Mario’s Namesake, Mario Segale, Passes Away

Mario Segale, the namesake for Nintendo’s iconic character Mario and successful American businessman, passed away on October 27th at 84-years-old.

Segale rented a Tukwila warehouse to Nintendo of America in 1981, the year Donkey Kong was released. This was the first game that “Jumpman,” soon to be known as Mario, debuted in. Nintendo eventually immortalized the businessman by changing Jumpman’s name to Mario, creating the main character of the best-selling video game series of all time. 

Segale was reserved about his connection to the Mario series. He avoided the subject for the past three decades in fear it would affect his business endeavors. While reserved about the subject, Segale stated in a 1993 interview with The Seattle Times that “You might say I’m still waiting for my royalty checks.”

According to his obituary, Segale enjoyed fishing, hunting, a good joke, and his airplane.