Antônio Augusto de Moraes Liberato (10 April 1959 – 21 November 2019), better known as Gugu Liberato or simply Gugu, was a Brazilian television presenter, entrepreneur, actor and singer.[1] He is regarded as one of the most famous entertainers in the history of Brazilian television, standing next to names like Fausto Silva, Silvio Santos, Hebe Camargo and Xuxa Meneghel. His rise to fame began in 1982 when he began co-hosting the Saturday night show Viva a Noite.
Gugu Liberato | |
|---|---|
 Gugu in 2019 | |
| Born | Antônio Augusto de Moraes Liberato 10 April 1959 |
| Died | 21 November 2019 (aged 60) Greater Orlando, Florida, U.S. |
| Occupations |
|
| Partner | Rose Miriam di Matteo (2001–2019) |
| Children | 3 |
Early life
editLiberato was born in São Paulo, Brazil, the son of Portuguese immigrants.[1] He used to write letters to Silvio Santos (who later hired him) suggesting ideas for programs. He started on television at age 14 as program production assistant on Domingo no Parque (Sunday at the Park), presented by Silvio Santos on SBT.[2]
Career
editLiberato began studying dentistry at University of Marilia (Unimar) in Marilia, São Paulo, but dropped out when called by Silvio Santos, who invited him to take up a post in front of the cameras.[3] One of his first programs in 1981 was the Sessão Premiada São Paulo – Rio's version was by Paul Barboza. In 1982, Santos asked Argentine director Nelly Raymond to create a program for Saturday night. Viva a Noite was created, which was initially divided into several parts, and also presented by Ademar Dutra, Mariette Detotto and Jair Ogun.[4] Following some format changes, Gugu remained alone in the program, then directed by Homer Salles. While anchoring Viva a Noite, Gugu also directed Domingo no Parque for sometime and acted as the editor for the President's Week (Semana do Presidente) newsletter, which was aired in the commercial breaks between the Program Silvio Santos show.[5][6]
After the success of the musical group Menudo, which was extensively promoted by Viva a Noite in 1984, Gugu launched Brazilian musical groups of the same style, such as Dominó and Polegar, becoming a successful businessman.[7][8][9]
In August 1987, at the height of the success of Viva a noite, Gugu signed a contract with TV station Rede Globo. But on Saturday Carnival 1988, Santos went to meet the owner of Rede Globo, Roberto Marinho, personally, in order to release the presenter so he could stay on SBT. Santos was about to undergo a delicate surgery and made a millionaire proposal to Gugu, offering him much of the Sunday's programming schedule. As a comparison, Liberato's wages increased tenfold, besides earnings coming from advertising.[5][6]
Liberato debuted on SBT on Sundays on 17 April 1988,[10] hosting alone programs like Passa ou Repassa and Cidade Contra Cidade. Gugu also co-hosted Roletrando (Brazilian version of Wheel of Fortune, also as the predecessor of Roda a Roda) with Santos.[6]
Rede Globo, however, had already created a program for Gugu, and the program was ready but without a host. Rede Globo hired hastily Fausto Silva, who ran the Saturday late night show Perdidos na Noite (Lost in the Night) at TV Bandeirantes. So the show Domingão do Faustão started, by chance, on Sunday afternoons at Rede Globo, filling a schedule previously occupied by American TV series.[11]
Even though Gugu was responsible for part of the Sunday programming, he remained anchoring shows on Saturday night, especially musical programs like Sabadão Sertanejo. The greatest success, however, came with the show Domingo Legal, which competed with Domingão do Faustão, ironically a program created to be his. The competition in the late 1990s was for a long period favorable to Gugu, which ended the decade with peaks above 40 rating points.[11][12]
In 1999, Gugu acquired control of the restaurant chain GRAAL.
