Dercy Gonçalves, a Brazilian superstar for nearly eight decades, died of pneumonia today at the São Lucas Hospital in Rio de Janeiro's Copacabana district. She was 101.
Dercy — can't refer to someone like her as "Gonçalves" — was a film, stage, television, radio, and carnival star. She was known for her outrageous sense of humor, expletive-filled mouth, and an indefatigable determination to keep on going.
Among her best-known film vehicles, mostly popular comedies, are Feitiço do Amazonas / Naked Amazon (1954), Absolutamente Certo (Absolutely Right, 1957), A Grande Vedete (The Big Star, 1958), Minervina Vem Aí (Here Comes Minervina, 1960), and Cala a Boca, Etelvina (Shut Up, Etelvina, 1960).
"She didn't believe in old age and criticized those who let themselves go," said television and stage actor Ary Fontoura. "She believed that everyone should have a dignified end. She would utter the most tender expletives you could ever hear. She was a deeply serious and honest person."
The governor of Rio de Janeiro has decreed three days of official mourning in honor of the actress' passing.
I also wrote a more detailed Dercy Gonçalves article upon the occasion of her 100 birthday last year.
Fontoura's quote: O Globo, which also features a couple of recent Dercy pictures. On its homepage, O Globo has more images of the actress, in her younger days a dead ringer for Giulietta Masina, under the heading "Morre aos 101 anos Dercy Gonçalves." Click on "Dercy em imagens."
Those include film stills, carnival shots, Dercy posing with her legs spread wide open (with a Jesus portrait in the background), and a photo in which Dercy seems to be telling former Brazilian president Fernando Henrique Cardoso to go fuck himself.
WHAT WE DO IS SECRET: Q&A with Rodger Grossman
William Holden: A Different Kind of Hero
TELL NO ONE: Q&A with Guillaume Canet
Robert De Niro Is No Acting Legend
CHRIS & DON. A LOVE STORY: Q&A with Tina Mascara and Guido Santi
James Stewart Centennial Tribute
I would like to know if she was originally from madeira island I,am trying to see my back round p.s.GOD BLESS I dont know how to write portuguese ican read
Dercy Goncalves se foi deixando para nos um exemplo de forca, luta, garra e muita determinacao. Ela nao tinha limites para sonhar…
Valeu Dercy… Que Deus te proteja.
Morreu Dercy Gonçalves. Sei que ela será lembrada pelo humor escrachado e pelos termos chulos, mas, penso que ela deveria ser lembrada como uma "sobrevivente" e uma vencedora. Neta de uma escrava, abandonada criança pela mãe, surrada pelo pai…Teve pouca instrução formal, fugiu para atuar numa companhia de teatro mambembe e, de teatro em teatro, tornou-se atriz de cinema e televisão. Ela atravessou o século XX, sobreviveu à tuberculose e ao câncer e chegou ao século XXI; revolucionou o teatro brasileiro, a linguagem cinematográfica e televisiva. Hoje, a neta de uma escrava, filha de um coveiro, está sendo velada na Assembléia Legislativa do Rio de Janeiro e, ao lado do caixão, uma coroa de flores do presidente da República. Ela é um exemplo de superação.
Hoje o Brasil ficou mais triste.
Dercy irá fazer companhia a Nair Belo, Costinha e toda uma geração de comediantes populares que estão entrando em extinção