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Newspaper Reviews
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Caio, Sheltonne …
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Shelton Bellew (ABJ ’95) takes a break from the tourist industry to try his
luck on an Italian game show
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By Erin O’Donnell
"Come on down!" Shelton Bellew (ABJ ’95) jumped out of his seat when he heard this familiar phrase
from America’s longest running television game show, "The Price is Right." But Bellew didn’t hear
it from announcer Rod Roddy, he didn’t shake the hand of host Bob Barker, and he wasn’t escorted
off-stage by a Barker Beauty. In fact, Bellew wasn’t even in California. He was in his adopted
country of Italy, and his game show host was the lovely Maria Teresa Ruta.
Bellew was a contestant for "OK, Il Prezzo è Giusto," the Italian version of the famous game show.
He and two Italian friends were part of the studio audience for the show that aired on Italian channel
Media 4 Oct. 23. Bellew and his friend Francesco were chosen to appear in two different tapings of
the show. Bellew fared better than Francesco by advancing to the final round – with some helpful
hints from the host.
When the cameras were off, Maria Teresa discretely lowered her microphone and gave Bellew the answers
he needed. "She obviously had the answers written on her hand-held cue cards and had decided to help
me reach the final," he said. "[If] you watch the game show, you will see that I only [missed] the
guessing price of one item." Bellew’s luck ended with the spinning of the Price is Right wheel. Even
with the crowd yelling, "Sheltonne, Sheltonne, Sheltonne!" in thick Italian accents, his score of 70
was not enough to beat a sore of 90, spun by a woman from the city of Pisa.
"I was escorted off the set by the arm of a…showgirl after having received superficial and rehearsed
consolation by the game show host," he said. The show’s producers promised that the prizes he won-a
glass patio table, a juicer, table linens, a wall clock and a mahogany poker card set-would arrive at
his home within a "painstaking six months." Bellew and his friends plan to try their luck on other game
shows in the future.
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"I was escorted off the set by the arm of a…showgirl after having received superficial
and rehearsed consolation by the game show host."
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- Shelton Bellew
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Bellew lives and works in the city of Firenze, known in English as Florence, where he runs the European
branch of his family’s travel business, Bellew’s Tours. The brainchild of Bellew and his mother, Bellew’s
Tours provides audio-guided tours of Rome, Venice, Florence and Siena, as well as his game show
competitor’s home of Pisa. His parents run the U.S. office of Bellew’s Tours in Marietta, Ga. "You
could say we are a good example of the New Economy," Bellew said. "We are able to maintain regular
communication via telephone and Web thanks to cheaper communication [which] is very vital…when drafting
travel guides and working on legal aspects."
The inspiration for the travel company came from his experience as an American tourist. "I decided to create
these [tours] when I realized there was nothing available to help tourists who wanted an overview of
Tuscany at their own pace and in their own time, " Bellew said. "When the stores are closed on Sundays
or during after-work hours, there are no easily accessible guides. During the hot Mediterranean days,
walking is more comfortable in the cool night breezes, but all the tour guides are home. I realized
that when everything is closed, there should always be a friendly someone available to help the tourist."
To address this need, Bellew created The Cicerone, a fictitious guide who directs tourists via audiocassettes
to interesting sites while informing them of the city’s heritage and antiquities. Bellew created the
image for The Cicerone, who carries a grapevine walking stick-in the manner of Saint Christopher, the
patron saint of travelers-and wears pilgrim seashell necklace that can be used as a tool or eating utensil.
The two represent "the fruits and treasures of the land with the sea" and also the spirit of adventure of
the modern traveler. The mythical guide is based on the historical figure Cicero and comes from the Italian
word cicerone, which is a description for a person who eloquently shares knowledge to others.
"The Cicerone audiocassettes allow people to visit a city on their own without having to make
reservations [and] without the fear of language barriers. Using the…audio guides, a tourist is not
obligated to march around a city behind an umbrella-toting tour guide," he said.
Bellew knows what it’s like to deal with language barriers. When he first arrived in Italy he spoke
only Spanish, which he found to be remarkably similar to Italian. When he met someone who could not
speak English, he discovered that " a lot of hand gestures and speaking Spanish worked well as a
substitute."
In the future, Bellew hopes The Cicerone will venture into cities in Spain, France and England. He
is also working to make the tours available via cell phones and Internet cafés to eliminate the need
for portable tape players.
Before moving to Italy, Bellew interned with The Coca-Cola Company in Santiago, Chile, and later worked
for Manning, Selvage & Lee, a public relations firm in Atlanta. He has no immediate plans to return to
the United States, but looks forward to expanding The Cicerone’s adventures in other countries. His last
visit to Athens was in November, when he made sure to enjoy a delicacy that cannot be found in all of
Italy: a chocolate malt from The Grill.
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