Known for being one of the most important personalities of Italian television, as well as the husband of Maria de Filippi, Maurizio Costanzo has undoubtedly made history. Let’s discover the path that led him to achieve great success on the small screen with innovative and interesting formats including the much loved “talk shows”.
Who is Maurizio Costanzo
Maurizio Costanzo (Rome, 28 August 1938) is an Italian journalist and presenter. He grew up in the Italian capital together with his father Ugo, a clerk, and his mother Jole, a housewife. After attending high school he decides to follow his passion and approach the world of journalism el 1956 when it becomes chronicler of “Paese Sera”.
The following year he joined “Corriere Mercantile” but after two years he managed to join a larger editorial office, that of “TV Smiles and Songs”.
A few years later he also entered the weekly “Grazie” of which he soon became editor-in-chief.
In the 60s he made his debut on radio and television as an author creating highly successful variety programs.
For all the following years he stands out for having conceived the early talk shows including “Bontà them”, “Acquario” and “Grand’Italia”. Among these, however, the most famous, as well as the longest-lived, is darkly the “Maurizio Costanzo Show” aired for the first time in 1982. Here the first television celebrities such as Vittorio Sgarbi, Enzo Iacchetti or Daniele Luttanzi made themselves known.
Maurizio Costanzo and the first projects
Over the years, several projects have been carried out, including the realization of some plays and cinematographic films. For example, he collaborates alongside Pier Paolo Pasolini for the writing of “Salò and the 120 days of Sodom”.
However, there is no lack of continuous editorial projects including the role of director of “The Sunday of the Courier” in 1978. In the eighties he decided to create his own company: Fortuna Audiovisioni. Here begins work on “Horace”, a sitcom made with the help of Alberto Silvestri in which he plays alongside his partner, Simona Izzo. The project is broadcast weekly in the Costanzo program “Have a nice Sunday”.
In 1997 he obtained two important positions: that of artistic director of the Ciak Theater in Milan and that of Channel 5 director, as well as president of Mediatrade. Journalistic collaborations also continue with major national newspapers including “Il Corriere della Sera” and “Il Messaggero”.
Maurizio Costanzo and the advent of the 2000s
During the new millennium there are numerous programs proposed on Canale 5 which however continues until 2009, the year in which it returns to the Rai team. Here he conducts “Bontà sua”, a program clearly referring to the historical “Bontà them”, in which he interviews numerous personalities from the world of entertainment.
During this period he also participated in numerous radio broadcasts on the stations Rai Radio Uno, Radio Manà Manà and RTL 102.5. He returns after five years of absence in Mediaset and here he presents his historic talk “Maurizio Costanzo Show”. In addition to this extremely well-known format, Maurizio creates a new one of great success: “The interview”.