Remo Saraceni
{{Short description|Italian-American toy inventor (1935–2024)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2024}}
{{Infobox person
|name = Remo Saraceni
|image = Remo Saraceni.jpg
|caption = Saraceni in 1971
|birth_date = {{birth date|1935|01|15|df=y}}
|birth_place = Fossacesia, Italy
|death_date = {{death date and age|2024|06|03|1935|01|15|df=y}}
|death_place = Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, U.S.
|occupation = Toy inventor
}}
Remo Saraceni (15 January 1935 – 3 June 2024) was an Italian-American toy inventor. He was known for his invention of the Walking Piano.
Life and career
Saraceni was born in Fossacesia on 15 January 1935. He emigrated to the United States in 1964.{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/14/technology/remo-saraceni-dead.html|title=Remo Saraceni, 89, Dies; Inventor of the Walking Piano Seen in 'Big'|work=The New York Times|first=Alex|last=Traub|date=June 14, 2024|access-date=June 14, 2024}} He was an artist, lighting designer,{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/tallahassee-democrat-artist-makes-techno/149338257/|title=Artist makes technology come alive|work=Tallahassee Democrat|location=Tallahassee, Florida|date=November 27, 1983|access-date=June 14, 2024|page=35|via=Newspapers.com}} {{Open access}} sculptor,{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-philadelphia-inquirer-remo-saraceni/149336165/|title=Remo Saraceni: To Him, Food Is a Gift From the Sun|work=The Philadelphia Inquirer|location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|date=April 14, 1974|access-date=June 14, 2024|page=141|via=Newspapers.com}} {{Open access}} and an electronic engineer.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-philadelphia-inquirer-sculpture-even/149337343/|title=Sculpture Even Your Ears Can Enjoy|work=The Philadelphia Inquirer|location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|date=December 19, 1971|access-date=June 14, 2024|page=122|via=Newspapers.com}} {{Open access}}
In the 1980s, Saraceni invented the Walking Piano, an oversized synthesizer. His invention was used in the 1988 film Big, where actors Tom Hanks and Robert Loggia danced on the piano in a scene of the film.{{Cite web|url=http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20099901,00.html|title=Featured in Big, Remo Saraceni's Walking Piano Plays Its Sweetest Music at the Cash Register|work=People|date=September 12, 1988|access-date=June 14, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110202022844/http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20099901,00.html|archive-date=February 2, 2011|url-status=live|via=Wayback Machine}}{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6lImlmfsA74C|title=Branded Entertainment: Product Placement and Brand Strategy in the Entertainment Business|page=11|first=Jean-Marc|last=Lehu|publisher=Kogan Page|date=March 3, 2007|isbn=9780749451431|via=Google Books}}
Saraceni died of heart failure in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, on 3 June 2024, at the age of 89.{{Cite web|url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/remo-saraceni-inventor-of-the-giant-piano-in-movie-big-dies-at-89/ar-BB1nDa4Y?ocid=BingNewsSerp|title=Remo Saraceni, inventor of the giant piano in movie 'Big,' dies at 89|work=The Philadelphia Inquirer|date=June 4, 2024|access-date=June 14, 2024|first=Ximena|last=Conde|via=MSN}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.ilmessaggero.it/abruzzo/pescara_piange_remo_saraceni_scienziato_padre_big_piano_tom_hanks-8158555.html|title=Pescara piange Remo Saraceni, scienziato e padre del Big Piano di Tom Hanks|work=Il Messaggero|date=June 4, 2024|access-date=June 14, 2024|language=Italian}}{{cite news |title=Remo Saraceni obituary: inventor known for the walking piano in the film Big |url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/obituaries/article/remo-saraceni-obituary-death-w7zh7s0p2 |access-date=14 July 2024 |work=The Times |date=10 July 2024}}
References
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External Links
- {{imdb name|1724121}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saraceni, Remo}}
Category:People from Fossacesia
Category:Italian emigrants to the United States
Category:20th-century American sculptors
Category:American electrical engineers
Category:20th-century American engineers
Category:20th-century American inventors
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