Longtime Philadelphia-based artist and inventor Remo Saraceni, best known for his giant piano that skyrocketed in popularity after it was prominently featured in the 1988 film “Big,” died at the age of 89 Monday from heart failure.
Longtime friends joined Saraceni in Swarthmore for his final moments, said his assistant, right-hand man, and caretaker Benjamin Medaugh.
Medaugh said Saraceni remained sharp and active in his final months of life, keeping up with the news and his eclectic collection of Italian, English, and Spanish books. He continued to tinker with smaller creations with the help of Medaugh and insisted on cooking for himself until his health took a turn.
“He somehow found ways to make people find joy in very simple things,” said Medaugh of Saraceni’s legacy, adding his genius was in maintaining the playfulness of a child and finding charm in the ordinary.
Remo Saraceni was born in Fossacesia, Italy, in 1935. He grew up in what he described to The Inquirer last year as a humble upbringing. Spending his earliest years in a home with limited resources made a young Saraceni get creative during playtime, often fashioning toys out of materials around him.
Saraceni sought a change of pace growing up in Benito Mussolini’s fascist rule, applying for a special visa for industrialists, citing his ability to make radios. He recalled arriving in the United States by the mid-1960s, working on his inventions by day and helping the U.S. Navy advance its space efforts by night in Philadelphia.
His inventions tried to mix art and play, focusing on how people reacted to music and light.
“It’s innate in us to harmonize with the environment, especially for love and peace,” Saraceni told The Inquirer in December.
One of his creations was a musical daisy cushion that responded to pressure. A different note would play when someone sat on a petal. His most memorable invention used a similar concept: a giant piano, spanning several feet that could be played with a tap of the foot.
By the 1980s Saraceni had a working relationship with the legendary toy store FAO Schwarz, which sold several of his toy inventions. News reports of the time said Anne Spielberg, a screenwriter for “Big,” saw the piano in the store’s showroom and worked it in the film.
The piano would be one of the most memorable part of the film in an iconic sequence where star Tom Hanks and Robert Loggia toe-tap “Heart and Soul” and “Chopsticks” before a group of children and parents.
Though Saraceni would describe having a fruitful relationship with the toy company — the company would keep a Big Piano in its store through 2015 — both their fortunes would take a turn in 2016. An equity-backed firm bought the brand as it struggled to compete with discount retailers and Saraceni would go on to feel cut out as the new FAO Schwarz owner began selling its own version of the giant piano.
Saraceni dreamed of returning to his native Italy but he was embroiled in a yearslong trademark infringement battle over his most beloved creation that left him with little to his name. He reported being thousands in debt from legal bills and credit card debt as he launched a GoFundMe that met a fraction of its goal.
In addition to his two sons who live in Italy, Saraceni is survived by two grandchildren.
Memorial services are still being figured out, said Medaugh.
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