Topo Gigio was the lead character of a children's puppet shown on Italian and Spanish television in the early 1960s. The character, created in 1958 by artist Maria Perego, debuted on Italian television in 1959 and has been customarily voiced by actor Giuseppe "Peppino" Mazzullo and later Davide Garbolino. The Italian nickname "Gigi" is a derivative of Luigi ("Louis"), so Topo Gigio could be translated as Louie Mouse.
In 1963, the character's popularity spread to the world after being featured on The Ed Sullivan Show in the US.
Created by a troupe of Italian puppeteers, it took four people to bring the 10" tall character to life, three to manipulate him, and one to create his voice. The puppet stood in a special "limbo" black art stage with black velvet curtains, designed to absorb as much ambient light as possible, which helped hide the puppeteers, who also dressed in black from head to toe. Each puppeteer operated a different part of Gigio's foam rubber body by using several wooden dowel rods (also painted black). The illusion was quite remarkable, since unlike traditional hand puppets, Topo Gigio could actually appear to walk on his feet, sing, make subtle hand gestures, and even walk up Ed Sullivan's arm and perch on his shoulder. Careful lighting and TV camera adjustment made the "black art" illusion perfect for the television audience, though on at least one appearance, Ed asked the puppeteers to come out and take a bow, revealing their black-clad appearance (though deftly hiding Gigio's mechanisms to conceal the secret). In more than fifty appearances on the show, the mouse would appear on stage and greet Sullivan with, "Hello, Eddie!". Gigio ended his weekly visits by crooning to the host, "Eddie, kiss me goodnight!" (pronounced as "Keesa me goo'night!"). Topo Gigio closed Sullivan's final show in 1971.
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Alan J was first and correct with:
Topo Gigio.
John I from Hawai'i says:
"Topo Gigo."
mj wrote:
That charming vermin
Looks like Pepino the Italian Mouse.
Lois Of The Linguini said:
Oh, the sad and tragic tale of Topo Gigio, the little mouse puppet from Italy! He came to these shores, poor and alone, through the third class mail, seeking fame and fortune. All he needed was a charming and witty ventriloquist's voice, and a warm dry hand up his butt. He found instant success on the Ed Sullivan Show, but with great riches comes great temptation. He soon found himself running with a bad crowd, and before he knew it, his wealth had bought him only despair, degradation, and the best drugs money can buy! But not true love! After a brief but bitter love affair with a suave Monkey Doll who left him for a French Poodle, he ended it all with the help of a ziploc bag. Stay fresh, my sweet friend. Stay fresh.
The moral of the story is: Don't trust men who play with dolls!
Jim from CA, retired to ID, responded:
Topo Gigio
Stephen F replied:
Topo Gigio
Marian answered:
Topo Gigio
Deborah replied:
Well, it's a mouse, but I don't know its name. I may have never seen that mouse before now.
Lois and Dale: Frightening lettuce memes you shared may give me nightmares for weeks! The Richard Simmons and corgi memes are especially disturbing. *shudders*
Dale of Diamondy Springs, Norcaliful said:
Topo Gigio…Topo and Ed…never paid much attention to him…not any interest…back to work…Tootle-Fuckin-OOOh!
MAM wrote:
Topo Gigio ~ Lead character of a children's puppet shown on Italian and Spanish television in the early 1960s,
Created by Maria Perego. His popularity spread to the world after being featured on Ed Sullivan's weekly TV show.
Patriot Act NSA Spying Unconstitutional Section 215 National Security Letters Must End
My name is Marc Perkel and I have decided to announce that I will not comply with the so called "Patriot Act" laws requiring me to disclose information about my customers. If I receive a national security letter I will immediately photograph it, post it online everywhere I can, and then make a video of me burning it. I will then await my arrest. If you want to put me in jail then come get me mother fucker.
CBS begins the night with a FRESH'Amazing Race', followed by a FRESH'Hawaii Five-0', then a FRESH'Blue Bloods'.
On a RERUNStephen Colbert (from 2/16/16) are Eva Longoria, Donald Trump (R-Pinche Pendejo), Abbi Jacobson & Ilana Glazer, and Lucinda Williams.
On a RERUNJames Corden, OBE, (from 2/29/16) are Ellen Page, Paul Rust, and Jenny Slate.
NBC starts the night with a FRESH'Caught On Camera With Nick Cannon', followed by a FRESH'Grimm', then 'Dateline'.
