atgfx2019-05-06T10:29:19-04:00Fabio, the well-tressed hunk who rose to fame as the cover boy on bodice-ripper novels, yesterday came to court to defend his manly earnings. Testifying in a breach-of-contract lawsuit brought by his former manager, Rhonda Gainer, a New York marketing specialist, Fabio endured two hours on the witness stand in Manhattan Federal Court without breaking a sweat.
Gainer says the Fabster whose full name is Fabio Lanzoni and who is the son of a rich Italian conveyor-belt manufacturer wrongfully fired her in 1992, even after she brought him fame and 20 appearances on "Live With Regis and Kathie Lee" through her Cornell University-trained marketing savvy. As a result, she wants $6 million in cash. Magistrate Naomi Buchwald will decide the nonjury case. The man Cosmopolitan once dubbed the sexiest in the world wore a size 48, black leather jacket to answer questions about why he severed his ties to Gainer, who put together the Fabio calendar and claimed she thought up the idea of licensing his name. "There is no more trust there," he said in his Milanese accent, his blond-highlighted hair hanging loosely about his shoulders. Under cross-examination by Gainer's lawyer, Robert Hantman, Fabio acknowledged, "I wanted to become a quote-unquote celebrity," when he met Gainer, but said, "It doesn't happen overnight. It takes a long time and a lot of work.