Renato Rascel; Italian Singer, Actor

Renato Rascel, 78, the Italian entertainer who achieved worldwide fame with his 1960 ballad “Arrivederci, Roma.” Born in Turin, he grew up in Rome and considered the Italian capital his home. He began performing as a clown, sang in the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel Choir, worked as a stand-up comic and acted in films. In 1956, Rascel delighted a Los Angeles audience during a benefit performance at the Wilshire Ebel Theater for the Santa Ana Foundation for Children. In Rome on Wednesday after a long illness.