Scheduled on a FRESHJimmy Fallon are Robert De Niro, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, and Nick Guerra.
On a RERUNSeth Meyers (from 4/7/16) are Sen. Bernie Sanders, Savion Glover, Brandi Carlile, and Brann Dailor.
On a RERUNCarson 'The Scab' Daly (from 3/21/16) are Miranda Cosgrove, Goldlink, and Aldis Hodge.
ABC opens the night with a FRESH'Last Man Standing', followed by a FRESH'Dr. Ken', then a FRESH'Shark Tank', followed by '20/20'.
On a RERUNJimmy Kimmel (from 3/31/16) are Bill Murray, Neel Sethi, and TWENTY88.
The CW offers a FRESH'The Vampire Diaries', followed by a FRESH'The Originals'.
Faux has a RERUN'Hell's Kitchen', followed by a FRESH'Hell's Kitchen'.
MY has 'TMZ (Not So) Live', followed by 'Hollywood Today (Not So) Live'.
A&E has 3 hours of old '60 Days In', followed by a FRESH'60 Days In: Time Out'.
AMC offers the movie 'Back To The Future', followed by the movie 'Back To The Future Part II', then the movie 'Back To The Future Part III'.
BBC -
[6:00AM] TOP GEAR - SEASON 12 - Episode 5
[7:00AM] TOP GEAR - SEASON 12 - Episode 6
[8:00AM] RAMSAY'S KITCHEN NIGHTMARES US - SEASON 7 - EPISODE 7-Zayna Flaming Grill, Part 1
[9:00AM] RAMSAY'S KITCHEN NIGHTMARES US - SEASON 7 - EPISODE 8-Zayna Flaming Grill, Part 2
[10:00AM] RAMSAY'S KITCHEN NIGHTMARES US - SEASON 5 - EPISODE 9-El Greco
[11:00AM] STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - SEASON 2 - EPISODE 9-The Measure of a Man
[12:00PM] STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - SEASON 2 - EPISODE 10-The Dauphin
[1:00PM] STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - SEASON 2 - EPISODE 11-Contagion
[2:00PM] STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - SEASON 3 - EPISODE 13-Deja Q
[3:00PM] STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - SEASON 3 - EPISODE 14-A Matter of Perspective
[4:00PM] STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - SEASON 3 - EPISODE 15-Yesterday's Enterprise
[5:00PM] STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - SEASON 3 - EPISODE 16-The Offspring
[6:00PM] STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - SEASON 3 - EPISODE 18-Allegiance
[7:00PM] STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - SEASON 3 - EPISODE 19-Captain's Holiday
[8:00PM] STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - SEASON 3 - EPISODE 17-Sins of the Father
[9:00PM] APOCALYPTO (2006)
[12:00AM] APOCALYPTO (2006)
[3:00AM] STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - SEASON 3 - EPISODE 13-Deja Q
[4:00AM] STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - SEASON 3 - EPISODE 14-A Matter of Perspective
[5:00AM] STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - SEASON 3 - EPISODE 15-Yesterday's Enterprise (ALL TIMES EDT)
Bravo has 'Real Housewives Of BH', followed by a FRESHBravo First Looks', then a FRESH'The People's Couch', 'Shahs Of Sunset', followed by a FRESH'The People's Couch'.
Comedy Central has 'Futurama', another 'Futurama', 'Daniel Tosh: Happy Thoughts', 'Chris Rock: Never Scared', and 'Chris Rock: Kill The Messenger'.
FX has the movie 'Spider-Man', followed by the movie 'Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters', then the movie 'Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters', again.
IFC -
[6:00AM] IRON MONKEY
[8:00AM] THE MATRIX
[11:00AM] THE MATRIX RELOADED
[2:00PM] THE MATRIX REVOLUTIONS
[5:00PM] THE MATRIX
[8:00PM] TROY
[11:30PM] TROY
[3:00AM] THE MATRIX RELOADED (ALL TIMES EDT)
Sundance -
[6:00AM] Fast Times at Ridgemont High
[8:00AM] The Final Cut
[10:00AM] The Professional
[12:30PM] Runaway Jury
[3:30PM] The River Wild
[6:00PM] Law & Order-Sideshow
[6:59PM] Law & Order-Disciple
[7:58PM] Law & Order-Deadbeat
[8:57PM] Law & Order-Killerz
[9:56PM] Law & Order-3 Dawg Night
[10:55PM] Law & Order-Oxymoron
[11:54PM] Law & Order-Girlfriends
[12:50AM] The Last Panthers-The Animal
[2:00AM] The River Wild
[4:30AM] Sleepless in Seattle (ALL TIMES EDT)
SyFy has the movie 'Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle', followed by the movie 'Jeepers Creepers', then a FRESH'Wynonna Earp'.
