| Fabio Lanzoni | |
|---|---|
 Fabio (left) and fan in Times Square, 2005 |
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| Born | March 15, 1959 Milan, Italy |
Fabio Lanzoni (born March 15, 1959), widely known simply as Fabio, is a male fashion model who has appeared on the cover of hundreds of romance novels throughout the 1980s and 1990s.
Contents |
Biography
Early life & modeling
Lanzoni was born in Milan, Italy, the son of Flora (née Carnicelli) and Sauro Lanzoni, a mechanical engineer.[1] He started as a model in Italy, then moved to New York City and became a runway and catalog model for the Ford agency. He became famous in the romance world for appearing on hundreds of kitschy romance novel covers, the first of which was Hearts Aflame in 1987. He's known among video game enthusiasts for his box cover pose for the NES game Ironsword: Wizards & Warriors II in 1989. After retiring from modeling in 1991, Lanzoni left New York for the lure of the big screen, where he hoped to follow in the tradition of Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger as a new action adventure actor.
Author and icon
In 1992, the William Morris agency's Robert Gottlieb became Fabio's agent, as Fabio became the first male romance writer to author romance novels without the use of a pseudonym. Fabio's books were titled Pirate, Rogue, and Comanche. Fabio appeared on Entertainment Tonight and Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous. Fabio then starred in the syndicated TV series Acapulco H.E.A.T., was featured in calendars, led a fragrance campaign, and landed a role in commercials for I Can't Believe It's Not Butter margarine.
Fabio appeared in the soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful a number of times, as a close friend of the character Sally Spectra. (Fabio and Darlene Conley, who played Sally, were close friends in real life.) In 1999, while riding the inaugural ride of Apollo's Chariot at Busch Gardens Williamsburg, a stray goose flew into his face during the 210-foot drop.[2] The bird died, Fabio suffered cuts to his face. Fabio attempted to sue Busch Gardens Williamsburg after the incident, alleging that the rollercoaster had been built in the flight path of the geese. The issue was resolved out of court.
More recent activities
In 2002, Fabio designed and launched a line of women's outerwear that was sold at the Sam's Club division of Wal-Mart. The line was launched nationally in 2003 and was featured on many TV shows including The View, The Insider, Fox & Friends, Neil Cavuto, CNBC’s Business Hour and in print publications including Fortune, People and many local newspapers across the country. Fabio is a frequent guest on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, where he consistently garners laughs with his campy quality. He has starred in commercials for I Can't Believe It's Not Butter, where he was featured in a series of television spots throughout the 1990s, and returned to the role in 2006 to help promote the "new and improved" spread. On June 7, 2006, Fabio helped crown Greg Vaughan as the new I Can't Believe It's Not Butter spokesman, though Fabio has hinted that he will not totally be removed from his role in promoting the spread. He has appeared in commercials for Wickes Furniture, and was featured in the video for Jill Sobule's 1995 song I Kissed a Girl.[3] He hosted the show Mr. Romance on the Oxygen Network in 2005, which was called the search for the next Fabio. During Super Bowl XL, a Nationwide Insurance advertising campaign debuted featuring Fabio rowing a gondola supposedly promoting a new Fabio brand shampoo. After several cuts back and forth, he finally aged about 30 to 40 years resembling an older, less appealing version of Fabio. The slogan on-screen reads "Life Comes At You Fast". For the Nationwide ad they hired Jurassic Park's famous makeup artists to transform the icon into an older man.[4] In the season finale of 2004's Average Joe 2: Hawaii, Gil Hyatt was disgusted to learn that Larissa, the pursued woman in the show, had previously dated Fabio. He appeared to reject Larissa as a result in the final sequences of the episode, kicking at the sand and surf on the beach where they were walking and telling the camera that "every guy would understand" and claiming to be no longer interested in pursuing a relationship with Larissa.[5] He appeared on Extreme Makeover Home Edition on ABC and America's Next Top Model, and is currently guesting in Bo! in the USA, as the idol and sidekick of Keith Lemon. In the February 2007 issue of Stuff Magazine, Fabio dishes about his interest in audiovisual equipment. "My father was an engineer, so it's in my genes".[6] He answered reader questions about love, fitness, and other topics in the February 2007 - July 2007 issues of Electronic Gaming Monthly.[7] He appeared on the cover of the magazine in 1989 to promote Ironsword: Wizards & Warriors II. On November 2, 2007, Fabio was in a Beverly Hills restaurant altercation with actor George Clooney, who believed a dinner companion of Fabio's was taking photographs of Clooney.[8]
Other Appearances
- 1990 Cameo in the movie "Exorcist III" in which he plays an angel in a dream sequence.
