A year without "SuperPippo"

Pippo Baudo, born Giuseppe Raimondo Vittorio Baudo on 7 June 1936 in Militello in Val di Catania, Sicily, died in Rome on 16 August 2025 at the age of 89. One year on, Italian public broadcaster Rai dedicated its entire programming schedule across television, radio, and digital platforms to the man widely called the "king of presenters," whose career spanned over six decades. Baudo was the last surviving member of the four "musketeers" of Italian television, alongside Mike Bongiorno, Corrado, and Enzo Tortora.

The Rai tribute

The tribute began on Rai 1 at 21:30 with "Stasera... Pippo Baudo," a special drawing on archive footage to trace the most significant moments of his career as host, singer, pianist, dancer, and actor. Archive images include appearances alongside Sharon Stone, Raffaella Carrà, Robert De Niro, Roberto Benigni, Fiorello, Mina, and Alberto Sordi. At midnight, the TG1 special "Mister TV Pippo Baudo Story," signed by Leonardo Metaldi, explored his Sicilian roots and the artists he helped discover. Rai 3 aired a special episode of Blob titled "Superpippo" at 20:00, while Rai Storia devoted the entire day to Baudo, broadcasting Canzonissima '72 at 11:45, a 1973 repertoire from "Ieri e oggi" at 13:00, and the interview "Visioni private - Pippo Baudo" by Cinzia Tani at 19:15. RaiPlay offered a special collection including the film "Il suo nome è Donna Rosa" and the documentary "Pippo Baudo l'ho inventato io."

How Baudo changed television

Baudo's arrival on television dates to 1966, when the telefilm "Rin Tin Tin" failed to arrive at Rai studios on time. To fill the gap, the network aired a pilot deemed "untransmittable" for a program called Settevoci. It was a triumph. The lanky Baudo became a familiar figure through programs including Eccetera eccetera, Canzonissima, Fantastico, Domenica in, Serata d'onore, and Novecento on Rai 3. He hosted 13 editions of the Sanremo Music Festival, a record he was proud of.

1. Jun 7, 1936Born in Militello in Val di Catania, Sicily
2. 1966Settevoci pilot airs on Rai, launching his television career
3. 1972Co-hosts Canzonissima '72
4. Aug 16, 2025Dies in Rome at age 89

Conti and Cuccarini remember

Carlo Conti, artistic director of the last two Sanremo Festivals, told La Repubblica that Baudo represented the true transformation of the presenter's craft.

“He represented the true transformation of the presenter's craft: he was the first to do the artistic direction of programs. He brought them where they needed to go, directed on air, was author on stage. He didn't need an author behind the cameras suggesting to him. He decided everything himself.”

Conti recalled visiting Baudo in his dressing room at the Dear studios in Rome, finding him in his boxer shorts, "very kind, paternal, as always." He also revealed that when he worked in radio, colleagues called him "Pippuzzo" or "Pippo Conti" to tease him, something that always pleased him. Conti keeps a photo at home of Baudo embracing him.

Lorella Cuccarini, who described Baudo as a guide, mentor, and father, told Repubblica that watching him work was enough to learn.

“It was enough to watch him work to learn, enough to see how he addressed the technicians. He was the first to arrive, the last to leave.”

In the interview with Cinzia Tani, Baudo described himself as a "schizophrenic television viewer" who moved from one program to another vertiginously, and expressed a desire for a more intelligent and varied television.