Tribeca Film Festival co-founder Robert De Niro and wife Grace Hightower attend the Tribeca Film Festival opening night world premiere of "The First Monday in May" at John Zuccotti Theater at BMCC Tribeca Performing Arts Center on Wednesday, April 13, 2016, in New York.
Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision
Ani DiFranco and Cyndi Lauper are the latest musicians to protest a North Carolina state law that limits anti-discrimination protections for the LGBT community.
DiFranco said in a statement Thursday that she canceled her appearance at Festival for the Eno music festival in Durham on July 4, because of the legislation she described as a "direct attack on the rights of the LGBT community."
Bruce Springsteen and Ringo Starr also canceled shows to protest North Carolina's law.
Lauper said in a statement Wednesday that she would be donating all proceeds from her June 4 show in Raleigh to Equality North Carolina.
Likewise, comedian Louis C.K. said in an email to fans that he would also donate profits from Asheville shows to the advocacy group.
Doug LaGambina, Director Garry Marshall, Barbara Marshall and Kathleen Marshall seen at Open Road Presents the World Premiere of "Mother's Day" at TCL Chinese Theatre on Wednesday, April 13, 2016.
Photo by Steve Cohn
A handful of former contestants from Donald Trump's reality show "The Apprentice" say the Republican front-runner should not be president.
Half a dozen past hopefuls of the hit show, including Season 4 winner Randal Pinkett and Season 1 runner-up Kwame Jackson, are planning a press conference Friday in New York to denounce the GOP front-runner's bid ahead of the state's April 19 primary.
In statements, the contestants slammed Trump's rhetoric as divisive and accused him of running a "campaign of sexism, xenophobia, racism, violence and hate."
"Trump is passionately and strategically reigniting a dirty and divisive culture soaked in a history of prejudice, fear and hate. It is unpatriotic, anti-American, self-serving, regressive and downright lazy," said Marshawn Evans Daniels in a statement.
A marine robot deployed in the waters of Scotland's Loch Ness has found the remains of a monster but it turned out to be a prop from a movie shot in 1970.
The robot, belonging to Norwegian offshore oil company Kongsberg Maritime, is drawing up the first high-resolution map of the 230-metre (755-feet) deep lake in a project named "Operation Groundtruth".
"Although it is the shape of Nessie, it is not the remains of the monster that has mystified the world for 80 years," Scottish tourism agency VisitScotland, which is backing the project, said on Wednesday.
The blurry object with a long neck was a 30-foot (9.15-metre) long model of the monster made for the film "The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes", directed by Billy Wilder.
"It is thought the model sank after its humps were removed (the buoyancy was in the humps) never to be seen again," VisitScotland said in a statement.
Liongate's screening of Now You See Me 2 at CinemaCon was abruptly halted about 10 minutes into the show when the audience was asked to evacuated due to a security threat.
"The screening was stopped out of complete caution for the safety of the delegates and attendees. A potential threat had to be taken seriously. By the time we determined it was not a threat it was too late to restart the movie," said a statement from the National Association of Theatre Owners.
Initially, attendees were told it was a "technical issue" that required the evacuation, but insiders say there was an unattended backpack that raised concern.
In the final studio presentation of CinemaCon, Lionsgate planned on showing Now You See Me 2 in its entirety. Earlier in the presentation, the studio had brought out magician David Copperfield to show off some magic tricks.
UC Davis contracted with consultants for at least $175,000 to scrub the Internet of negative online postings following the November 2011 pepper-spraying of students and to improve the reputations of both the university and Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi, newly released documents show.
The payments were made as the university was trying to boost its image online and were among several contracts issued following the pepper-spray incident.
Some payments were made in hopes of improving the results computer users obtained when searching for information about the university or Katehi, results that one consultant labeled "venomous rhetoric about UC Davis and the chancellor."
