Fausto Fanti Jasmin (October 20, 1978 – July 30, 2014) was a Brazilian actor, humorist and musician. He was one of the founding members of the

comedy troupe A comedy troupe is a group of comedians and associated Employment, personnel who work together to perform comedy as entertainment. The term is often used interchangeably with comedy group, and the troupe may specialize in a specific comedic genr ...

Hermes & Renato (portraying its titular "Renato") and the original guitarist of

parodic A parody is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satire, satirical or irony, ironic imitation. Often its subject is an Originality, original work or some aspect of it (theme/content, author, style, e ...

heavy metal band

Massacration Massacration is a fictional American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band created by Brazilian humorists and musicians Bruno Sutter (singer), Bruno Sutter (as vocalist Detonator), Fausto Fanti (as lead guitarist Blondie Hammett), Marco Antônio A ...

under the alias Blondie Hammett.

Biography

Fanti was born in

Petrópolis Petrópolis (), also known as the Imperial City, is a municipality in the Southeast Region of Brazil. It is located in the state of Rio de Janeiro, northeast of the city of Rio de Janeiro. According to the 2022 Brazilian census, Petrópolis mun ...

on October 20, 1978. In 1999 he founded Hermes & Renato alongside his friends Marco Antônio Alves, Adriano Silva, Felipe Torres and Bruno Sutter; he briefly attended an

advertising Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a Product (business), product or Service (economics), service. Advertising aims to present a product or service in terms of utility, advantages, and qualities of int ...

course in college before asking for a leave of absence to dedicate himself solely to Hermes & Renato. Known for their

off-color humor Off-color humor (also known as vulgar humor, crude humor, or shock humor) is humor that deals with topics that may be considered to be in poor taste or vulgar. Many comedic genres (including jokes, prose, poems, black comedy, blue comedy, insul ...

, frequently reliant on pop culture references, they amassed a strong

cult following A cult following is a group of fans who are highly dedicated to a person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The latter is often called a cult classic. A film, boo ...

throughout the late 1990s/early to mid-2000s during their tenure on

MTV Brasil MTV Brasil was a Brazilian over-the-air television network owned by Grupo Abril focused on the youth and entertainment. The network was launched on 20 October 1990, as the first specialty television network to broadcast over-the-air, becoming ...

. Considered by his peers the group's "leader" and "intellectual mentor", Fanti portrayed some of its most well-known characters, such as the titular "Renato", "Gozo the Clown" (a parody of Bozo), "Padre Gato" ("Hot

Priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

") and "Blondie Hammett", the guitarist of

comedy Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...

band

; he also served as one of Massacration's main lyricists/composers alongside Bruno Sutter. Hermes & Renato briefly changed its name to "''Banana Mecânica''" from 2010 to 2013 after leaving MTV to join Record, recovering the former name after returning to MTV, where they stayed until the channel ceased its activities. Throughout most of his life Fausto suffered from bouts of depression; his brother Franco Fanti would elaborate that, during his final years, he was "obsessive", "on the verge of

paranoia Paranoia is an instinct or thought process that is believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety, suspicion, or fear, often to the point of delusion and irrationality. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of co ...

and not taking any

antidepressant Antidepressants are a class of medications used to treat major depressive disorder, anxiety disorders, chronic pain, and addiction. Common side effects of antidepressants include Xerostomia, dry mouth, weight gain, dizziness, headaches, akathi ...

s". According to statements by his acquaintances, his mental health was also further negatively affected following his separation from his wife, Karla Peixoto Sento Sé, in early 2014, with whom he had a daughter, Nina (8 years old at the time of his death); they married in 1997. On July 30, 2014, he was found dead on his bathroom at his apartment in the ''

bairro A ''bairro'' () is a Portuguese language, Portuguese word for a Quarter (urban subdivision), quarter or a neighborhood or, sometimes, a district which is within a city or town. It is commonly used in Portugal, Brazil, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau, ...

'' of Perdizes, West Zone of

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

, with a belt around his neck, by his wife and two of his Hermes & Renato colleagues, Adriano Silva and Marco Antônio Alves; the attorney investigating the case stated that, "without a doubt", it was a suicide. In a statement to news portal R7.com, a close friend of Fanti's who asked to remain anonymous would compare his death to the case of

Charlie Brown Jr. Charles or Charlie Brown may refer to: People Arts and entertainment Music * Charlie Brown (singer) (born 1986), British singer * Charlie Brown (born 1970), American rapper and member of Leaders of the New School * Charles Brown (musician) (1922� ...

vocalist

Chorão Alexandre Magno Abrão (April 9, 1970 – March 6, 2013), known professionally as Chorão, was a Brazilian singer-songwriter, skateboarder, filmmaker, screenwriter and businessman. Best known for being a founding member and the vocalist/main ly ...

, who also sunk into depression following his separation from his companion and had died following a cocaine overdose the year prior. His wake was held at the Cemitério do Araçá, and his body was later taken to be buried at his hometown of Petrópolis. Franco eventually replaced Fausto on Hermes & Renato when it went to FX in 2015; in 2019 he stated that he himself had been diagnosed with

bipolar II disorder Bipolar II disorder (BP-II) is a mood disorder on the bipolar spectrum, characterized by at least one episode of hypomania and at least one episode of major depression. Diagnosis for BP-II requires that the individual must never have experienc ...

, and began using his social media to chronicle his struggles with mental illness.

Discography

;

* 2005 – ''

Gates of Metal Fried Chicken of Death ''Gates of Metal Fried Chicken of Death'' is the debut studio album by Massacration, a fictional Heavy metal music, heavy metal band originally conceived for sketches by the Brazilian comedy troupe Hermes & Renato. Announced in July 2005 under the ...

'' * 2009 – '' Good Blood Headbanguers''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fanti, Fausto 1978 births 2014 deaths 2014 suicides Brazilian humorists Brazilian parodists Brazilian male television actors 20th-century Brazilian male actors 21st-century Brazilian male actors Brazilian male guitarists Rhythm guitarists Brazilian heavy metal guitarists Brazilian heavy metal musicians Male actors from Petrópolis Suicides by hanging in Brazil Brazilian male comedians Comedians from Rio de Janeiro (state) Brazilian sketch comedians