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Born at home in Stubenville, OH
He was the 8th of 11 children of his immigrant Italian parents. -
Replaced Dean Martin in the Bernie Davis Orchestra
This was a local twelve-man band that performed at weddings, school dances, and special events throughout the tri-state area of Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. He was part of the group for close to 5 years. -
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Was on tour in the U.S. Navy
Fought in WWII. -
"Never stop moving kid, if you stop you're dead."
Car accident put him in a coma. He suffered from a fractured skull and paralysis down one side of his body. His concious lead him to fight through the injuries. Doctors told him "You'll never walk again", he said "I'm going to dance." -
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Film Career
A talent scout saw him and asked him to audition for MGM's "On The Town", starring Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra. He got the job in Hollywood and started an 8 year dance career in over 40 films, such as An American in Paris, Annie Get Your Gun, Singin' in the Rain, The Band Wagon and White Christmas. -
Broadway
Went to New Yourk with a choreographer named Alex Romero to perform in Happy Hunting on Broadway. -
Opening of Luigi's Jazz Centre
This was the first school completely dedicated to Jazz dancing. -
Luigi's Jazz Dance Company
He started this dance company that toured internationally for two years. It folded because he could not get government funding for the art form of jazz dance. -
An Olympic Trainer
Luigi trained the Hungarian Sports and Rhythmic Gymnastics Team in Budapest, Hungary, for the Olympics. He only trained with them for two weeks, but many of them went on to compete in the Olympics. -
Bessie Awards
Luigi was announced as the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 29th Annual New York Dance and Performance Awards.
