Robert "Belvedere" Mascara (6 April 1972) is a Television Floor Manager, 1st Assistant Director, event co-ordinator and personality.
Of Italian descent, Mascara was born in Melbourne and began his career in December 1989 at the Nine Network where he was a working as a production assistant on Carols By Candlelight at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl then in January 1990 moved onto Wide World of Sports. That same month he was offered a full-time position with Network Ten and began working on shows such as Neighbours, The Comedy Company, Blind Date with Greg Evans, Col'n Carpenter and Let The Blood Run Free.
In January 1992 he started working on 'The Morning Show' which was later re-named Good Morning Australia with Bert Newton (GMA). As well as being the Floor Manager, host Bert Newton decided to utilise Mascara as his sidekick and "taste-tester" for the recipes made on the show by the guest chefs. Mascara was nicknamed "Belvedere" which was taken from the Warner Brothers Looney Tunes cartoon where there was a lovable character dog named Belvedere. After tasting the dish, he would recite a humorous limerick which was the tag to each cooking segment. His antics generated a cult following and made him a very popular cast member on GMA and he even did weekly public appearances. Mascara also worked on New Faces with Bert which was aired on Ten in 1992/93. Music Director John Foreman also worked on both programs. He also worked on the 1993 Logie Awards which was hosted by Bert. Mascara was the Senior Floor Manager at Ten in Melbourne and worked on various shows for the network. Robert appeared in Bert's 'This Is Your Life' and Bert's 70th Birthday Surprise Special both for the Nine Network.
At the beginning of 2004, the network decided to revamp GMA with a new executive producer, a new set and a changed format. New segments were introduced, popular regulars were sacked and Belvedere's limerick was dropped. Belvedere was then given his own 'street talk' segment and Bert also decided to feature him in the 'opening gag' at the beginning of the show. Some of these drastic changes alienated many of the viewers. Bert was even told not to wear a tie.
In December 2005, Good Morning Australia finished production after more than 3200 episodes, running successfully for 14 years. Mascara and Newton were with GMA for its entire run. Newton then defected and returned to the Nine Network. 2006 saw Ten launch their new daytime line-up including GMA's replacement "9am with David & Kim". Mascara left TEN in February 2007 to go Freelance. He was with Network Ten for 17 years.
Robert is also an ambassador for The Mirabel Foundation who assist children who have been orphaned or abandoned due to parental illicit drug use and are now in care of extended family (kinship care). Other ambassadors include Dr. Patch Adams, Jimmy Barnes, Rachel Griffiths, Hazel Hawke, Ella Hooper, Rebecca Barnard, Rob Hirst, Ben Mendelsohn, Liz Mullinar, Raimond Giata, Rhys Wakefield, Mikey Robins, Tim Watson and Jennifer Keyte. Robert also helps co-ordinate the annual 'Music, Mirth & Mayhem' comedy night at the Hi Fi Bar which raises money for The Mirabel Foundation and the event is a highlight of The Melbourne International Comedy Festival in April each year. The event has been running for over 12 years. www.mirabelfoundation.org.au
He currently works as a Freelance Floor Manager and has worked on shows such as Neighbours, Thank God You're Here, The Panel, Rove, Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader?, Iron Chef Australia, Beat The Star, Ben Elton's Live From Planet Earth, and currently works on Australia's Got Talent, Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation, RocKwiz, Project Runway Australia, Undercover Boss Australia, Ten News, I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here! (UK TV SERIES), ABC3, Good Friday Appeal, Moomba & Christmas annual parades, Australian Open Tennis, AFL for Ten/ONE HD & Fox Sports, Marngrook Footy Show on ABC2, Cricket, A League, Golf, NBL, Netball, Rugby Union Super 15's, TV Specials, TV Pilots and many Corporate Events and launches for 'Trumpet Events' as an Event Co-ordinator.