Amadeus (presenter)

Last updated

Amadeus
Amadeus 2023.jpg
Sebastiani in 2023
Born
Amedeo Umberto Rita Sebastiani

4 September 1962 (1962-09-04) (age 62)
Ravenna, Italy
Occupations
  • Television presenter
  • radio presenter
  • disc jockey
Employer(s)
Spouses
Marisa Di Martino
(m. 1993;div. 2007)
Giovanna Civitillo
(m. 2009)
Children2

Amedeo Umberto Rita Sebastiani (born 4 September 1962), known professionally as Amadeus (pronounced [amaˈdɛus] ), is an Italian television host and radio presenter.

Contents

Life and career

Born in Ravenna to Sicilian parents, Sebastiani grew up in Verona. [1] [2] He started his career in 1979 as a deejay for a small radio station in Verona after a successful audition. [2]

One day in 1985, Sebastiani spent six hours outside a hotel to lend Vittorio Salvetti, Italian television producer, a VHS with his audition. Salvetti then got him in touch with talent scout Claudio Cecchetto, to which Sebastiani recorded and sent a demo cassette. The talent scout gave him a chance in 1986 and made him debut for Radio DeeJay with the stage name "Amadeus", basing it off of Rock Me Amadeus , 1985 single by Falco. [3] Over the next two years he became one of the main radio presenters for Radio Capital Music Network , where he co-hosted many programmes with Luca Laurenti among mang others. He made his television debut in 1988, appearing in the Radio DeeJay spin-off DeeJay Television on Italia 1.

His debut on a Rai network was in 1999 as a quality juror for Sanremo Music Festival 1999. In September of that year he became the host of Domenica In for the next season. In October 2000, Quiz Show premiered on Rai 1 with him as the host. The game later rebranded to L'eredità, which he kept hosting until he briefly quit Rai in 2006. [4] [5]

During his career, Amadeus hosted several high-profile programmes, both for Rai and Mediaset, including five editions of Festivalbar, four seasons of L'eredità , the Sanremo Music Festival (2020 to 2024), L'anno che verrà, and several early evening quiz shows. [1] [2] [6]

In April 2024, he left Rai at the end of his contract and signed a four-year deal with Warner Bros. Discovery. [7] His final appearances for Rai included Una. Nessuna. Centomila – in Arena [8] , Viva Rai2! hosted by Fiorello [9] , and Affari tuoi [10] (English: "Your Business"), the Italian version of Deal or No Deal .

On Nove, he launched Suzuki Music Party [11] , the quiz show Chissà chi è [12] and La Corrida – Dilettanti allo sbaraglio [13] , and also hosted the 2024 SIAE Music Awards [14] . In 2025, he joined the jury of Amici di Maria De Filippi [15] on Canale 5 before returning to Nove in May to present Like a Star [16] , the Italian version of Starstruck , which was followed in June by The Cage – Prendi e scappa [17] .

Personal life

Between 1993 and 2007, Sebastiani was married to Marisa Di Martino. They have a daughter, Alice Vittoria, born in 1997.[ citation needed ]

In 2003, after separating from his first wife, Sebastiani began a relationship with the showgirl Giovanna Civitillo, whom he had met while working at L'eredità . [18]

In January 2009, Sebastiani and Giovanna had a son, José Alberto, named after José Mourinho, who at the time was coaching Inter Milan – the team Sebastiani supports. The couple married later that year. [19]

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
1988–1989 1, 2, 3 Jovanotti Co-hostMusical programme
1989–1990 Deejay Beach PresenterMusical programme (seasons 3–4)
1993 Festivalbar 1993Co-hostAnnual music festival
1994Festivalbar 1994Presenter
1995Festivalbar 1995
1995–1996Buona DomenicaCo-hostVariety show (season 8)
1996Festivalbar 1996PresenterAnnual music festival
1996–1997Campioni di balloTalent show (season 2)
1997Festivalbar 1997Annual music festival
MatricoleCo-hostDocuseries (season 1)
1998Il QuizzonePresenterGame show (season 5)
Meteore – Alla ricerca delle stelle perduteCo-hostVariety show (season 1)
1999Festa di classePresenterVariety show
1999–2000 Domenica in Variety show (season 24)
2000In bocca al lupo!Game show (season 3)
2000–2002 Quiz Show Game show
2001 Castrocaro Music Festival 2001Annual music festival
2002AzzardoGame show (season 1)
2002–2006 L'eredità Game show (seasons 1–4)
2003La partita del cuoreAnnual charity sports event
Miss Italia nel Mondo Annual beauty contest
2004Music FarmTalent/reality show (season 1)
2006Formula segretaGame show
2007–2008 1 contro 100
Canta e vinci Co-host
2009 Fiore e Tinelli HimselfTV series (episode "Quiz in famiglia")
2009–2016Mezzogiorno in famigliaPresenterVariety show (seasons 17–23)
2010Cuore di mammaReality show
2013Altrimenti ci arrabbiamoContestantTalent show
Tale e quale showTalent show (season 3)
2014–2017 Reazione a catena PresenterGame show (seasons 8–11)
2014; 2016ColorsGame show
2015TechetechetèGuestArchive footage/variety show
2015–2018Stasera tutto è possibilePresenterGame show (seasons 1–4)
2015–2023L'anno che verràNew Year's Eve special (8 specials)
2016 Sanremo GiovaniJudgeAnnual music festival
2016–2017Music QuizPresenterGame show
2017–2023 Soliti ignoti – Il ritorno Game show (seasons 6–12)
2018–2019Ora o mai piùTalent show
2019Ballata per GenovaCo-hostSpecial
2019–2024Sanremo GiovaniPresenterTalent show
2020 Sanremo Music Festival 2020 Presenter and artistic directorAnnual music festival
2021 Sanremo Music Festival 2021
2021–2023Arena SuzukiPresenterMusic variety show
2022 Sanremo Music Festival 2022 Presenter and artistic directorAnnual music festival
Affari tuoi – Formato famigliaPresenterGame show
2023 Sanremo Music Festival 2023 Presenter and artistic directorAnnual music festival
2023–2024Affari tuoiPresenterGame show (season 15-16)
2024 Sanremo Music Festival 2024 Presenter and artistic directorAnnual music festival
2025 Amici di Maria De Filippi JudgeTalent show (season 24; final stage only)

