Dino Spumoni is a fictional character in the Hey Arnold! TV series.
Biography
Dino is a big band swing singer of Italian-American heritage whose career, manner, and persona are loosely based on a combination of Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra. He is often presented as a has-been whose career is largely behind him because of his attempts to latch onto a trend, as opposed to honing his act (case in point, the rap-flavored "Tripping with Dino" which alienated old fans and won no new ones).
Spumoni is said to have been married and divorced five times (with the most recent marriage being to beautician Candy Maldonado); Spumoni especially despises his second wife (whom he cuts from his will).
In the episode "Dino Checks Out," Spumoni, out of desperation, fakes his own death in order to gain more popularity by jumping off his yacht, hoping to experience a massive rise of post mortem popularity which was experienced by other recording artists (for example: Buddy Holly, Elvis Presley, and Tupac Shakur). Spumoni makes Arnold the sole recipient of all future album sales, and moves back into the boarding house to hide. The rest of the boarders merely assume that Dino is a ghost. Ultimately, Arnold, and jealousy over a Dino impersonator (a spoof of the many Elvis impersonators), convince Spumoni to abandon his plan — and confirm that he has faked his own death —. The first to forgive him was Don Reynolds. His most famous song appears to have been "Better Not Touch My Gal."
When Arnold volunteers to hire entertainment for the school dance at P.S. 118, he requests Spumoni. Initially, Spumoni initially rejects Arnold's plea, as he is playing another gig that night, but he agrees after his performance is cancelled. When Spumoni gets to the dance, he plays sad, depressing songs, and the students have no fun and hate the music. Arnold talks to Dino and convinces him that he is not washed up and people still like his old music. Dino then plays up-tempo happy music for the remainder of the dance, and the students have a great time.
Back in his early days, Spumoni stayed at the Sunset Arms[1]. As seen in the episodes in which he appears, Dino appears to be good friends with Arnold.
Trivia
- Among his possessions, Dino owns a copy of I, the Jury by Mickey Spillane.
- Dino's name might be a reference to "dinosaur" being a slang term for a washed-up person.
- Dino's name bears signifigant similarity to real-life lounge artist Dion DiMucci and singer-songwriter Dino Valenti.
- Craig has jokingly called him a "low rent Sinatra".
- His (presumed) daughter Nancy Spumoni is an obvious reference to Nancy Sinatra (Who was the daughter of Frank Sinatra).
Appears in
- 4b.The Old Building
- 26b. Partners
- 57b. School Dance
- 79. Dino Checks Out
- Hey Arnold! The Jungle Movie