Sebastião Vasconcelos

Sebastião Vasconcelos Costa (May 21, 1927 – July 15, 2013) was a Brazilian actor and lawyer. He had a career spanning more than forty years in Brazilian television.

Biography

Early years and education

He was born in the city of Pocinhos, in the interior of the state of Paraíba, in 1927. He moved to Recife, the capital of Pernambuco, and enrolled in the law program at the Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE). During college years, he participated in the founding of the University Theater and acted in six plays and at the Pernambuco Amateur Theater[pt], where he performed in ten plays directed by big names in Brazilian theater such as Graça Mello[pt], Ziembinski[pt], and Gianni Ratto[pt]. At that time, he even used the pseudonym Paulo Alcântara, as his parents did not approve of his idea of becoming an actor.

After graduating, he moved to Rio de Janeiro, where he joined the Tônia-Celi-Autran theater company[pt], moving into television in the late 1950s.

Career

In 1959, he participated in the filming of Carla Civelli's[pt] movie Um Caso de Polícia, which was never commercially released. That same year, he made his television debut, participating in the first adaptation[pt] of Ribeiro Couto's[pt] novel Cabocla[pt], in which he played the lead role, with Glauce Rocha as his romantic partner, broadcast by TV Rio.

In 1966, he made his debut on Rede Globo, beginning his career with the soap opera O Sheik de Agadir[pt], by Glória Magadan[pt]. Due to disagreements with director Daniel Filho, he left television in the early 1970s, returning permanently to the Rio de Janeiro station in 1975.

For four decades, he played a variety of characters in TV Globo, mostly gruff men with strong personalities, such as Colonel Tenório Tavares in Saramandaia, the religious Sessé Vilhena in Selva de Pedra, the petty Zé Esteves in Tieta, the long-suffering João do Piano in Felicidade, the humble fisherman Floriano, father of twins Ruth and Raquel, in Mulheres de Areia and the troublesome Arab Tio Abdul in O Clone. He also worked on soap operas such as Vale Tudo and História de Amor. His last work on TV Globo was the second version of Cabocla, a soap opera that marked Vasconcelos' debut on television.

In 2006, he participated in the play Leitor por Horas, by José Sanchis Sinisterra, directed by Christiane Jatahy[pt], where he acted alongside Kiko Mascarenhas[pt] and Ana Beatriz Nogueira at Sesc[pt] on Paulista Avenue. In 2007, he moved to TV Record, where he works on the soap opera Caminhos do Coração.

Death

With no more job offers coming in, Vasconcelos began to suffer from depression, which further weakened his health. Refusing to take medication and eat, in April 2013, after collapsing, he was admitted to Copa d'Or Hospital in the Copacabana neighborhood, and then transferred to Albert Sabin Israeli Hospital in Tijuca, where he remained until early June, when he was released to continue his treatment at home. However, on the 30th, he was readmitted to the hospital.

Vasconcelos died on July 15, 2013, from septic shock and cardiac arrest, and his body was cremated two days later at the Caju Cemetery in Rio de Janeiro in a ceremony restricted to family and friends.

Legacy

A street in his hometown, Pocinhos, was named after him following a bill presented by councilman Henrique Herminío de Albuquerque (Avante) and signed into law by mayor Eliane Galdino (Avante).

On December 10, 2024, a theater was inaugurated in Pocinhos, Paraíba, named after the actor, the Sebastião Vasconcelos Municipal Theater, also during Giardini's term of office. The inauguration of the theater was attended by several authorities and two relatives of the late actor.

Personal life

He had been married to Vilma Guisser Costa since 1959, and they had two children together.

Filmography

Television

Cinema

Theater

Prizes