Few professionals who collaborated on the iconic presenter’s programs on Record, Globo, Tupi and SBT are alive
In the last week of January, some SBTistas mourned the death of makeup artist Ermecilio Giorizatto, known as Ermo, responsible for preparing Silvio Santos’ face for filming for decades.
Retired, he had moved from São Paulo to Vitória, in Espírito Santo, and suffered from complications from diabetes. “A great friend of TV”, commented director Walter Wanderley, better known as Goiabinha.
This is the final departure of yet another important professional in the SBT owner’s career. Approaching 94 years old and away from the studios since 2022, he has outlived most of his faithful collaborators.
Starting with the announcer Lombardi (Luiz Lombardi Netto), with whom he partnered for 40 years. He was ‘the voice’ of the programs, almost an extension of Silvio himself. His mysterious figure became an attraction in itself: everyone wanted to see his face. He died of a heart attack at age 69 in December 2009.
Silvio Santos was also forced to say goodbye to former stage assistant Marisa Teixeira, former program directors Orlando Macrini and Roberto Manzoni, former programming director and right-hand man Ricky Medeiros, call coordinator and SBT pioneer Luiz Felipe Agostinelli.
The presenter said goodbye to his brother Leon Abravanel, who helped him create the channel and sometimes made appearances on camera. He also lamented the death of journalist and friend Plácido Manaia Nunes, creator of ‘Troféu Imprensa’, and director Demerval Gonçalves, a fundamental name for the creation of the station in 1981.
The list is extensive. Most of Silvio Santos’ oldest employees and collaborators have already died, including artists who made a valuable contribution to the success of TVS, later renamed SBT, such as Gugu Liberato, Hebe Camargo and Jô Soares.
Far from the studios, another loss shook the most popular TV presenter, that of his trusted doctor Morton Aaron Scheinberg. This is perhaps the biggest burden of living for many years, above average: burying loved ones, who play a fundamental role in our existence.
In some interviews, Silvio Santos declared that he believed there was something “on the other side”, indicating his belief in the continuity of life after death. Maybe this will give him some comfort after so many losses.
Silvio Santos seems resigned to so many losses of friends and collaborators due to his belief in something other than death
Photo: Reproduction
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