The Legend of Super Mario: Truth and Myths About the Man Who Gave the Iconic Hero His Name

Many fictional characters from films, books and computer games have their origins in real life. Mario, the famous hero of the popular video game series from the Japanese company Nintendo, also had his prototype. It turned out to be Mario Segale, a builder from Seattle with Italian roots. But how did an American with such a biography end up connected with the giant of the gaming industry?

Mario Segale was born on April 30, 1934, in Seattle, Washington. His parents, Louis and Rina Segale, were ordinary farmers, first-generation immigrants from Italy. After high school, Mario decided not to go to college but to start his own business. So, he founded a small construction company that took on a variety of projects.

Mario Segale had only modest equipment: an old truck and a few hand tools. So he did most of the work himself. Thanks to his hard work and business savvy, Mario soon began to successfully develop his business. In 1957, he got married, and his wife Donna joined the business as a reliable partner. It was their joint efforts that helped the enterprise expand significantly.

In 1998, Mario Segale decided to sell his construction company to an Irish firm for $60 million. After that, he switched completely to the real estate industry. There, his company Segale Properties also quickly achieved impressive results. But how did the American businessman end up connected with a video game created by Japanese developers?

In 1981, Nintendo was working on the arcade game Donkey Kong. It was set in Tukwila, a town just 20 minutes outside of Seattle. The Japanese developers rented a warehouse of building materials from Segale. Initially, the game's main character was simply called Jumper, which translates as "Jumper." But later his name was changed — and this was due to one unpleasant story.

Nintendo was a small, unknown company with serious financial difficulties. At one point, the company did not even have the funds to pay Mario Segale's rent. This led to a serious conversation with the businessman. Fortunately, Segale decided not to throw out the tenants and met them halfway. As a sign of gratitude, the developers decided to name their Jumper after him - so the main character became Mario.

When Nintendo brought its games to the world market, Mario Segale tried to keep a low profile and avoided discussing his collaboration with the company. The character of Mario was so successful that from a minor hero Donkey Kong turned into a real symbol of Nintendo and the entire gaming industry. Later, many popular games, cartoons and even films were created around this character. By the way, the game Super Mario recently became the most expensive in the history of video games.

Mario Segale looked nothing like his game namesake. Many photos of a mustachioed man in a cap, which are mistakenly considered to be pictures of a young Segale, actually belong to Mexican comedian Marco Antonio Campos. It is possible that it was his appearance that inspired the creators of the character for the game Donkey Kong.

Mario Segale died in 2018 at the age of 84 in his mansion located in the suburbs of Seattle. Since 1981, he has never publicly spoken about his connection to the video game character. Only once, in 1993, in an interview, he joked that he was still waiting for royalties for the use of his name and image. However, it was just a joke - the businessman never raised this issue with Nintendo.

The story of Mario Segale is a vivid example of how chance can turn a real person into part of world pop culture. How important do you think it is for fictional characters to have a real prototype? Does it make them more vivid and memorable, or is fiction more important than a historical basis? Share your thoughts in the comments!