Born in a family of
circus comedians, came to Brazil when he was one year old, but only became a naturalized citizen in 1949. Made his debut in the circus at age five in 1914, where he learned to play the violin, besides being a clown, trapeze artist, acrobat and actor. Made his debut in the
revues in 1932, in the play
Calma, Gegê, satirizing dictator
Getúlio Vargas. Made his debut in the
cinema in
Noites Cariocas (1935), although he had been an extra in a previous film (
A Voz do Carnaval, 1933). He reached utmost fame with the comic duo he formed with
Grande Otelo, in comedies directed by
Carlos Manga and
Watson Macedo. He was married to Margot Louro and had two children, José Carlos and Mirian Thereza. In the morning of July 15, 1970, he suffered a stroke and was hospitalized, already in a coma. He died on August 4. His body was laid in the main hall of the
Assembleia Legislativa do Rio de Janeiro, with the presence of more than two thousand people. The burial had the presence of five hundred people in the Cemitério São João Batista. ==Filmography==