Zoomers of a certain vintage will remember when Ed Sullivan leaned in to kiss the cheek of an Italian puppet.
Maria Perego, the Italian puppeteer and the creator of Topo Gigio, has died in Milan.
Perego came up with the 10-inch-tall puppet in the late 1950s. It became a global phenomenon after Sullivan booked the act for a series of appearances on his popular Sunday-night TV Show. The first appearance was on April 14, 1963.