Gino Cioffi was born in Naples, Italy in 1913 of a musical family.  Cioffi studied clarinet at the Naples Conservatory with Piccione and Carpio.  Cioffi graduated from the Conservatory in 1930.  (note: was Gino Gioffi related to " Signor Ciofi " Principal violin of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra two generations previously?)  Gino Cioffi arrived in the U.S. in 1937, playing first with the orchestra of the New York Radio City Music Hall.  Cioffi then played with the Pittsburgh Symphony until the end of the 1941-1942 season.  Cioffi then went to the Cleveland Orchestra as Principal clarinet for two seasons 1942-1944.  Over the next six seasons, Gino Cioffi was at the Metropolitan Opera, and briefly for the New York Philharmonic.  Then, Gino Cioffi became Principal clarinet of the Boston Symphony in the 1950-1951 season under Charles Munch.  Gino Cioffi was always a colorful personality.  It is said that during his audition with Charles Munch in 1950, he played beautifully the excerpt from Daphnis et Chloé.  The story is that Cioffi than said "Pretty good, pretty good, huh? D'ya wanta to hear something else?"  According to the story, Munch immediately hired Cioffi, saying "Anyone with that much confidence we have to have in the orchestra."  Cioffi typically played on an adapted Selmer clarinet 59 a Crystal mouthpiece.  An irreverent story told more than once about Cioffi is that he would frequently say "...When I'ma play good, its a justa like Jesus Christ.  When I'ma play bad, its still better than anybody else!" 59 Gino Cioffi remained Boston Symphony Principal clarinet for 21 seasons, retiring (or in fact, being asked to retire) at the end of the 1969-1970 season.  He may have been retired both because of being at retirement age, and due to cardiac problems (he had gained considerable weight in later years).  A story told by Gino Cioffi student and clarinet scholar Sherman Friedland 119 shows Gino Cioffi in his later years still to be a distinctive personality.  Cioffi just after his dismissal was walking with BSO Bass clarinet Felix 'Phil' Viscuglia, and every few steps, Cioffi would "...stop and say to Phil, "hey what I did?, What I did?..." Gino Cioffi lived in suburban Boston until after 2001.