Death of Silvio Santos

On August 17, 2024, Senor Abravanel, known by the pseudonym Silvio Santos, one of Brazil's greatest television presenters, died of bronchopneumonia following an influenza infection at the Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein, in São Paulo, at the age of 93. His death had international repercussion.
Silvio Santos had begun to retire from the entertainment industry in 2023, including stepping down as host of his eponymous SBT variety show Programa Silvio Santos in February after 60 years, with his daughter Patricia Abravanel (who had guest hosted the program from October 2021 to April 2022 after Santos was diagnosed with COVID-19) becoming the main host afterward. Santos still planned to make occasional on-air appearances, and did not officially announce a formal retirement.
Santos' health began to show problems on July 18, 2024, when he was taken to the Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein in São Paulo. The information was initially published by Folha de S. Paulo, but the SBT press office denied that the presenter was hospitalized.
Hours later, the press office retracted its statement and said that Silvio Santos had been admitted to hospital to recover from H1N1. In an official statement read out by presenter Michelle Barros on the "Chega Mais" program, SBT said that Silvio was being medicated and that the family was grateful for everyone's affection. On the 20th, he was discharged and returned home.
On August 1, he was hospitalized again for imaging tests, according to SBT's press office, and has remained hospitalized ever since:
Despite the optimistic tone of the information provided by his advisors, the newspaper O Globo reported on August 2 that Silvio Santos' health required greater care from the doctors who were monitoring the evolution of his condition. The family prevented the Albert Einstein Hospital from releasing medical bulletins.
On that occasion, SBT's press office also denied that Silvio was in poor health in an official statement.
In an interview with CNN Brasil, Patrícia Abravanel, the communicator's daughter, said on August 5 that the presenter was expected to be discharged soon, although she didn't specify the date:
Patrícia also appeared alongside her sister, Rebeca Abravanel, in an interview with Brasil Urgente on Band. During the conversation with reporters Tiago Alberico and Felipe Henrique, both stressed that Silvio was "stable and talking, making jokes and in a good mood".
The last public update on Silvio Santos' state of health was given by his grandson, Tiago Abravanel, during the book signing for Preta Gil's new book on August 14. Tiago revealed that his grandfather was showing signs of improvement and was being well looked after by the hospital's medical team and his family:
The Albert Einstein Israelite Hospital released a medical bulletin confirming the presenter's death at 4.50 a.m. from bronchopneumonia following infection with the H1N1 virus:
TV Globo broke the news via a special report during its Saturday-morning program É de Casa, followed by Record. As he thought it would bring bad luck, Silvio had asked that an obituary not be made for him in advance. This led to a 90-minute delay from SBT—the network originally founded by Santos—in comparison to its competitors; the network interrupted its Saturday morning cartoon block for a special report by Simone Queiroz:
The Abravanel family released a note to mourn the death of Silvio Santos:
At Silvio Santos' request, there was no funeral service and his burial, in an Israeli cemetery in São Paulo, followed all the traditional rites of Judaism, the presenter's religion.
Following the news of the presenter's death, several television stations interrupted their schedules to inform the public of the loss. The international press also reported the news. In a short time, celebrities and organizations expressed their grief, sending messages of mourning and highlighting the legacy left by Silvio Santos.
Several artists and friends spoke and paid tribute to Silvio, among them Eliana, Rodrigo Faro, Carlos Alberto de Nóbrega, Priscilla, Celso Portiolli, Yudi Tamashiro, among others.
Carlos Alberto de Nóbrega said:
Fausto Silva, Faustão, said in an official statement released by his press office:
His son, João Guilherme Silva, also spoke out:
Actress Larissa Manoela said:
Maisa Silva, who also began her career at the hands of Silvio Santos, also paid tribute to him:
The Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva decreed three days of official mourning in the country in honor of the presenter and said on his social networks:
On TV Globo's É de Casa, Ana Maria Braga said:
Boni, former director of Globo, spoke out about the death of Silvio Santos:
Former president Jair Bolsonaro said on his social networks:
SBT's long-time rival TV Globo would pre-empt a number of programs over the weekend for special programming covering Santos' death. On August 18, Globo's Sunday variety show Domingão com Huck aired a special edition with tributes to Santos, featuring SBT alumni Angélica, Lívia Andrade, and Larissa Manoela appearing as guests.
The Brazilian Football Confederation has decided to call the match between Fluminense and Corinthians the Clássico Silvio Santos (Silvio Santos Derby). The presenter was a fan of the Laranjeiras club, but among the carnival marches that Silvio performed is the song "Transplante de Corinthiano", one of the hits from his albums.
News of Santos' death was widely covered by international media outlets and news agencies.
The Argentinian newspaper Clarín described the presenter as "one of the greatest figures on Brazilian TV", and someone who had "performed like no one else with his personal skill and self-confidence, capturing the attention of the masses in front of the screen". Argentina's La Nación referred to him as a "legend of Brazilian entertainment" and highlighted his timelessness—managing to renew his programs over the years, and his hair never going gray. In Paraguay, ABC Color wrote that "(Santos) was always one of the big names on the Sunday program, where he performed like no one else with his talent for dealing with people and his daring, capturing the attention of the masses".