Jaime Gil da Costa (29 July 1957 – 3 December 2023), known variously as Gil Brother, Brother Away, Away de Petrópolis, Away Nilzer or simply as Away, was a Brazilian actor, humourist, dancer and

YouTuber A YouTuber is a content creator and social media influencer who uploads or creates videos on the online video-sharing website YouTube, typically posting to their personal YouTube channel. The term was first used in the English language in 2006 ...

. Known for his quirky, no-nonsense demeanour, acerbic sense of humour, and frequent reliance on

foul language Profanity, also known as swearing, cursing, or cussing, is the usage of notionally offensive words for a variety of purposes, including to demonstrate disrespect or negativity, to relieve pain, to express a strong emotion (such as anger, ex ...

and

malapropism A malapropism (; also called a malaprop, acyrologia or Dogberryism) is the incorrect use of a word in place of a word with a similar sound, either unintentionally or for comedic effect, resulting in a nonsensical, often humorous utterance. An exam ...

s, he reached fame during his stint as a member 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 Hermes & Renato, known as Banana Mecânica from 2010 to 2013 due to trademark issues with MTV Brasil, is a Brazilian comedy troupe formed in Petrópolis, Rio de Janeiro in 1999 (and based in São Paulo as of 2002) by childhood friends Marco Antô ...

from 2002 to 2008, gaining further proeminence in the early 2010s after joining

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

Life and career

Jaime Gil da Costa 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 ...

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

on 29 July 1957, to

machinist A machinist is a tradesperson or trained professional who operates machine tools, and has the ability to set up tools such as milling machines, grinders, lathes, and drilling machines. A competent machinist will generally have a strong mechan ...

Augusto Carneiro da Costa and housewife Vânia Maria Pacheco Costa. Raised in poverty from childhood, he had to work to make ends meet – initially selling sweets made by his mother in the streets, and later as a '' flanelinha''. By 1985, Gil had acquired a passion for dancing; he was inspired by

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

and

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...

artists such as

Little Richard Richard Wayne Penniman (December 5, 1932 – May 9, 2020), known professionally as Little Richard, was an American singer, pianist, and songwriter. He was an influential figure in popular music and culture for seven decades. Described as the "Ar ...

and

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, musician, and record producer. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th-century music, he is referred to by Honorific nick ...

which he grew up listening to, and he began performing in commercial spaces and

bus station A bus station, bus depot, or bus interchange is a structure where city buses or intercity buses stop to pick up and drop off passengers. A bus station is larger than a bus stop, which is usually simply a place on the roadside, where buses can st ...

s for money. He frequently clashed with the police and ended up being arrested multiple times. Due to his tendency to get into brawls, he suffered a

retinal detachment Retinal detachment is a condition where the retina pulls away from the tissue underneath it. It may start in a small area, but without quick treatment, it can spread across the entire retina, leading to serious vision loss and possibly blindness. ...

in his left eye which made it blind. It was around this time when he received his nickname "Brother Away", because of his typical shouts of "Away!" as he danced. Later, he turned this into his catchphrase. In 2002, the

, which Gil had long been acquainted with, invited him to be a member. Initially, he played one-time characters for their sketches, the most memorable of them being the lawyer "Dr. Gilmar" for their parodic ''

telenovela A telenovela is a type of a television serial drama or soap opera produced primarily in Latin America. The word combines ''tele'' (for "television") and ''novela'' (meaning "novel"). Similar Drama (film and television), drama genres around the w ...

'' ''Sinhá Boça'', until he began hosting his own, such as the fan-favorite "Cozinha do Away". He abruptly cut ties with the troupe in 2008 citing creative differences as well as contractual and payment issues; according to Gil, he was being underpaid, and compared his tenure with the troupe to "

slave labor Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

". He also ended up suing them, but the lawsuit did not move forward. His allegations would later be rebutted by Hermes & Renato (then called "Banana Mecânica") in 2011. After eventually making amends, Gil later appeared in many runs of the troupe's theatre play ''Uma Tentativa de Show'' beginning in 2019. Following his experience with Hermes & Renato, Gil announced he no longer intended to appear in media, but in 2011 the video production company Jigsaw Produções invited him to open his own

channel, the "Canal Away". Jigsaw ended their contract with Gil in 2013 and deleted his channel, alleging he failed to fulfill certain obligations and explaining their reasoning in an over 30-minute YouTube video. In 2015, Gil opened a new channel on his own, with the aid of his family. Gil made his debut as a film actor in 2014, playing a beggar in the

parody film A parody film or spoof film is a subgenre of comedy film that lampoons other film genres or films as pastiches, works created by imitation of the style of many different films reassembled together. Although the subgenre is often overlooked by cri ...

Copa de Elite ''Copa de Elite'' (, parodying the title of the 2007 film ''Tropa de Elite'') is a 2014 Brazilian parody film released on April 17, 2014, directed by Victor Brandt, produced by GLAZ and distributed by 20th Century Fox. It stars humorists Marcos V ...

''. In 2018, he made a guest appearance in the

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

for the song "Rodei o Mundo" by the rock band Strike. In 2020, he narrated a

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese ch ...

commercial promoting their new McShakes.

Stroke, final months and death

On 30 May 2023, it was reported that a week prior, on 23 May, Gil had suffered a

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

following an accidental fall in which he hit his head, being rushed to an ICU; his family members set up a crowdfunding page for his medical expenses. Gil's nephew William Passos stated that, according to his doctors, he was recovering well but would probably suffer from after-effects; he lost flexibility of his left arm and leg, but it was, as of yet, unknown if the after-effects would be permanent. On 18 June, Passos announced that his uncle had left the ICU and was transferred to a bedroom at the Hospital Clínico de Corrêas in Petrópolis; he was discharged shortly after. In October 2023, following another hospital stay due to a case of pneumonia, he was diagnosed with prostate and bladder cancer, eventually dying while undergoing treatment at the Hospital Eduardo Rabello in Senador Vasconcelos, West Zone of Rio de Janeiro, on 3 December 2023, at the age of 66; he was buried two days later at the Cemitério de Santo Aleixo in

Magé Magé () is a List of municipalities in Rio de Janeiro, municipality located in the States of Brazil, Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro (state), Rio de Janeiro. ''Magepe-Mirim'' () was established in 1566 by Portuguese colonists. It is considered ...

, where he was living with his nephew during his final years. Former President of Brazil

Jair Bolsonaro Jair Messias Bolsonaro (; born 21 March 1955) is a Brazilian politician and former military officer who served as the 38th president of Brazil from 2019 to 2023. He previously served as a member of Brazil's Chamber of Deputies (Brazil), Chamb ...

posted his condolences on X, calling Gil a "true legend of Brazilian humour", and his former Hermes & Renato colleagues used their respective social media profiles to pay tribute to him.

References

External links

Gil Brother's channel
on

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gil Brother 1957 births 2023 deaths Brazilian male film actors Brazilian male television actors 21st-century Brazilian male actors Brazilian male dancers Brazilian humorists Brazilian YouTubers YouTube channels launched in 2015 Afro-Brazilian male actors Male actors from Petrópolis Deaths from prostate cancer in Brazil Deaths from bladder cancer Deaths from cancer in Rio de Janeiro (state) Brazilian male comedians Comedians from Rio de Janeiro (state) Brazilian sketch comedians Internet memes introduced from Brazil