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Luigi Chinetti

Nationality	Italian (to 1946) American (from 1946 on)
24 Hours of Le Mans career
Participating years	1932-1935, 1937-1939, 1949-1953
Teams	Raymond Sommer Alfa Romeo Private Lord Selsdon
Best finish	1st (1932, 1934, 1949)
Class wins	3 (1932, 1934, 1949)

Luigi Chinetti (July 17, 1901 – August 17, 1994) was an Italian-born racecar driver, who emigrated to the United States during World War II and became an American citizen.

Born in Jerago con Orago in the north of Milan, he began work for Alfa Romeo as a mechanic in 1917 at the age of sixteen. The rise of fascism in his native country prompted his move to Paris where he worked for Alfa Romeo as an automobile salesman and became a sports car driver.

Driving an Alfa Romeo race car entered by his co-driver Raymond Sommer, Chinetti won at his very first 24 hours of Le Mans race in 1932. The following year, with Louis Chiron as co-driver, he won the SPA 24 Hours endurance race in Belgium. He teamed up with Philippe Étancelin in 1934 to win his second 24 hours of Le Mans.

Following the outbreak of World War II in Europe, Chinetti initially went to the United States of America with Dreyfus from the Ferrari team, for the 1940 Indy 500. He remained in the U.S. during the war, working for the Italian dealer, importer, and master mechanic, Alfred Momo. [1] Luigi Chinetti became an American citizen in 1946.

With the war over, racing resumed in Europe and he entered the competitions. At the 1949 24 Hours of Le Mans race he drove the first Ferrari ever to win the event, and set a record as the only three-time winner of the race to that date. The Ferrari 166M in which Chinetti won was turned over to Baron Selsdon of Scotland (Peter Mitchell-Thomson) for twenty minutes during the race, making Thomson the official co-driver although Chinetti had driven twenty-three of the hours of the race. Following the race, Thomson purchased that automobile through Chinetti. That same year Chinetti won his second SPA 24 Hours, this time driving for Ferrari with Jean Lucas.

In 1951, he was the riding mechanic in the Ferrari 212 that won the grueling Carrera Panamericana race, a 2,100-mile (3,400 km), five-day competition across Mexico.

Driving the automobiles of more than one manufacturer, Luigi Chinetti competed in every Le Mans motorsport race held between 1932 and 1953 and, he also entered an automobile in the 1954 race, although he was not a driver.

Luigi Chinetti made a deal with Enzo Ferrari to be a Ferrari factory agent in the United States. He opened the first—and for a while the only—Ferrari dealership in the country. Later his territory became all areas east of the Mississippi River, amounting to half of the country. The tradition associated with Chinetti continued to draw clients from all areas throughout his career. (In addition to handling Ferrari, Chinetti Motors was the U.S.A. agent for Automobili OSCA of Bologna until 1967.) The showroom of his business-which still is open-is located in Greenwich, Connecticut, it currently is owned by Miller Motorcars, a Ferrari-Maserati dealership.

The first sale Chinetti made through his American dealership was a Ferrari sold to Briggs Cunningham for racing. That first automobile sold by Chinetti eventually went into the famous personal automobile collection that Briggs exhibited publicly when he founded his museum, but most of the sales Chinetti made were kept as close secrets to protect the privacy of his wealthy clients.

Luigi Chinetti also was the founder of the North American Racing Team, an official arm of Ferrari. It became the team that established the high ranking of Ferraris in American racing circuits, and largely, was responsible for Ferrari's survival as a retailer of cars through the quantity he sold to wealthy individuals in North America. The team, sometimes abbreviated as N.A.R.T., also had a very successful endurance racing program both at Sebring and at Le Mans, right into the 1970s. In addition to the racing cars, the team commissioned many limited-run special variants of Ferrari road cars, most notably, the spyder version of the Ferrari 275GTB/4.

Luigi Chinetti remained in Greenwich, Connecticut after his retirement and died in 1994 at the age of ninety-three.

