of USAs The $64,000 Question . Another program was Campanile Sera ( Bell Tower Evening , 1959–1962 ) , in which southern and northern Italian towns challenged each other with questions , and practical games played by citizens in the same towns . In 1963 Umberto Eco wrote an essay entitled Phenomenology of Mike Bongiorno , a bestseller in which he used advanced academic theories to shed light on Mike Bongiorno and his way of communicating . Eco held that Mike Bongiorno was so good at portraying himself as no better than average in every respect , that 100% of his audience could feel good about themselves . Beginning in 1963 , he hosted the first of eleven editions of the Sanremo Festival . Then he hosted the quiz programs Caccia al numero ( Number Hunting , 1962 ) , La Fiera dei Sogni ( Dream Fair , 1962–1965 ) and Giochi in Famiglia ( Games in Family , 1966–1969 ) . But the greatest success came with the quiz program Rischiatutto ( 1970–1974 ) , an adapted Italian version of Jeopardy! , with 20 to 30 million watchers every Thursday night , the highest audience in the history of Italian TV . Other programs hosted by Bongiorno were the news talk show Ieri e Oggi ( Yesterday and Today , 1976 ) and the quiz programs Scommettiamo ? ( Wanna Bet? , 1976–1978 ) , inspired by horse-racing , and a remake of Lascia o raddoppia ? in 1979 . He moved to Tele Milano ( now Canale 5 ) , one of the first Italian commercial TV channels owned by Mediaset , the media company founded by Silvio Berlusconi , to host I sogni nel cassetto ( The dreams , literally The dreams in the drawer , 1979–1980 ) . After a brief return to RAI with the news-game Flash ( 1980–1982 ) , he continued working for Mediaset quiz programmes Bis ( Concentation ) ( 1981–1990 ) , Superflash ( 1982–1985 ) , Pentathlon ( 1985–1987 ) , Telemike ( 1987–1992 ) , Tris ( 1990–1991 ) , the math game Tutti per uno ( Family Feud , 1992 ) and from 1989 to 2003 La ruota della fortuna ( Wheel of Fortune ) . From 1991 to 2001 he hosted Bravo , Bravissimo , a festival featuring preteen musicians , dancers and singers from all over the world . He won 24 Telegatto , the Italian TV prize . Until 2005 he hosted Genius on Rete 4 , an afternoon quiz show aimed at 12- to 14-year-olds . In 2006 and 2007 he hosted his last quiz show Il Migliore ( Britains Brainiest Kid ) on Rete 4 . More recently , he was also a guest on the second episode of the Gianfranco Funaris show Apocalypse Show on Rai 1 . On December 13 , 2007 , Mike Bongiorno was awarded an honorary degree Honoris Causa by IULM University of Milan . On March 26 , 2009 Bongiorno signed for SKY Italia after Mediaset decided not to renew his contract , where he planned to host a new game show on SKY Uno called RiSKYtutto ( a modern edition of his popular show Rischiatutto ) , which had been scheduled to air in the autumn of 2009 . Death . On September 8 , 2009 , at the age of 85 , Mike Bongiorno died of a heart attack , while leaving the Hotel Metropole , Monte-Carlo after a short holiday with his wife Daniela Zuccoli . His body lay in repose for a few days at the Triennale in Milan before a state funeral was held in the Milan Cathedral on September 12 , 2009 . Many Italian TV stars such as Rosario Fiorello , Pippo Baudo , Fabio Fazio , Sandra Mondaini , Alba Parietti , Paola Barale , Carlo Conti , Gerry Scotti , Marco Columbro and several other entertainers attended the service which was held by Bishop Erminio De Scalzi . Bongiorno was buried in the family tomb , at Dagnente Cemetery , near Arona in Piedmont . On January 25 , 2011 , the tomb was ransacked and his body , along with the coffin , was stolen . On Thursday , December 8 , 2011 , Mike Bongiornos body was recovered from a field near Milan . Honours and awards . Honours . In 1996 he was made a Commander of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus by Vittorio Emanuele , Prince of Naples , the last Crown Prince of the former Kingdom of Italy , and Head of the House of Savoy . On May 26 , 2004 , on occasion of his 80th birthday , he was appointed a Grand Officer of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic by the then Italian President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi . Honorary degree . In the autumn of 2007 , Bongiorno received an Honorary degree in Television , Film and Multimedia production from the IULM University of Milan . Awards . - 1984 Telegatto - Best TV quiz , for presenting television quiz Superflash on Canale 5 - 1985 Telegatto - Best TV quiz , for presenting television quiz Superflash on Canale 5 - 1986 Telegatto - Best TV quiz , for presenting television quiz Superflash on Canale 5 - 1987 Telegatto - Best TV quiz , for presenting television game show Pentathlon on Canale 5 - 1988 Telegatto - Best TV quiz , for presenting television game quiz Telemike on Canale 5 - 1989 Telegatto - Best TV quiz , for presenting television game quiz Telemike on Canale 5 - 1990 Telegatto - Best TV quiz , for presenting television game quiz Telemike on Canale 5 - 1991 Telegatto - Best TV quiz , for presenting television game quiz Telemike on Canale 5 - 1992 Telegatto - Best quiz and game shows , presenting La Ruota Della Fortuna , the Italian version of Wheel of Fortune - 1993 Telegatto - Best quiz and game shows , presenting La Ruota Della Fortuna , the Italian version of Wheel of Fortune - 1994 Telegatto - Best quiz and game shows , presenting La Ruota Della Fortuna , the Italian version of Wheel of Fortune - 1995 Telegatto - Best quiz and game shows , presenting La Ruota Della Fortuna , the Italian version of Wheel of Fortune - 1996 Telegatto platinum , for a lifelong career ( for the 50-year career in television ) - 1997 Telegatto - Best Music Program , for hosting Festival della canzone italiana - 2003 Telegatto - Whats on TV , for hosting Grand Prix International TV - 2006 Telegatto platinum , for a lifelong career - 2008 Premio Club Santa Chiara , for a lifelong career - 2011 Premio America of the Italy-USA Foundation in memory