Giuseppe Mazzullo, 1926 – 2026

Italian voice actor Giuseppe Mazzullo, who voiced Topo Gigio, died on Sept. 30. He was 100. Mazzullo acted onstage Italy, but from 1961-2006, he was best known for providing the voice for Maria Perego’s “little Italian mouse,” who appeared frequently on The Ed Sullivan Show (“Kees me goodnight, Eddie”). Mazzullo’s Topo Gigio (worked by several puppeteers) also appeared on TV and movies worldwide, even acting as the Italian spokesperson during the final of the Eurovision Song Contest in 2025. After retiring from performing, Mazzullo moved to Messina, founding the Piccolissimo Teatro di Messina, also teaching acting. On the birth of his most famous character, he said: "I was two years old. I suddenly woke up and at the foot of my bed, I saw a little figure moving. I got scared, I shouted 'Mom!, but my voice wouldn't come out. After a while, this 'figure' disappeared. My voice came back, my mom arrived, I told her what I had seen, and she reassured me: 'Don't worry, it's a 'fuddittu', a little sprite, it will bring you luck. One day Maria Perego and her husband Federico Caldura thought of a musical number with different characters. One of them looked just like that 'fuddittu.’ I got a shiver, it was also a pretty ugly puppet, but I picked it up, I liked it after all. Caldura suggested to me: 'Try to give it a voice, who knows, maybe a nice character will come out of it.' And immediately I got Topo Gigio's voice.”