As an extension of his secrecy to protect the interests of his clients, Luigi Chinetti rarely allowed photographs to be taken, but some can be seen on the internet, such as this one with Alfred Momo on the left [2] and the story of the meeting photographed with this employer from his early days in the U.S., is at [3], as part of an article honoring a fellow driver, Ed Hugus. Another site presents a photograph of Chinetti at a race toward the end of his life. [4]

Luigi (ルイージ, Ruīji^?) is a fictional character, featured in video games and related media released by Nintendo. Created by prominent game designer Shigeru Miyamoto, Luigi is portrayed as the slightly younger fraternal twin brother of Nintendo's mascot Mario, and appears in many games throughout the Mario series, frequently as a sidekick to his brother and the deuteragonist of the series.

Luigi first appeared in the 1983 arcade game Mario Bros. as the character controlled by the second player, and retained this role in Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World, and other titles. The first game where he was available as a primary character was Super Mario Bros. 2. In more recent appearances, Luigi's role became increasingly restricted to spinoffs such as the Mario Party and Mario Kart series, though he has been featured in a starring role on two occasions: first in the 1991 educational game Mario is Missing, later in Luigi's Mansion for the Nintendo GameCube in 2001 and in Luigi's Mansion 2 for the 3DS. In both of these games, he is called upon to act as the hero because Mario, the usual hero within the franchise, is in need of rescue. Luigi has also appeared in every episode of the three DiC TV series based on the Nintendo Entertainment System and Super Nintendo Entertainment System games.

Originally developed as a palette swap of Mario with a green color scheme instead of red, Luigi has since developed a personality and style of his own. As his role in the Mario series progressed, Luigi evolved into a physically distinct character, taller and thinner than his brother. Although as kindhearted as Mario, Luigi is portrayed as timid and sometimes cowardly, especially in the presence of ghosts or when faced with seemingly impossible tasks to accomplish.

Concept and creation[link]

The events leading to Luigi's creation began in 1982, during the development of Donkey Kong, where the Nintendo designer Shigeru Miyamoto had created Mario (then known as "Jumpman") hoping that he would be able to recast the character in a variety of different roles in future games.^[1] Miyamoto had been inspired by the game Joust to create a game with a simultaneous two-player mode, which led to his development of the game Mario Bros. in 1983, with Luigi filling the role of Mario's brother as the second playable character.^[2] Luigi's name is said to have been inspired by a pizza parlor near Nintendo of America's headquarters in Redmond, Washington, called "Mario & Luigi's".^[2] Miyamoto observed that the word ruiji means "similar" in the Japanese language, and that Luigi was designed to have the same size, shape and gameplay of Mario.^[3]

While Mario was originally portrayed as a carpenter in Donkey Kong, the duo of Mario and Luigi in Mario Bros. were styled as Italian plumbers by Miyamoto, on the suggestion of a colleague.^[4] Software constraints of the time—similar to those that gave Mario his distinctive look in Donkey Kong—meant Luigi's first appearance was restricted to a simple palette swap of Mario designed to represent the second player. Graphically and in terms of gameplay, the characters were completely identical, except for their color schemes;^[5] the green color scheme adopted for Luigi would remain one of his defining physical characteristics in subsequent releases.

After the success of Mario Bros., Luigi was introduced to a wider audience in 1985 with the release of the console game Super Mario Bros. Once again his role was restricted to a palette swap of Mario, functioning as the second-player in a similar fashion to Mario Bros.. The subsequent Japan-only version of Super Mario Bros. 2 in 1986 (later released in the west as Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels) marked the beginning of Luigi's development toward becoming a more distinguished character. As with his previous appearances, Luigi remained a palette swap of Mario; however, his movement was no longer identical. Luigi could now jump higher and farther than his brother, at the expense of movement response and precision.^[6]

While this version of Super Mario Bros. 2 was released in Japan, it was deemed to be too difficult for American audiences at the time.^[4] In 1988, consequently, an alternative release was developed to serve as Super Mario Bros. 2 for western players (and later released in Japan as Super Mario USA); this version would play a key role in shaping Luigi's current appearance.^[4] The game was a conversion of Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic, with the graphics altered to represent characters and scenes from the Mario franchise. In this release, the character of "Mama", who had the highest jump among the original cast, served as the template for Luigi, resulting in his taller, thinner look, combined with his Marioesque outfit and ubiquitous green color scheme. Official artwork for Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World depicts Luigi with this new look; but Nintendo of Japan would not adapt his artwork differences to his look in-game until the 1992 game Super Mario Kart. Luigi's distinctive appearance from the Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic-inspired version of Super Mario Bros. 2 has been used ever since, even for remakes of games in which he was originally a palette swap.

