Rubens de Falco da Costa (October 19, 1931 – February 22, 2008) was a Brazilian actor best known for his work in
telenovelas
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 ...
, specifically his portrayal as a slave owner in the 1976 telenovela, ''
Escrava Isaura'' (''The Slave Isaura'') and the 1986 telenovela ''
Sinhá Moça'' (''Little Missy'').
Career
De Falco was born in 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 ...
, Brazil
Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
on October 19, 1931. He began his acting career in the local theater
Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The performers may communi ...
. In 1955, he joined the group "''Os Jograis''", of São Paulo, and performed beside such actors as Ruy Afonso, Italo Rossi and Felipe Wagner. He made his cinema debut in 1952 in the film
A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...
'' Apassionata'', for the Companhia Cinematográfica Vera Cruz
Companhia Cinematográfica Vera Cruz was an important Brazilian film studio founded in 1949 and closed in 1954. Located in São Bernardo do Campo, it was created by the industrialists Franco Zampari and Francisco Matarazzo Sobrinho. The company ...
.
In television, he had prominent parts in telenovelas such as '' O Rei dos Ciganos'' (1967), '' A Rainha Louca'' (1967), '' O Passo dos Ventos'' (1968), ''Gabriela Gabriela may refer to:
* Gabriela (given name)
Gabriela is the Portuguese language, Portuguese, Spanish language, Spanish, Czech language, Czech, Slovak language, Slovak, Romanian language, Romanian, Latvian language, Latvian, Polish language, Po ...
'' (1975), '' O Grito'' (1975), '' Escrava Isaura'' (1976), '' Dona Xepa'' (1977), '' A Sucessora'' (1978) and '' Sinhá Moça'' (1986).
Perhaps his best-known work came in 1976, when he portrayed the cruel villain Leôncio Almeida, a powerful farm owner and ruthless slave owner in the telenovela '' Escrava Isaura''.[ De Falco's character, Leôncio Almeida, fell in love with one of his slaves, played by Brazilian actress Lucélia Santos.][
''Escrava Isaura'' was extremely well received globally and became a hit in ]Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...
, Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic connotations. Its eastern boundary is marked by the Ural Mountain ...
and Latin America
Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...
.[ ''Escrava Isaura'' was the first soap opera ever broadcast in ]Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
and the Soviet Union
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
and became the first television series
A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming plat ...
to air in China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
with foreign actors in the lead role.[ Rubens de Falco, who played Leôncio Almeida as one of his trademark villains, was called "the great villain of Brazilian television drama" by Lucélia Santos.][
He again portrayed a powerful farm owner and ruthless slave owner, the cruel villain Baron de Araruna in the 1986 telenovela, '' Sinhá Moça'' alongside Lucélia Santos who starred this time as his rebellious daughter.
De Falco's last television role was as Almeida in 2004 in the ]Rede Record
Record (stylized in uppercase; ), formerly known as Rede Record and RecordTV, is a Brazilian free-to-air television network. It is currently the second largest commercial TV station in Brazil, and the 28th largest in the 2012 world ranking. In ...
remake of '' A Escrava Isaura'',[ and his last film role was as Deputado Ernesto Alves in 2008 in ''Fim da Linha''.
]
Death
Rubens de Falco died on February 22, 2008, of heart failure
Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome caused by an impairment in the heart's ability to Cardiac cycle, fill with and pump blood.
Although symptoms vary based on which side of the heart is affected, HF ...
at the CIAI Center for the Aged in São Paulo, Brazil.
Filmography
On television
On film
Narration
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Falco, Rubens de
1931 births
2008 deaths
Brazilian male telenovela actors
Brazilian male stage actors
Brazilian male film actors
Brazilian male television actors
Male actors from São Paulo