gigi Sabani was one of the most beloved conductors and imitators of the small screen. Son Simone was a guest in Serena Bortone’s living room to remember him.
Gigi Sabani in 1985. Credit: Rino Petrosino/Mondadori via Getty Images
A father-son bond to recover
Simone Sabani was born in 1980 from the conductor’s marriage to Rita Imperi. Once this story ended, the imitator had another son, Gabriele, from the relationship with his last partner Raffaella Ponzo. Unfortunately Gabriele never met his father, who disappeared before his birth. Sabani, in fact, died suddenly at the age of 54 on the evening of 4 September 2007, struck down by a heart attack.
During the episode of Today is another day on Rai Uno, Simone Sabani recounted the bond that united him with his father. A complex bond, given the separation of the conductor with Rita Imperi which arrived when he was only two and a half years old. «Back in the day we used to see each other when there was a spare time. Maybe once a week...».
«I have seen very few programs of my father because I tried to see his human side»
While a clip dedicated to the imitator, prepared by Serena Bortone’s team, was on the air, the presenter noticed that Simone Sabani did not keep his eyes fixed on the screen, while many programs were shown that his father conducted with great success. The reason, she asks him? «I saw very few of my father’s programs because I tried to see the human side, to humanize him a lot. Not living it daily as father and son at the beginning, when they told me about my father everyone said to me “I saw your father … he did …”. Others told me more things than I actually knew.”
Were you jealous that the public had it and you didn’t? “Well, these are thoughts that maybe pass you by…», Simone Sabani confessed to Serena Bortone.
The judicial problems of Gigi Sabani
Retracing the human and professional story of Gigi Sabani, the memory of when, in the summer of 1996, the conductor was involved in the legal case linked to corruption in the entertainment world was inevitable. The TV personality was accused of soliciting prostitution but he was exonerated and compensated for the 13 days of detention under house arrest.
At the time, his son Simone was 16 years old. “I went to see him. I looked at it and saw my male father. I never saw the public figure again. I saw him human,” she explained.
And speaking of that serious accusation that inevitably marked the father’s story… «You are totally powerless and without the possibility of a defence. A normal person who is unjustly accused also has the problem of not being able to speak, of being able to defend himself, he doesn’t have a “media” way. A public figure on the other hand… Immediately a sea of mud was mobilized in just a few days which crushed him. Then getting back on your feet is not easy. His interest was the point of view of the public.’
Gigi Sabani and his son Simone’s “request for attention”.
Those years for Simon Sabani have not been simple. AND came to weigh 170 kg. “It was a request for attention,” she wanted to explain. Even if, even in this case, there are memories of the father, who also joked about this point, so complex. «We were in Piazza del Popolo, in Rome. There is a famous clothes boutique. I was a kid and I said to him: “Will you buy me a jacket?”. “Simò, they are stylists, they are not coachbuilders”, he replied. He said it to me with affection. I had a big laugh».
What did your father teach you? «To believe in the mess, to be a good person. Above all, she taught me humility». The son of art followed in his father’s footsteps and is an actor. He studied acting and worked in several films and television series. Remembering his beloved father, he concluded. «He was playful. He taught others to laugh all the time and made you want to laugh».
iO Woman © REPRODUCTION RESERVED