This emblem appears on Luigi's hat and as a symbol for him in many game interfaces.

Actor portrayal[link]

Upon debuting on the Nintendo 64, Luigi received a voice, provided by Charles Martinet, who also voices Mario, Wario, Waluigi, and Toadsworth. Much like his appearance, Luigi's vocal portrayal has fluctuated over the years. When first introduced in Mario Kart 64, Luigi's voice was considerably lower in pitch than Mario's (although it was high pitched in the Japanese version^{[citation needed]}); however, in Mario Party, his voice has a much higher pitch, similar to Mario's voice (the same voice from the Japanese Mario Kart 64). He retained this higher voice in Mario Party 2. In Mario Golf, Mario Tennis, and Mario Party 3, his voice returned to a lower state. Since then, with the exceptions of Mario Kart: Super Circuit and Super Smash Bros. Melee, Luigi has consistently had a medium-pitched voice. In Mario Kart: Super Circuit, Luigi's voice was the same high voice from the Japanese Mario Kart 64. In Super Smash Bros. and Super Smash Bros. Melee, Luigi's voice is made up of clips from Mario's voice taken from Super Mario 64, with raised pitches. In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, he has his own voice (which is medium-pitched) instead of a pitched-up version of Mario's.

Characteristics[link]

Luigi is portrayed as the taller, younger brother of Mario, and he is usually seen dressed in green with overalls.^[7] Although Luigi is a plumber,^[7] like his brother, other facets of his personality vary from game to game. Luigi always seems nervous and timid but is good-natured and not as quick to anger as his more famous brother.

While it has not been made official, Daisy may be Luigi's romantic interest. They were a romantic couple in the Super Mario Bros. film^{[citation needed]} and in Mario Kart Wii they are seen in statue dancing together.^{[citation needed]} She was his caddy in NES Open Tournament Golf^[8] as Peach was to Mario. Also on Daisy's trophy in Super Smash Bros. Melee, it says that she is possibly Luigi's answer to Mario's Peach.^{[citation needed]}

Appearances[link]

[edit] Mario series

Luigi's first appearance was in the 1983 arcade game Mario Bros.^[7] as the character controlled by the second player. He retained this role in Wrecking Crew. He later appeared in Super Mario Bros.^[7] for the NES, and again in Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, Super Mario Bros. 2, Super Mario Bros. 3, and Super Mario World. Super Mario Bros. 2 introduced Luigi as the taller of the two brothers, as well as the better jumper. Super Mario Bros. 3, and Super Mario World returned to featuring Luigi as a reskinned Mario. He made a minor appearance in his baby form in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island. Beginning with Super Mario 64, Luigi made no appearances in main Mario titles, including the sequel Super Mario Sunshine. However, the Nintendo DS remake of Super Mario 64 features him as a playable character alongside Mario, Yoshi, and Wario. He received his own starring role in the Nintendo GameCube video game Luigi's Mansion, where he wins a mansion from a contest he never entered, and saves Mario from King Boo. Luigi became playable in the Nintendo DS game New Super Mario Bros. as a hidden character, and as a hidden character in the Wii game Super Mario Galaxy. In its sequel, Super Mario Galaxy 2, the player can switch out for Luigi throughout the game.^[9] He also appears as a playable character in New Super Mario Bros. Wii, where four players can play at once cooperatively as Mario, Luigi, and two Toads. He will star in the upcoming Luigi's Mansion 2.^[10] He also appears in Super Mario 3D Land as a playable character.

