Guilherme Pontes Karam (8 October 1957 – 7 July 2016), best known as Guilherme Karan, was a Brazilian actor.

Biography

He was son of the admiral and Minister of the Navy in the

João Figueiredo João Baptista de Oliveira Figueiredo (; 15 January 1918 – 24 December 1999) was a Brazilian military officer and dictator who served as the 30th president of Brazil from 1979 to 1985, the last of the Military dictatorship in Brazil, militar ...

government

Alfredo Karam Alfredo Karam (28 March 1925 – 6 September 2024) was a Brazilian military officer and politician. He served as Commander of the Brazilian Navy from 1984 to 1985. He was also the father of the late actor Guilherme Karan. Karam died in Rio de ...

and Lydiane Pontes Karam. Most of his work is comic, and was once a member of the Brazilian ''

TV Pirata ''TV Pirata'' (Pirate TV) was a weekly Brazilian comedy show aired on Rede Globo between 1988 and 1990, being re-aired monthly in 1992. Some of the writers later went on to form the comedy troupe Casseta & Planeta. The show was first aired in Ap ...

comedy show Stand-up comedy is a performance directed to a live audience, where the performer stands on a stage and delivers humorous and satirical monologues sometimes incorporating physical acts. These performances are typically composed of rehearse ...

, one of the greatest hits of humor, screened by Globo TV. His most prominent work on TV is Butler Porfírio in

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 ...

Meu Bem, Meu Mal Meu Bem, Meu Mal (''My Good, My Evil'' in English) is a Brazilian telenovela produced and broadcast at 8:00pm by TV Globo, October 29, 1990 to May 18, 1991, in 173 episodes. Plot Lázaro Venturini, majority shareholder of Venturini Designers, ...

''.

Disease

On 29 April 2005, he was robbed in a

taxi A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a Driving, driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of thei ...

, with his purse stolen. Karam physically suffered nothing, but the taxi driver was killed by reacting. Apparently, since the time of the assault Karam began to manifest symptoms of Machado-Joseph disease, a degenerative syndrome, also known as spinocerebellar ataxia type 3, which compromises motor coordination and control over muscles. Forced to switch to a wheelchair to get around, he has since stayed away from the stage and television. According to his father, Alfredo Karam, who gave statements to the Rio newspaper ''

Extra Extra, Xtra, or The Extra may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Film * The Extra (1962 film), ''The Extra'' (1962 film), a Mexican film * The Extra (2005 film), ''The Extra'' (2005 film), an Australian film Literature * Extra (newspaper), ...

'', he inherited the illness of his mother, who died due to this same genetic anomaly. The other three brothers of the actor have already presented the disease - two already died.

Death

The actor died on 7 July 2016, at the

Naval Hospital Marcílio Dias The Naval Hospital Marcílio Dias (HNMD) is a Military Organization of the Brazilian Navy located in the city of Rio de Janeiro, in the Lins de Vasconcelos neighborhood. Its name pays homage to , hero of the Paraguayan War. It is the Brazilian Nav ...

, as a result of the Machado-Joseph syndrome. His body was buried in

Cemitério de São João Batista The Cemitério de São João Batista () is a municipal necropolis originally owned and operated by the ''Santa Casa da Misericórdia do Rio de Janeiro'' (Holy House of Mercy of Rio de Janeiro), and run, since August 2014, by the private company Ri ...

.Miguel Falabella se despede de Guilherme Karam: "Atravessei uma tormenta sob seu abrigo". Falabella lembrou de quando passou dificuldades financeiras e Karam levava comida para ele
Revista Caras

Works

Film

Television

*1984: ''

Partido Alto Partido Alto refers to a type of samba with a number of particularities. In the world of samba subgenres and in samba reunions, partido alto songs (informally called ''partidos'') can represent a time for improvisation and (humorous or not) dispu ...

'' - Políbio *1986: ''Tudo ou Nada'' (

Manchete Rede Manchete (; lit.: Headline Network; also known as TV Manchete or only Manchete) was a Brazilian television network that was founded in Rio de Janeiro on 5 June 1983 by the Ukrainian-Brazilian journalist and businessman Adolpho Bloch. The ...

) - Jorjão *1986: ''Dona Beija'' (

) - Hans Fucker *1987: ''Alta Estação'' - Renato *1988: ''Carmem'' ( TV Manchete) - Trajano Paulo *1988-1990 ''

'' - Various Characters *1990: ''

'' - Porfírio *1992: ''

Perigosas Peruas ''Perigosas Peruas'' is a Brazilian telenovela that was aired on TV Globo from February 10 to August 28, 1992 at 7:00 p.m. It ran for 173 episodes. It replaced '' Vamp'' and was followed by ''Deus Nos Acuda''. It was written by Carlos Lombardi, ...

'' - Hector *1995: ''Engraçadinha, seus amores e seus pecados'' - Ib Teixeira *1995: ''

Explode Coração ''Explode Coração'' is a Brazilian telenovela produced by TV Globo. The series aired between 6 November 1995 and 4 May 1996, with a total of 155 episodes. It was written entirely by Glória Perez and directed by Ary Coslov, Gracie, and Carlos ...

'' - Bebeto "A Jato" *1998: ''

Hilda Furacão ''Hilda Furacão'' (English: ''Hilda'' ''Hurricane'') is a Brazilian miniseries produced by TV Globo which originally aired from May 27 to July 23 of 1998, with a total of 32 episodes. The miniseries took the time slot of ''Dona Flor e Seus Dois ...

'' - João Dindim *1998: ''Pecado Capital'' - Jurandir *2001: ''

O Clone ''O Clone'' (English: ''The Clone'') is a Brazilian telenovela created by Glória Perez and directed by Jayme Monjardim. Produced and aired by Rede Globo, it was aired from 1 October 2001 to 13 June 2002, with 221 episodes. It also was an intern ...

'' - Raposão *2003: ''

Sítio do Picapau Amarelo Sítio do Picapau Amarelo may refer to: Literature * ''Sítio do Picapau Amarelo'' (novel series), a novel series by Monteiro Lobato * Sítio do Picapau Amarelo (fictional farm), the primary setting for the novel series Television * ''Sítio do ...

'' - Anibal *2005: '' América'' - Geraldito (final appearance)

References

External links

** {{DEFAULTSORT:Karan, Guilherme 1957 births 2016 deaths Deaths from neurodegenerative disease Neurological disease deaths in Rio de Janeiro (state) Male actors from Rio de Janeiro (city) Brazilian male television actors Brazilian male telenovela actors Brazilian male film actors Brazilian male stage actors Brazilian people of Lebanese descent 20th-century Brazilian male actors 21st-century Brazilian male actors