If you think of the world of video games there is no more famous and iconic character of Super Mario. Appeared for the first time in the game Donkey KongSuper Mario is a plumber dressed with a blue dungarette and a red shirt that, often accompanied by his brother Luigi, has the task of saving Princess Peach. Famous for its jumps (and for the sound that accompanies them), Mario is the most famous character of the console Nintendoof which the mascot has also become, since Mario appears in many games, both as the protagonist and as a cameo. Everyone now knows the physiognomy of this man with the red hat and thick black mustache. What, however, perhaps not everyone knows is that the character of Mario – who was called to his debut Jumpman precisely for its main game feature (the name means jumping man) – is actually inspired by an Italian -American entrepreneur.
The source of inspiration for the character and, subsequently, for the name of the same is Mario Arnold ryean Italian-American man who lived in Seattle and who, in 1981, allowed Nintendo to rent his deposit in the city of Washington DC, simplifying the life of Nintendo. The company, in fact, is a Japanese company and in the eighties it was still semi-unknown in the United States. Precisely for this reason, the Nintendo did not have a large budget to operate on American soil and could not “squander” too much money to rent a stable to be used as a headquarters. And, at first, the situation did not seem destined to improve. While the creatives of the company worked on the project which would later become the planetary success of Donkey Kongthe Nintendo coffers continued to empty, to the point that it became difficult to respect the contractual deadlines of the rent. Associed by the lack of payments on his account, Mario Segale decided to go to Washington DC to understand the financial situation of his tenants and try to resolve the propenma. Minoru Arakawawho at the time was driving Nintendo of America, explained the rye situation and implored him to wait a few more days, promising a payment in a short time. Mario Segale would have had the power and the right to “hunt” the Nintendo from his property, but decided to accept the request of Arakawa, allowing the Nintendo to remain in the warehouses until the leaders put together the money necessary to cover the debt that, in the meantime, had swelling. To thank Mario rye for patience and understanding, they decided to dedicate a character to Nintendo. As you read on National GeographicJumpman, the character of Donkey Kong who had the task of jumping and avoiding the barrels that were launched against him, Mario was renamed since 1983, when the game was launched on the market .. This is also because between the plumber and the Italian-American entrepreneur there was a certain resemblance, which made inspiration even more immediate.
Despite having had the merit of “baptizing” the most famous character in the videogame world, Mario Segale, born in 1934, always remained in the shadows. He did not let himself be impressed by the sirens of fame and led a life for all in all quiet, careful to respect his desire for privacy and tranquility, until the death that took place on 27 October 2016. As demonstrated by his introverted character, there are still very few photographic and public documents on Mario Segale which, just like Super Mario, ended up becoming a legend.
As for the physical appearance on the character, on Geopop We read how a theory has spread on the web according to which the plumber is anatomically inspired by Folco Lulliwell -known Italian actor and director active between the 1940s and the sixties, who worked with directors of the caliber of Mario Monicelli, Mario Soldati and Sergio Corbucci.