- 1993: he appeared on America's Funniest Home Videos which was then hosted by Bob Saget.
- 1995: Appeared in Jill Sobule's controversial video for I Kissed A Girl.
- 2000: He had a minor part in the movie Dude, Where's My Car?. He and a woman kiss in an attempt to out do the protagonist who in turn kiss to the disgust of Fabio
- 2001: had a cameo in the Ben Stiller comedy Zoolander, during which he was awarded the "Slashie Award" as the best Actor/Model ("and not the other way around") at the VH1 Fashion Awards.
- 2001: He appeared in the movie Bubble Boy, as the leader of the Bright and Shiny cult.
- 2005: he appeared in the Australian show Celebrity Overhaul.
- November 2005: Fabio appeared on The Man Show Spring Training episode to co-host along side Adam Carolla and Jimmy Kimmel. He was a prize on the Wheel of Destiny for that night.[9]
- April 2006: he appeared on Late Night with Conan O'Brien advertising 'I Can't Believe It's Not Butter' during one of Conan O'Brien's "talk to a regular audience member" segments.
- Thanksgiving Day 2006: he appeared with Howie Mandel, host of Deal or no Deal, on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno as a Deal or no Deal prize for an audience full of servicemen. The entire audience of military personnel were subsequently invited to join him for dinner in the NBC commissary.
- 2006: he appeared in America's Next Top Model Cycle 7 Episode 7, where he posed with the girls for mock-up romance novel covers at the weekly photo challenge.
- Friday, January 12, 2007: he appeared on NBC's TV show 1 vs 100 as a member of The Mob.
- Thursday, January 18, 2007: he appeared on Late Night with Conan O'Brien advertising 'I Can't Believe It's Not Butter' Mediterranean Spread, while joining Max Weinberg and the Max Weinberg 7 as part of the band.
- April 11, 2007: Fabio appeared on Late Night with Conan O'Brien to carry Conan from the performance area where he does his monologue over to his desk. When asked what he thought of the monologue, Fabio replied "I can't believe it's not better," clearly a reference to his 'I Can't Believe It's Not Butter' ads. Later, he carried guest Tina Fey out from backstage.
- He also appeared on Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide as a character in a romance novel.
References
- ^ http://www.filmreference.com/film/76/Fabio.html
- ^ "Bird slams into Fabio's face", CNN, March 31, 1999. Retrieved 2007-09-21.
- ^ http://www.westword.com/Issues/1995-08-02/music/backbeat5.html
- ^ http://www.nationwide.com/nw/about-us/our-ads/index.htm
- ^ http://www.realitytvworld.com/index/articles/story.php?s=2324
- ^ http://www.stuffmagazine.com?src=fc
- ^ http://egm.1up.com?src=fc
- ^ "Heartthrobs Clooney, Fabio get into scuffle", Access Hollywood, MSNBC November 8, 2007. Retrieved 2007-11-16.
- ^ http://www.g4tv.com/themanshow/episodes/4825/Spring_Training.html
External links
- Fabio at the Internet Movie Database
- Fabio at the Notable Names Database
- Interview with Fabio in Psychology Today
- Fabio displaying his much loved "campy" quality on the April Winchell show. (Audio Clips)
- 2007 Fabio Interview on Sidewalks Entertainment
