Body of Italian TV celebrity stolen from his tomb

[January 26, 2011]  ROME (AP) -- Police are looking for the body of a late beloved Italian TV host after visitors at the cemetery found his tomb broken into and his coffin missing.

Generations of Italians grew up watching Mike Bongiorno as he hosted quiz shows and other entertainment programs during the fledging days of television in Italy. Bongiorno died in 2009 at the age of 85.

Police in Arona, a town in northern Italy, said officers are still investigating at the Dagnente cemetery and would not comment.

Italian news reports said a local man who came to the cemetery to visit a family grave noticed Bongiorno's tomb was open Tuesday morning and the coffin gone.

[Associated Press]

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