Rubens de Falco

**Rubens de Falco da Costa** (October 19, 1931 – August 22, 2008) was a Brazilian actor best known for his work in telenovelas, most notably his portrayal as a slave owner in the 1976 telenovela, _Escrava Isaura_ (_The Slave Isaura_) and the 1986 telenovela _Sinhá Moça_ (_Little Missy_).

## Career

De Falco was born in São Paulo, Brazil on October 19, 1931. He began his acting career in the local theater. In 1955, he joined the group "_Os Jograis_", of São Paulo, and played beside such actors as Ruy Afonso, Italo Rossi and Felipe Wagner. He made his cinema debut in 1952, in the movie _Apassionata_, for the movie studio Companhia Cinematográfica Vera Cruz.

In television, he had big roles in telenovelas such as _O Rei dos Ciganos_ (1967), _A Rainha Louca_ (1967), _O Passo dos Ventos_ (1968), _Gabriela_ (1975), _O Grito_ (1975), _Escrava Isaura_ (1976), _Dona Xepa_ (1977), _A Sucessora_ (1978) and _Sinhá Moça_ (1986).

Perhaps his best-known work came in 1976, when he played the cruel villain Leôncio Almeida, a powerful farm owner and ruthless slave owner in the telenovela _Escrava Isaura_. De Falco's character, Leôncio Almeida, fell in love with one of his slaves, played by Brazilian actress Lucélia Santos.

_Escrava Isaura_ was very popular around the world and became a hit in Africa, Eastern Europe and Latin America. _Escrava Isaura_ was the first soap opera ever broadcast in Poland and Soviet Union and became the first television series shown in China with a foreign actors in main roles. Rubens de Falco, who played Leôncio Almeida as one of his most famous roles, was called "the great villain of Brazilian television drama" by Lucélia Santos.

He again played a powerful farm owner and ruthless slave owner, the cruel villain Baron de Araruna in the 1986 telenovela, _Sinhá Moça_ alongside Lucélia Santos who starred this time as his rebellious daughter.

De Falco's last television role was as Almeida in 2004 in the Rede Record remake of _A Escrava Isaura_, and his last movie and acting role was as Deputado Ernesto Alves in 2008 in _Fim da Linha_.

## Death

Rubens de Falco died on February 22, 2008, of heart failure at the CIAI Center for the Aged in São Paulo, Brazil. He never married, had no children and left no heirs.

## Filmography

|Year|Title|Role|Notes|
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
|1952|_Appassionata_|||
|1953|_Esquina da Ilusão_|||
|1954|_Floradas na Serra_|||
|1957|_O Capanga_|||
|1957|_O Pão Que o Diabo Amassou_|||
|1959|_Moral em Concordata_|Narrator|Voice|
|1966|_Engraçadinha Depois dos Trinta_|||
|1966|_Essa Gatinha é Minha_|||
|1968|_O Homem Que Comprou o Mundo_|||
|1969|_Tempo de Violência_|||
|1969|_O Impossível Acontece_||(segment "Eu, Ela e o Outro")|
|1970|_Anjos e Demônios_|Prosecutor||
|1971|_Uma Pantera em Minha Cama_|||
|1972|_Missão: Matar_|John Dorcas||
|1972|_A Difícil Vida Fácil_|Ricardo||
|1973|_Café na Cama_|Flávio||
|1974|_O Mau-Caráter_|||
|1975|_O Sósia da Morte_|Narciso||
|1975|_O Homem da Cabeça de Ouro_|||
|1975|_Nós, Os Canalhas_|||
|1975|_Deixa, Amorzinho... Deixa_|||
|1977|_Este Rio Muito Louco_||(segment "Fátima Todo Amor")|
|1978|_Colonel Delmiro Gouveia_|Delmiro Gouveia||
|1978|_A Dama de Branco_|||
|1979|_Os Foragidos da Violência_|||
|1981|_Pixote_|Juiz||
|1984|_Macho y hembra_|Vicente||
|1985|_La hora Texaco_|||
|1986|_Un hombre de éxito_|Iriarte||
|1986|_O Monge e a Filha do Carrasco_|Saltmaster||
|2001|_Sonhos Tropicais_|General Travassos||
|2008|_Fim da Linha_|Deputado Ernesto Alves|(last acting role)|

## Infobox (person)

- **name**: Rubens de Falco
- **image**: Rubens de Falco.jpg
- **caption**: Rubens de Falco, 2007
- **birth name**: Rubens de Falco da Costa
- **birth place**: São Paulo, Brazil
- **death place**: São Paulo, Brazil
- **occupation**: Actor
- **yearsactive**: 1952–2008