Appearance in other games[link]

Luigi appears in all of the Mario spin-offs, including Mario Kart, Mario Party, and Mario sports titles. He also appears in all installments of the Super Smash Bros. series as an unlockable character in each.

Luigi has appeared in every Mario role-playing game. While he originally made a cameo appearance in the end credits of Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, he appears more prominently in the Paper Mario series. He is a non-playable character in the original Paper Mario. In the sequel Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, he appears yet again as a non-playable character, going on a separate adventure from Mario's. Super Paper Mario features him as a playable character after he is initially brainwashed into working for the antagonist under the name "Mr. L". The Mario & Luigi series features Luigi as a main protagonist; the events of the game focus on him and his brother Mario. He has appeared in all three Mario & Luigi games, Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, and Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story.

Other media[link]

Luigi made his animated debut in the 1986 Original video animation Super Mario Bros.: The Great Mission to Save Princess Peach. In the film, he was voiced by Yū Mizushima and had a different color sceme than he has today, sporting a blue cap, blue overalls, and a yellow shirt. This was because he was not yet given a consistent color scheme. In the OVA, Luigi was very greedy and even left Mario at one point to look for coins. He was also a little more serious than his brother Mario, who constantly would daydream about Princess Peach, although he is not as brave as Mario.^{[citation needed]}

Luigi later made an appearance in the third of a trilogy of OVAs released in 1989, in which the Mario characters acted out the story of Snow White. He appears at the end of the video to save Mario and Peach from the Wicked Queen, portrayed by Bowser (called "Koopa" in Japan).^{[citation needed]}

Luigi regularly appeared in The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!, airing from 1989 to 1990, which cast Danny Wells as both his live-action portrayal and voice. Like his brother, Luigi's voice actor changed in later cartoons, in his case to Tony Rosato. Even though he was not the starring character in the show, Luigi appeared in every episode of the three DiC Mario cartoons (ninety-one episodes in total), in one of which Mario himself did not appear.^{[citation needed]}

Luigi played a different role in the Super Mario Bros. film, where he was portrayed by John Leguizamo.^[11] He was a more easy-going character in contrast to the cynical Mario (played by Bob Hoskins^[11]) in the film.

Luigi has also appeared in several Robot Chicken sketches, always alongside Mario.^{[citation needed]} In one sketch, he and Mario accidentally appear in Vice City, from the Grand Theft Auto series, while another features them competing in a Cannonball Run-styled car race.^{[citation needed]}

Reception[link]

Since his appearance in Super Mario Bros., Luigi has received generally positive reception. Nintendo Power listed Luigi as their fifth favourite hero, citing his dependability while describing him as being an underdog. They also listed him as having one of the best mustaches.^[12] GameDaily listed the "neglected guy" as one of their top 25 video game archetypes, citing Luigi as an example and stating that he lacks the charisma of his brother Mario and that he should get another starring role.^[13] They also listed Luigi's Poltergust 3000 from Luigi's Mansion as one of the top 25 Nintendo gimmicks.^[14] UGO Networks ranked Luigi at #16 on their "25 Most Memorable Italians in Video Games" list, ranking him over Mario himself.^[15]

Luigi has been featured in many "Top Sidekicks" lists. Machinima placed Luigi as the best sidekick on gaming on their "Top 10 Sidekicks in Gaming" list.^[16] He was also listed as the best sidekick in video games by Maximum PC.^[17] IGN ranked him at #2 on their top 10 list, commenting "No pair illustrates brotherly love like Mario and Luigi".^[18] Luigi is also ranked at #2 on ScrewAttack's top 10 list, where they comment that even though does everything Mario does, he gets none of the glory.^[19] WhatCulture listed him at #5 on their top 20 list, adding that a Mario game doesn't seem like a Mario game without Luigi.^[20] Maxim listed Luigi as the second most underrated sidekick.^[21]

References[link]

External links[link]

	Book: Mario series characters
Wikipedia books are collections of articles that can be downloaded or ordered in print.

	Mario portal
	Fictional characters portal

• Luigi at the Internet Movie Database
• Nintendo's official website
• Mario Bros. at the Killer List of Videogames