Melbourne icon Franco Cozzo passed away on Wednesday at the age of 87, his family announced on social media.
The family said Mr Cozzo was “surrounded by his loving wife and family” when he passed.
“We would greatly appreciate that our privacy be respected during this difficult time,” the Facebook post adds.
Born in Ramacca, Sicily in 1936 to an Italian father and Greek mother, Mr Cozzo migrated to Australia in the 1950s.
Mr Cozzo became a well-known Italian-Australian furniture salesman who quickly rose to fame for his unique television adverts in the 1980s.
The ads used a fusion of English, Italian and Greek, and came to represent Melbourne’s burgeoning multicultural identity and immigrant community in the late-20th century.
For many Melburnians, the words “grand sale, grand sale, grand sale. Where? In Brunaswick and Footiscray” are permanently etched in their memory. He used to repeat “Megalo! Megalo! Megalo!” (Greek for “Grand!” or “Large”) in his adverts as well.
Source: The Age.
