Mario's real estate developer, Mario Segale, dies at 84

Arakawa was already under strong pressure to succeed, and Segale "blasted" him in front of everyone, Sheff wrote. Arakawa, angry, swore that Segale would soon get his money.

And as soon as he left, Sheff wrote, the team knew it was called "Mario!"

Mario had only a supporting role in Donkey Kongbut by the 1990s he had become the beloved mascot of Nintendo and the star of super Mario Bros., one of the most popular video game franchises to date. (He also changed profession, from carpentry to plumbing, when he had his own game.)

In a video released by Nintendo in 2015, game designer Shigeru Miyamoto confirmed from a simple nod that Segale had inspired Mario's name.

Mario Arnold Segale was born in Seattle on April 30, 1934, of Louis and Rina Segale. An online obituary describes him as the only child of Italian immigrant farmers.

He launched his company, Mr. A. Segale Inc., with a single dump truck, according to the obituary. He became a major construction contractor in the northwest. Segale also continued to buy land from his parents around Tukwila and set up a commercial park in the early 1970s.

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Segale sold the construction company in 1998 to focus on Segale Properties, the real estate business of the family. The company also owns commercial properties in Seattle and farmland, including a vineyard, in east Washington.

The family is reluctant to talk to the press. A 2010 Seattle weather An article on a mixed-use project predicted that Segale and his son, Mark, had not spoken to reporters since the 1990s. (The family did not speak with the Seattle weather for this article, and did not return calls from The New York Times Friday.)

Segale is survived by his wife, Donna, with whom he married in 1957; three girls, Lisa Atkins, Tina Covey and Nita Johnson; and nine grandchildren.

His obituary acknowledged that Segale had been inspired by the name of Super Mario, but that he had "always ducked fame and wanted to be known for what he had accomplished in his life".

He broke his silence in 1993, shortly after the publication of the story of Mario's name in Sheff's book. the Seattle weather Segale asked what he thought of using his name in a game that was so popular.

"You could say I'm still waiting for my royalty checks," he said.

New York Times