Leo Buscaglia

Felice Leonardo Buscaglia was born in Los Angeles, California, on March 31, 1924, into a family of Italian immigrants. He spent his early childhood in Aosta, Italy, before going back to the United States for education. He was a graduate of Theodore Roosevelt High School. Buscaglia served in the U.S. Navy during World War II; he did not see combat, but he saw its aftermath in his duties in the dental section of the military hospital, helping to reconstruct shattered faces.{{Cite web |title=Biography of Leo Buscaglia |url=https://www.slackbooks.com/biography-of-leo-buscaglia/ |access-date=2022-06-14 |website=www.slackbooks.com}}

Using G.I. Bill benefits, he entered the University of Southern California, where he earned three degrees (BA 1950, MA 1954, PhD 1963) before eventually joining the faculty. He was known for always getting on the elevator and putting his back to the door and introduce himself saying "This might be the only chance I'll ever get to meet you and I don't want to miss this chance." He would rake the leaves in his yard and put them in a room in his house so he could sit and study them. He was fascinated that God would go to the trouble to make every leaf different. "Imagine how proud he is of us if he goes to that much trouble for a simple leaf on a tree."

He was the first to state and promote the concept of humanity's need for hugs: 5 to survive, 8 to maintain, and 12 to thrive.{{cite web|url=https://bobbiezen.com/2021/02/06/memories-of-hugs/|title=Memories of Hugs|website= BobbieZen.com|date=February 6, 2021|access-date=March 6, 2023}}

Upon retirement, Buscaglia was named Professor at Large, one of only two such designations on campus at that time.{{cite web|url=https://cyc-net.org/cyc-online/cyconline-july2010-buscaglia.html|title=Leo Buscaglia profile and interview|author=Steven Short|website= CYC-Online|date=July 2010|access-date=March 6, 2023}}

While teaching at USC, Buscaglia was moved by a student's suicide to contemplate human disconnectedness and the meaning of life, and began a noncredit class he called Love 1A. This became the basis for his first book, titled simply Love. His dynamic speaking style was discovered by the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), and his televised lectures earned great popularity in the 1980s. At one point his talks, always shown during fundraising periods, were the top earners of all PBS programs. This national exposure, coupled with the heartfelt storytelling style of his books, helped make all his titles national bestsellers; five were once on the New York Times bestsellers list simultaneously.

Buscaglia died of a heart attack on June 12, 1998, at his home in Glenbrook, Nevada, near Lake Tahoe, when he was 74.{{cite news|url=https://news.usc.edu/10102/Leo-Buscaglia-Educator-and-Author-Dies-at-74/|title=Leo Buscaglia, Educator and Author, Dies at 74|date=August 31, 1998|newspaper=USC News|first=James|last=Lytle|access-date=March 6, 2023}}

In a May 12, 1984, Peanuts comic strip, the dog Snoopy is seen strolling towards Charlie Brown and Sally. Snoopy gives them both warm and sincere hugs. Afterwards, Charlie Brown explains their dog's actions to his puzzled sister: "You can always tell when he's been listening to Leo Buscaglia tapes."{{cite web|url=https://www.gocomics.com/peanuts/1984/05/12|title=May 12, 1984 -Peanuts|work=gocomics.com}}

Buscaglia's "Dr. Love" moniker, PBS lectures, and philosophy of hugs were referenced in Season 2, Episode 1 of The Americans.{{cite web |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2726822/|title=Comrades |website=IMDb }}

In an April 22, 1991 The Far Side comic strip, a man dressed like a bullfighter awaits the charge of another man with outstretched arms. The caption reads: "In some remote areas of the world, the popular sport is to watch a courageous young man avoid being hugged by a Leo Buscaglia impersonator."

In the August 1993 issue of Spectacular Spider-Man (vol. 1) #203, the character of Carnage taunts Spider-Man by saying: "Ah... even with his last breath—he's doing his Leo Buscaglia impression!"

• Love (1972)
• Because I Am Human (1972)
• The Way of the Bull (1973)
• The Fall of Freddie the Leaf (1982)
• Living, Loving and Learning (1982)
• The Disabled and Their Parents: A Counseling Challenge (1983)
• Loving Each Other (1984)
• Amar a los demás (1985)
• Personhood (1986)
• Bus 9 to Paradise (1986{{cite web |title=Bus 9 to paradise : a loving voyage |url=http://elibrary.mel.org/record=b13938214~S15 |website=Michigan eLibrary |publisher=Thorofare, N.J. : Slack, Inc. ; New York, N.Y. : Distributed to the trade by William Morrow and Co., 1986 |access-date=February 21, 2021}})
• Seven Stories of Christmas Love (1987)
• A Memory for Tino (1988)
• Papa My Father (1989)
• Born for Love (1992)

{{Reflist}}

{{wikiquote}}

• [https://leobuscaglia.org Leo Buscaglia and Felice Foundation official site]
• [http://fcis.oise.utoronto.ca/~daniel_schugurensky/assignment1/1969buscaglia.html Selected Moments of the 20th Century: 1969 Leo Buscaglia teaches Love 1A at the University of Southern California]
• [http://myhero.com/myhero/hero.asp?hero=l_buscaglia Buscaglia] at The "My Hero" Project
• [http://www.journeyofhearts.org/kirstimd/buscagl2.htm "Learn the Joy of the Moment"] by Leo Buscaglia, PhD
• [http://www.journeyofhearts.org/kirstimd/buscagl3.htm "Loving Through Death"] by Leo Buscaglia, PhD
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20131101154521/http://www.usc.edu/dept/pubrel/trojan_family/autumn98/alumninews/IM_Buscaglia.html Obituary] at USC Alumni News
• [http://www.kviestore.org/leobuscaglia.htm DVDs of Leo Buscaglia] Public Television programs with Leo Buscaglia available
• {{IMDb name|id=6416738|name=Leo Buscaglia}}

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Category:1924 births

Category:1998 deaths

Category:20th-century American educators

Category:20th-century American non-fiction writers

Category:20th-century American novelists

Category:20th-century American male writers

Category:American male non-fiction writers

Category:American male novelists

Category:American self-help writers

Category:American writers of Italian descent

Category:Military personnel from California

Category:United States Navy personnel of World War II

Category:University of Southern California faculty

Category:USC Rossier School of Education alumni