The sudden death of television presenter Mike Bongiorno came as a shock for the Italian community. The US-born personality died of a heart attack in Montecarlo on Tuesday, days before he was to start a new programme on Sky TV. At 85 years of age, he was still full of enthusiasm.

His face was one of the most recognisable in Italy (and Malta too, considering that thousands of Maltese viewers have followed his career since its beginning). Having entered millions of Italian homes for over 55 years – he conducted his first show on the first day of Italian state TV RAI in January 1954 and remained active right until his death – he became the first household name at a time when TV was still in its infancy.

But his story goes beyond TV. Mike Bongiorno had been imprisoned for seven months during the war because of his participation in the Resistance. He was also an avid athlete and took part in several sport activities such as skiing, scuba diving and tennis. He followed sport events with a passion, with his favourite football team being Juventus.

Mike Bongiorno is part of Italian history and culture, and his death will leave a void that will never be replaced.

He conducted countless quizzes in the 1950s and 1960s, which are still remembered with nostalgia right till this very day. His move, in the late 1970s, to a private TV station that was later to become Canale 5, owned and run by the current Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, had created controversy at the time.

But it was part of Mike Bongiorno’s character to take up a challenge and not be afraid of taking steps into the unknown. He knew how to take calculated risks and the move to commercial TV did not diminish his popularity. If anything, it helped private TVs make inroads, and his departure from RAI was followed up, with less success, by many others.

He also learned to adapt to the continuous changes that technology brought about in broadcasting. In a way, he was an example to all the conservative people who fear change or who are unable to become accustomed to new ways of doing TV.

The evolution we have seen in television over the past years has been one that would have put any other personality out of the picture – excuse the pun. But Mike Bongiorno moved on with the times, and did not let progress dampen his spirits. He fought on, even when most people would have retired. At 85, he was still planning a new show. How many of us would embark on such an initiative if and when we reach such a venerable age?

One other characteristic that distinguished Mike from the rest was his ability to laugh at himself. He was known as the “King of gaffes”, and his secret as to whether he committed such blunders on purpose or whether they were just slips of the tongue will go with him to the grave.

Yet, he was among those who knew what humour is all about, and while others shunned programmes where they were made fun of, Mike Bongiorno was the first to accept invitations to take part in series where mistakes made by TV personalities were shown, such as Paperissima and Striscia la notizia.

Rightly so, Italy stopped on Tuesday when the news of his death was made public. It was paying its respects to a legend that will never be forgotten.

All around the world, there are television greats who are sadly reaching their twilight years.

The world of entertainment will surely miss their loss, as will millions of viewers.