Less than four feet tall as a fully developed adult,[citation needed] Roventini was working as a bellboy at the New Yorker Hotel in 1933 when he was discovered by an advertising mogul, who had him perform a page, issuing a "Call for Philip Morris".

He also played roles in the growth of broadcast media, most notably helping Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz with the initial success of their innovative I Love Lucy comedy series beginning in 1951.

[1] The famous "Call for Philip Morris" advertising campaign predates Johnny Roventini's role and began during World War I.

The small bellboy repeatedly cried out "Call for Philip Morris" in his distinctive high-pitched voice, several times, not knowing that there was no such person.

Philip Morris Tobacco Company provided a small chauffeur-driven American Austin convertible automobile to take Roventini to the live radio broadcasts.

He shared a dinner table with General and Mrs. Dwight D. Eisenhower, clowned around with Red Skelton, sat ringside with fighter Jack Dempsey, and participated in numerous parades and other public events.

In 1951, in the early days of commercial broadcast television in the United States, the new comedy show ran into difficulties when it first sought sponsorship.

The tobacco company sponsored I Love Lucy exclusively from its premiere on October 15, 1951, through Christmas of 1954 (it then shifted to an "alternate sponsorship" with Procter & Gamble until June 1955).

[3] The show was enormously popular with the viewing public, and with Lucy and Desi, and sidekicks William Frawley and Vivian Vance (as neighbors Fred and Ethel Mertz), Johnny and Philip Morris gained into unprecedented national television prominence.

Johnny traveled from his home in New York to be with her at Desilu studios in Los Angeles, a gesture of support from both Roventini and her show's sponsor, Philip Morris, which she never forgot.

In 1959, NBC Radio aired a special half-hour program to celebrate the 25th anniversary of his career, describing him (with an apparent double entendre) as "an advertising giant".

[citation needed] "Johnny's fame as an advertising legend was enhanced by an ever-present smile and outstretched hand that won him friends wherever he went," Philip Morris eulogized.

[3] Johnny Roventini's original uniform (red usher's jacket, piped trousers, black pillbox hat and white gloves) was donated to the American Advertising Museum, which was located in Portland, Oregon, before closing in 2004.