Popular Italian quiz master Mike Bongiorno, who died of a heart attack yesterday, aged 85, was a hard act to follow and presented a dichotomy for local broadcasters: while building on his inspiration they also strove to steer away from his influence to try and produce something original.
Mike Bongiorno, an institution in the Italian broadcasting scene, was an inspiration they tried not to emulate; a brand that influenced them but encouraged them to be innovative.
One of the first high-profile presenters to defect from Rai to privately-owned Canale 5, he will also be remembered for his trademark Allegria! at the start of his shows.
His sudden death in Monte Carlo left a mark, one that could possibly serve to revive the tradition of quizzes on local TV, augured broadcaster Charles Xuereb.
"Every schedule should have a couple and maybe the Bongiorno batten will be passed on," he said, explaining that quizzes, which attack the intellect, memory and knowledge, have been replaced by game shows that are a mere gamble.
The popular TV presenter's black and white, weekday, prime-time quizzes on Rai, which Mr Xuereb followed since childhood, were undoubtedly the inspiration for those in Malta.
In fact, his first quiz in 1976, Għal Fuq Xbin, was intended to be similar but retain an original structure and ideas. It was definitely difficult to match Mr Bongiorno's prizes, he recalls.
Formerly dubbed the "Mike Bongiorno of Malta", as SMSs from acquaintances yesterday reminded him, Mr Xuereb said it was a compliment on the one hand - "he was by far the best in Italy in his genre" - but on the other it made him strive to retain his own style.
"The tradition of quizzes was picked up from him but presenters attempted to invent something as remote as possible from what Bongiorno was doing while trying to produce the same level of drama and sense of competition that his did."
The Mike Bongiorno brand saw the presenter pushing the competitor almost aggressively, demanding a top performance, Mr Xuereb said. "It could make you nervous but it was all part of his game."
Although he admired him immensely, Mr Xuereb used to make it a point not to watch him while presenting his own quiz show in order to avoid picking up his mannerisms.
Charles Abela Mizzi, who has been in the industry since 1962, also admired Mr Bongiorno since the 1950s when he himself had not yet ventured into broadcasting.
"He started something new in Italian TV and the first quiz to reach us was Lascia o raddoppia every Thursday evening. The streets would literally be deserted as everyone rushed home to watch the programme," Mr Abela Mizzi recalled.
Mr Bongiorno had introduced the straightforward, no-frills quiz, based on a question and answer - stark and to the point, he said.
Memories of the presenter are still fresh in his mind and he remembers Mr Bongiorno had travelled to Italy from the US taking with him novel American ideas that he injected into Italian TV.
"I learnt a lot from him. While we had our own personalities, I tried to build on his programme style in my radio quiz," he said.
"One thing I admire but, at the same time, do not is that he remained a broadcaster until the end and did not leave when he was on the cusp of the wave. Due to his advanced age, he may have tarnished his image slightly because he obviously did not remain what he was. Nevertheless, the public still liked him," Mr Abela Mizzi said.
Josephine Zammit Cordina, who has worked in TV for 43 years, was most impressed by his constant smile. "Whether it was just on the outside, or also from inside, I do not know." But she tried to adopt it in her work.
And it was not just the smile that left an impact. "Bongiorno was also bravissimo!"