Dolores Gonçalves Costa (23 June 1905 – 19 July 2008), known by her stage name Dercy Gonçalves, was a Brazilian actress, comedian and singer. In her 86-year-long career, she worked in the theater,

revue A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own dur ...

s, film, radio and television, becoming famous by her humorous use of vulgar language. In 1991, at the age of 85, she caused controversy by exposing her breasts while parading with a

Samba school A samba school ( pt, Escola de samba) is a dancing, marching, and drumming (Samba Enredo) club. They practice and often perform in a huge square- compounds ("quadras de samba") and are devoted to practicing and exhibiting samba, an Afro-Brazilian ...

in Rio de Janeiro's Carnaval. Dercy Gonçalves currently holds the record for the longest career as an actress with

Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

(86 years).

Biography

Dercy Gonçalves was biographed in 1994 by

Maria Adelaide Amaral Maria Adelaide Amaral (born 1 July 1942, in Alfena) is a Portuguese Brazilian playwright, screenwriter, and novelist. A good deal of her plays concern disaffected urban professionals. She has been classed as among the two major women playwrights ...

. The book was titled ''Dercy de Cabo a Rabo'' (a popular expression in Portuguese that means "from the beginning to the end", and in this particular case, "The complete Dercy"). Amaral also adapted her book into the 2012 miniseries ''Dercy de Verdade'' ("The true Dercy"). Dercy Gonçalves was portrayed by Luiza Périssé (teen), Heloísa Périssé (young) and Fafy Siqueira (older). She died on 19 July 2008 from

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severi ...

at the age of 103. She was buried in her birth town Santa Maria Madalena in Rio de Janeiro. Her mausoleum, designed by herself in 1991, has the shape of a glass

pyramid A pyramid (from el, πυραμίς ') is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge to a single step at the top, making the shape roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilat ...

. The conception is similar to

Louvre Pyramid The Louvre Pyramid (Pyramide du Louvre) is a large glass and metal structure designed by the Chinese-American architect I. M. Pei. The pyramid is in the main courtyard ( Cour Napoléon) of the Louvre Palace in Paris, surrounded by three small ...

Filmography

References

External links

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Dercy Gonçalves Turns 100
1907 births 2008 deaths Deaths from pneumonia in Rio de Janeiro (state) Brazilian centenarians People from Rio de Janeiro (state) Brazilian women comedians 20th-century comedians Women centenarians {{Brazil-actor-stub