Others sought to improve the school's use of social media and to devise a new plan for the UC Davis strategic communications office, which has seen its budget rise substantially since Katehi took the chancellor's post in 2009. Figures released by UC Davis show the strategic communications budget increased from $2.93 million in 2009 to $5.47 million in 2015.
The documents outlining the expenditures were released to The Sacramento Bee this week in response to requests filed last month under the California Public Records Act.
John Stamos and Bob Saget seen at Open Road Presents the World Premiere of "Mother's Day" at TCL Chinese Theatre on Wednesday, April 13, 2016, in Hollywood.
Photo by Steve Cohn
A California appeals court handed teacher unions a big victory Thursday by reversing a trial judge's ruling that found tenure deprived students of a good education.
The 2nd District Court of Appeal said the plaintiffs failed to show tenure and other provisions of the education code were unconstitutional.
"The court's job is merely to determine whether the statutes are constitutional, not if they are 'a good idea,'" presiding Justice Roger Boren wrote.
A Los Angeles Superior Court judge had ruled two years ago that five provisions of the state education code - including policies allowing teachers to receive tenure within two years and be dismissed during layoffs based on seniority - were unconstitutional because they deprived some of the state's 6.2 million students of a quality education by keeping more senior, but less effective, teachers on the job.
But in reversing that ruling, the appellate court said state law wasn't to blame for inequities.
A California panel has granted parole to former Charles Manson follower Leslie Van Houten more than four decades after she went to prison for the notorious killings of a wealthy grocer and his wife.
The decision will now go to Gov. Jerry Brown, who has the final word on whether the now-66-year-old Van Houten is released from the California Institution for Women in Chino.
A panel of the California Board of Parole Hearings made the decision Thursday after Van Houten's 21st parole hearing.
Van Houten was the youngest Manson follower to take part in one of the nation's most notorious killings after she descended into a life of drugs and joined Manson's cult in the 1960s.
Since then, she has completed college degrees and been commended for her behavior as a model prisoner.
Actress Jane Fonda attends the Tribeca Film Festival opening night world premiere of "The First Monday in May" at John Zuccotti Theater at BMCC Tribeca Performing Arts Center on Wednesday, April 13, 2016.
Photo by Evan Agostini
An unidentified American company was defrauded last year out of nearly $100 million by individuals who created a fake email address in order to pose as one of its legitimate vendors, U.S. authorities said on Thursday.
The details of the scheme came as the U.S. government filed a civil forfeiture lawsuit in federal court in Manhattan seeking to recover about $25 million in proceeds derived from the fraud held in at least 20 bank accounts around the world.
Nearly $74 million has been recovered and returned to the American company, authorities said.
According to the lawsuit, the perpetrators carried out the scam by creating a fake email address that resembled that of one of the company's vendors in Asia.
The perpetrators then posed as a vendor while communicating with a professional services company that was hired to handle the details and logistics of vendor payments for the American corporation, the lawsuit said.
The new German commemorative five-euro coin with a blue polymer ring, "Planet Erde," is displayed in Frankfurt, Germany, April 14, 2016.
Photo by Kai Pfaffenbach
Republican Gov. Bill Haslam on Thursday vetoed a bill seeking to make Tennessee the first state to designate the Bible as its official book.
Haslam, who considered entering a seminary before deciding to join the family truck stop business after college, said in his veto message that the bill "trivializes the Bible, which I believe is a sacred text."
The bill had narrowly passed both chambers of the Tennessee General Assembly after sponsors said it aimed at honoring the significance of the Bible in the state's history and economy, as opposed to a government endorsement of religion.
"If we believe that the Bible is the word of God, then we shouldn't be recognizing it only as a book of historical and economic significance," Haslam said.
Lawmakers passed the bill despite the state attorney general's warning that it would violate both the U.S. and Tennessee constitutions, the latter of which states that "No preference shall ever be given, by law, to any religious establishment or mode of worship."
The American Computer Museum in Bozeman has acquired an Enigma machine, seen here on Monday, April 11, 2016, in Bozeman, Mont., which was used by the German army to encrypt messages during World War II, and will be exhibited as part of its collection.
Photo by Gail Schontzler
A North Carolina woman says she was "terrified" when a judge told her to cover herself while breastfeeding or leave his courtroom.
Stephanie Rhodus, 25, of Forest City, said she was trying to breastfeed her 8-month-old son, Archer, on Monday during a child custody case involving an older child when the judge gave the order.
