Rubens de Falco

Rubens de Falco (19 October 1931 - 22 February 2008) was a Brazilian actor best known for his work in telenovelas, specifically his portrayal of a slave owner in the 1976 telenovela, "Escrava Isaura" ("The Slave Isaura").

Career

De Falco was born in São Paulo, Brazil on October 19, 1931. He began his acting career in the local theater. 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" Apassionata", for the Cinematographic Company Vera Cruz.

In television, he had prominence parts in televovelas such as "O Rei dos Ciganos" (1967), "A Rainha Louca" (1967), "O Passo dos Ventos" (1968), "Gabriela" (1975), "O Grito" (1975), "Escrava Isaura" (1976), "Dona Xepa" (1977 and "Sinhá Moça" (1986).

Perhaps his best known work came in 1976, when he portrayed the character, Leoncio Almeida, a slave owner in the telenovela, "Escrava Isaura". De Falco's character, Almedida, fell in love with one of his slaves, played by Brazilian actress, Lucelia Santos.

"Escrava Isaura" was extremely well received globally and became a hit in Africa, Eastern Europe and Latin America. Escrava Isaura was the first soap opera ever broadcast in Poland and Soviet Union and became the first television series to air in China with a foreign actress in the lead role. Rubens de Falco, who played Leoncio Almeida as one of his trademark villains, was called "the great villain of Brazilian television drama" by Lucelia Santos.

De Falco's last television appearance as an actor came in 1994 in the miniseries, "The Memorial of Maria Moura", which was based on a novel by Brazilian author, Rachel de Queiroz.

Death

He died on February 22, 2008 with heart failure at the CIAI Center for the Aged in São Paulo, Brazil. cite news |first=|last=|title=Brazilian telenovela actor Rubens de Falco, star of The Slave Isaura, dies at 76
url=http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/02/22/america/LA-GEN-Brazil-Obit-De-Falco.php |work= Associated Press |publisher=International Herald Tribune|date=2008-02-22 |accessdate=2008-02-24] He was not married and had no children.

References

External links

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* [http://dirce.globo.com/Dirce/canal/0,6993,RI314-700,00.html Rubens de Falco]