15 years have now passed since his death (8 September 2009), yet the great Mike Good morning he is still present in the memory of those who knew him. It is certainly his wife who preserves an indelible memory of him Daniela Zuccoli, remained with him until the end. In a long interview granted to Corriere della Serathe widow of the famous Italian host with US citizenship retraced the life spent alongside her partner, revealing some anecdotes that made him a closer figure.
Next May 26th, Mike Buongiorno, considered among the founding fathers of television in Italy, would be 100 years old. The family home is still full of objects and photographs that remember him, such as the 25 Telegatti or newspaper covers. “He is always with me. Yesterday I wanted to celebrate my birthday on the set of the drama that Rai is filming, in Turin, about Mike’s life: child, partisan, prison, America, bad marriages, ‘Rischiatutto’ And the meeting in 1971 with me, played by Valentina Romani, when we fell in love”explains.
Despite the pain of the unbridgeable loss, Daniela Zuccoli is aware of the fact that “her Mike” is still in the hearts of many people. “People continue to love him so much. He didn’t just do TV, he entered the familiesin the homes”. A requited love, because Mike Buongiorno adored people, and loved talking to them. “Beyond the quizzes, he truly unified the country that was being born, as well as the language. This is why they want to dedicate the exhibition at Palazzo Reale in Milan to him: because he is recognized for his role in having helped Italy”, says the host’s wife. The event is scheduled for September 16th.
The love story
It is inevitable to talk about the years of love spent together. Mike Buongiorno and Daniela Zuccoli were a couple for 39 years. When they met, she was 20, he was 46. “I spent almost 40 years with him”tells. “I was just a little girl at the beginning, then I became a woman that he respected and esteemed. And recently he told me: ‘You are the stick of my old age'”. Now 15 years have passed since the death of the great presenter, years in which she has never forgotten him. “I don’t want to be pathetic, but I always miss him. Possible suitors, flirts… yes, but no one manages to be him, no one has the charisma of him. He was methodical, he seemed boring, in reality with him every day there was something new. He was never bored. However, there are many boring men around… “, confesses Daniela Zuccoli. “I am myself in love about him because he was charming, he about me because I was a good girl from a good family (I went to the nuns and bowed) but with a rebellious soul. A mixture of the sacred and the profane“, he reveals.
In a marriage as long as the one experienced by the two, there was no shortage of arguments and misunderstandings, as in all couples. “At first he skied a lot and I was left alone with the children. Then we discussed the children: I, an Italian mother, thought it was right to help them, support them; he was very strict about this, he thought they had to figure it out on their own. He was a true Americanfor him merit is sacred“, tells. “The age difference had an impact at the beginning, he was never there. We drifted apart a bit. Sometimes he makes mistakes, but I would never have been able to live without him“, he adds.
There were many joys, such as the birth of the third child, 18 years after the first. A reconfirmation of their love. “All three are a mixture of the two of us”, he explains, talking about his children. “The most serious part is Michele, the firstborn, the great sage; the most intimate part is Nicholas, the scholar who takes care of the Foundation; the most communicative is the small one Leo. For years he, young and cute, was asked to advertise, but he always said no.”
The affection of the world of television and political choices
There are many characters who remained close to Mike Buongiorno’s family. “Fiorello And Fabio Fazio with whom he has worked in recent years. We talk often”reveals Daniela Zuccoli. “And also Pippo Baudo, so cute: he always sends me oranges at Christmas. The three of them carried the coffin and gave a speech at the funeral. But I have good relationships with everyone, with Gerry, Amadeus, Carlo Conti“.
As for the political alignment supported by her husband, Daniela Zuccoli explains: “He had been a partisan. Yes, it’s true he supported Silvio Berlusconi but out of friendship, he supported him because for him the fact of being friends mattered above all else. Mike had an American passport, Silvio wanted to do it senator, but he would have had to leave his American passport and he said no, because that had saved him from death when he was about to be shot. And until the end he paid double taxes, in Italy and in the USA.”
Last days
Finally, memories wander over the last days spent at her husband’s side. “The last three days of life of Mike were symbolic, karmic. He was very well, he was 85 years old, he was healthy, he died standing up, with me close to him, the best you can have in life“, says Daniela Zuccoli. Nothing had foreshadowed that the separation would soon take place. On September 5th it was the third-born’s birthday and a party had been organized at the villa by the lake. At the cutting of the cake, Mike Buongiorno made a touching speech : “Never despair, at your age I was about to die, then life gave me beautiful things”he would have said.
“On the morning of the 6th, Luce, Nicolò’s baby, was born and we rushed to Mangiagalli to see her“, continues the conductor’s widow. “He was very happy. On the 7th we decide to go to Monte Carlo. He was in a great mood, singing in the car. We had dinner with our dear friends. On the morning of the 8th he wakes me up and puts the newspapers on my pillows, very tenderly. We order breakfast. I butter his bread then the jam. We are sitting opposite, chatting. I go back to bed to read, he sits in the armchair. I think to myself, ‘I’m so happy with him,’ but I didn’t tell him. Then I get the photo of little Luce on my cell phone. I get up, show it to him and he says ‘How beautiful, you look like you when you sunbathe’. These were his last words. He went to the bathroom, I heard a splash.
Me he loved much“, he concludes, not holding back his emotion.