Filmography

YearTitleRoleNotes
1993Laura non c'èDoctorFeature film debut
2003 Il pranzo della domenica HimselfCameo appearance
2023 Wish ValentinoItalian voice-over

References

  1. 1 2 Fulvio Abbate (15 December 2004). "Amadeus nel teatro domestico siciliano". La Repubblica . Retrieved 11 February 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 Giorgio Dell'Arti, Massimo Parrini. Catalogo dei viventi. Marsilio, 2009. ISBN   9788831795999.
  3. "People from Cecchetto - Video". RaiPlay (in Italian). Retrieved 19 September 2024.
  4. "Quiz show - Raiuno". 26 August 2014. Archived from the original on 26 August 2014. Retrieved 19 September 2024.
  5. "Carlo Conti story | L'eredità dal 2006 | Miss Italia-ascolti in calo". Realityshow. 3 September 2014. Archived from the original on 3 September 2014. Retrieved 19 September 2024.
  6. "RAIDUE: Festa di classe con Amadeus". Adnkronos . 18 March 1999. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
  7. "Amadeus lascerà la Rai per passare a Discovery". Il Post (in Italian). Il Post. 15 April 2024. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
  8. "Una Nessuna Centomila all'Arena di Verona: Mannoia, Elodie e Annalisa per le donne". la Repubblica (in Italian). GEDI Gruppo Editoriale. 6 May 2024. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
  9. "Viva Rai 2!, Fiorello cala il sipario e festeggia con Amadeus, Jovanotti e Ultimo: "Da stasera spengo il telefono"". Il Fatto Quotidiano (in Italian). SEIF – Società Editoriale Il Fatto. 10 May 2024. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
  10. "Amadeus, stasera l'ultima puntata di Affari tuoi". la Repubblica (in Italian). GEDI Gruppo Editoriale. 1 June 2024. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
  11. "Suzuki Music Party: la scaletta e tutti gli ospiti dello show di Amadeus su NOVE". Radio Deejay (in Italian). Gruppo GEDI. 22 September 2024. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
  12. "Amadeus: "Torno in tv e dico: 'Chissà chi è'"". TV Sorrisi e Canzoni (in Italian). Arnoldo Mondadori Editore. 22 September 2024. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
  13. "Amadeus conduce "La Corrida – Dilettanti allo sbaraglio" dal 6 novembre sul NOVE". NOVE.tv (in Italian). Warner Bros. Discovery Italia. 7 November 2024. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
  14. "Amadeus condurrà i SIAE Music Awards 2024". Billboard Italia (in Italian). BFC Media. 12 November 2024. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
  15. "Amadeus sbarca su Mediaset ad Amici: deroga da Discovery all'esclusiva, l'annuncio della nuova avventura". Virgilio Notizie (in Italian). Italiaonline. 10 March 2025. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
  16. "Like a Star: il nuovo programma tv di Amadeus su Nove". Vanity Fair Italia (in Italian). Condé Nast Italia. 15 May 2025. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
  17. "Amadeus e Giulia Salemi in The Cage – Prendi e scappa: come funziona il nuovo game show sul Nove". Il Fatto Quotidiano (in Italian). SEIF – Società Editoriale Il Fatto. 25 May 2025. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
  18. Sanna, Andrea (16 November 2023). "Giovanna Civitillo racconta come Amadeus le ha chiesto di sposarla". Novella 2000 (in Italian). Retrieved 23 March 2024.
  19. Alfano, Laura (4 July 2009). "Amadeus, a luglio si sposa e poi torna in Rai". Televisionando (in Italian). Retrieved 19 August 2023.

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