"Ma'am, you need to cover up," District Court Judge Peter Knight said according to an audio recording obtained by local media. "For you not to realize that is absolutely ridiculous.
North Carolina law says "a woman may breast feed in any public or private location where she is otherwise authorized to be."
Knight ruled against Rhodus in the case involving her mother, who has custody of Rhodus' 8-year-old son.
Swiss land art artist Daniel Dunkel builds a cairn on the shore of Lake Leman in Lutry, near Lausanne, Switzerland, April 14, 2016.
Photo by Denis Balibouse
Italian researchers said Thursday they have discovered living relatives of the Renaissance genius Leonardo da Vinci, despite the loss of his body centuries ago.
Historians Alessandro Vezzosi and Agnese Sabato told a press conference in Florence they had uncovered modern-day relatives of the 15th-century painter, engineer and mathematician -- among them a star on Italy's contemporary art scene.
Their research, which began in 1973, led them to track down some 35 indirect descendants of the man behind the world-famous Mona Lisa portrait, including Italian film, opera and television Academy-award nominee Franco Zeffirelli, according to media reports.
There was no DNA to test as da Vinci's remains were lost in the 16th century during religious wars following his death in 1519, but the pair painstakingly trawled through church, council and estate papers to draw up a family tree.
Da Vinci himself never had any children but he had many siblings and it is their descendants who have been traced.
Anne Jackson, a Tony Award-nominated theater actress who often appeared onstage with her husband, Eli Wallach, in comedies and classics, died early Tuesday of natural causes at her home in Manhattan, said her son, Peter Wallach. She was 90.
Jackson and Eli Wallach were a formidable acting duo, starring in a series of plays, including George Bernard Shaw's "Major Barbara" in 1956 and a hugely successful run of "Luv," directed by Mike Nichols, in the mid-1960s. A bench in New York City's Riverside Park is dedicated to them.
Jackson and Wallach played a married couple together as recently as 2003 on the NBC medical drama "ER." At the 2010 American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' Governors Award honoring Wallach, Jackson introduced her husband: "Can I be honest about something?" she asked. "I taught him everything he knows."
Jackson, who played a psychiatrist in the classic horror movie "The Shining," earned a best featured actress Tony nomination in Paddy Chayefsky's "Middle of the Night" in 1956. She also returned to Broadway in the mid-1990s in "The Flowering Peach" and played Grandma Kurnitz in "Lost in Yonkers."
She and the Tony-winning Wallach acted together onstage in such plays as "Cafe Crown," ''Harlequinade," ''The Typist and the Tiger," ''Twice Around the Park" and "Down the Garden Paths" in 2000, among others.
The couple met when Wallach appeared in the 1946 Equity Library Theater's "This Property is Condemned" by Tennessee Williams. The only other performer in the show happened to be Jackson. They married in 1948. He died in 2014.
Peter Wallach, a film animator, recalled growing up in a happy home in which the children never really knew if their parents were actually arguing or if they were just rehearsing.
"Even sometimes when they'd fight, they would kind of step back from the fight and go, 'Wow, that was a really good Tennessee Williams performance I just gave!'" he said. "They always forgave each other so quickly because they were both actors."
Jackson and Wallach loved New York and were friends with everyone from Harry Belafonte to Igor Stravinsky to Groucho Marx. Wallach rode the subway everywhere except for a time in 1997, while performing in "Visiting Mr. Green" off-Broadway. His wife stepped in and ordered producers to provide a Rolls-Royce to ferry Wallach to and from the show. "She was a tough negotiator - out of love," Peter Wallach said.
The two wrote and performed a show about their lives that opened in 1993 at the off-Broadway Kaufman Theater. It gracefully weaved scenes from plays in which they acted together or separately with glimpses into their marriage and family life.
Jackson wrote a memoir, "Early Stages," which traced her childhood and ended with the birth of Peter.
She also is survived by their two daughters, Roberta and Katherine, both of whom followed their parents into acting.
Papier-mâché pandas are displayed at a shopping mall in Paris, April 14, 2016. The event was launched by the World Wildlife Fund in Paris in 2008. Approximately 1,600 panda sculptures were displayed to remind people of the number of giant pandas still living in the wild and to call on them to protect the endangered species.
Photo by Benoit Tessier
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