Personal life and death
editLiberato had a domestic partnership with physician Rose Miriam di Matteo, with whom he had three children.[13]
On 20 November 2019, Liberato suffered an accident at his home in Windermere,[14] Greater Orlando, while trying to change the filter on his home's air conditioner; he fell from the roof of his home and hit his head. He was admitted to Orlando Health and it was reported that his condition was critical.[15][16] Rumors of his death were initially denied,[17] but on 22 November, it was confirmed that Liberato had died.[18]
Filmography
editTelevision
edit| Year | Title | Notes | Network |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981–1982 | Sessão Premiada | SBT | |
| 1982 | A Descida do Papai Noel | End of year special | |
| 1982–1992 | Viva a Noite | ||
| 1986–1988 | Parada do Dia das Crianças | Annual Children's Day Special | |
| 1988 | Domingugu | Canceled program | Rede Globo |
| 1988 | Roletrando | SBT | |
| 1988–1989 | Cidade contra Cidade | ||
| 1988–1995 | Passa ou Repassa | ||
| 1989 | Adivinhe Se Puder | ||
| 1989–1993 | TV Animal | ||
| 1989–1991 | Corrida Maluca | ||
| 1991–1992 | Big Domingo | ||
| 1991–2002 | Sabadão (or Sabadão Sertanejo) | ||
| 1992 | Programa de Vídeos | ||
| 1992 | Super Paradão | End of year special | |
| 1992–1993 | Nações Unidas | ||
| 1993 | Play Game | ||
| 1993 | Domingugu | ||
| 1993–2009 | Domingo Legal | ||
| 1994 | Noite dos Artistas | ||
| 1994–1995 | Paradão Sertanejo | ||
| 1996 | Parque do Gugu | End of year special | |
| 1998-2008, 2015; 2017 |
Teleton | ||
| 2000 | TV Ano 50 | Special 50 years of Brazilian TV | Rede Globo |
| 2002–2003 | Disco de Ouro | SBT | |
| 2009–2013 | Programa do Gugu | RecordTV | |
| 2015–2017 | Gugu | ||
| 2018–2019 | Power Couple Brasil | ||
| 2018–2019 | Canta Comigo |
Film
edit| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Padre Pedro e a Revolta das Crianças | Padre Sebastião |
| 1987 | Os Fantasmas Trapalhões | Delegate Augusto |
| 1988 | O Casamento dos Trapalhões | Himself |
| 1989 | Os Trapalhões na Terra dos Monstros | Himself |
| 1990 | Uma Escola Atrapalhada | Chopin Luís |
| 1997 | O Noviço Rebelde | Himself |
| 2001 | Xuxa e os Duendes | Rich |
Discography
edit- 1983 - Gugu
- 1984 - Gugu
- 1985 - Gugu Liberato
- 1986 - Gugu Liberato
- 1989 - Gugu
- 1989 - Viva a Noite
- 1990 - Viva a Noite
- 1991 - Gugu Liberato Apresenta: Bailão Sertanejo
- 1992 - Gugu Liberato Apresenta: Bailão Sertanejo 2
- 1994 - Gugu
- 1996 - Parque do Gugu
- 1998 - Gugu Cantando Com Você
- 2002 - Gugu Para Crianças
References
edit- ^ a b "Gugu: biografia, fotos, vídeos, notícias – iG". gente.ig.com.br.
- ^ "Vida e carreira do apresentador Gugu Liberato". Imirante.com (in Brazilian Portuguese). 22 November 2019. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
- ^ "Gugu Liberato, um dos maiores nomes da TV brasileira, morre aos 60 anos". Globo.com (in Brazilian Portuguese). 23 November 2019. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
- ^ Manso, Marcos. "Gugu Liberato". Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
- ^ a b "História de Gugu Liberato se confunde com a da TV brasileira". Correio do Povo (in Brazilian Portuguese). 22 November 2019. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
- ^ a b c Martins Ribeiro, Raquel (23 November 2019). "De office boy a ícone da TV: relembre a carreira de Gugu Liberato". Metrópoles (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 23 November 2019.
- ^ "Inspirado em Menudo, Gugu Liberato produziu Dominó e Polegar e lançou Marcelo Augusto". Folha de S. Paulo (in Brazilian Portuguese). 22 November 2019. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
- ^ "Da criação do Dominó a polêmicas; relembre fatos marcantes de Gugu Liberato na TV". Cidade Verde (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 23 November 2019.
- ^ "Gugu Liberato revelou Menudo e criou os grupos Dominó e Polegar". Jornal Extra (in Brazilian Portuguese). 22 November 2019. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
- ^ "Gugu agora também aos domingos". Jornal do Brasil (in Brazilian Portuguese). 16 April 1988. p. 37 – via Google News.
- ^ a b "Em 1988, Silvio Santos barrou Gugu na Globo com proposta milionária". UOL (in Brazilian Portuguese). 22 August 2016. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
- ^ "Domingão era dele: A trajetória de sucesso de Gugu Liberato no Ibope". UOL (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 23 November 2019.
- ^ Barranco, Luciana. "Filhos de Gugu Liberato estavam em casa na hora do acidente e João chamou ambulância". Revista Quem (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 23 November 2019.
- ^ "Casa de Gugu Liberato em Orlando tinha mais de 600 m2". G1 (in Brazilian Portuguese). 23 November 2019. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
- ^ "Gugu Liberato sofre acidente em casa nos Estados Unidos e está internado" (in Brazilian Portuguese). O Globo. 21 November 2019. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
- ^ Ying, Xiu (23 November 2019). "Family Confirms Death of Popular Brazilian TV Host Gugu Liberato".
- ^ "Presidente da Record TV solta comunicado em que desmente boatos sobre Gugu Liberato" (in Brazilian Portuguese). Contigo!. 21 November 2019. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
- ^ "Morre Gugu Liberato, aos 60 anos". Veja (in Brazilian Portuguese). 22 November 2019. Retrieved 22 November 2019.