Os Trapalhões
Encyclopedia
Os Trapalhões was a Brazil
ian comedy group and also a Brazilian television series created by Wilton Franco. Its members were Dedé Santana
, Zacarias
, Mussum
and their leader Didi Mocó, that was played by Renato Aragão
. The name Trapalhões is derived from the Portuguese verb atrapalhar, which means the opposite of helping or to do something the wrong way. The name is translated "Tramps" in English DVD subtitles. It was aired by Rede Globo
from 1977 to 1993.
On March, 1990, Zacarias died due to respiratory failure, but the group and the series didn't come to an end until July 1994, when Mussum died due to an unsuccessful heart transplant.
' Bugs Bunny
and Daffy Duck
rivalry), played pranks on each other or worked together in order to achieve a common goal. There was also, in all the years of the series, several parodies of traditional comics
' superheroes, like Superman
(mostly played by Didi because of his leader role), Batman
(played as a second banana by Dede because of Dede's second banana role and also because of the homosexual interpretations
about Batman and him), Spider-Man
, Hulk
, The Phantom
, etc.
with a peculiar manner of speaking. He rarely ended the scenes with bad luck or as the loser, in which he "fought" enemies or even his own friends.
man who was ever proud to say that he came from Morro da Mangueira, a slum in Rio de Janeiro
. He also had a very peculiar vocabulary. His greatest passion being cachaça
(the most common distilled beverage
in Brazil), which he nicknamed "mé" (or "mel", Portuguese for honey
). He was always the butt of jokes and nicknames because of his skin color, as to be sarcastically called Maizena (Corn Starch) by Didi or then the latter's insinuations and innuendos comparing his skin color to that of a vulture's, at which Mussum would become verbally (sometimes phisically) agressive and answer back with offensive jokes about Didi's own northern origins or even his own mother.
series based on Trapalhões were published in the 80 and 90 respectively by
"Bloch Editores" and Editora Abril
, usually in digest size
.
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian comedy group and also a Brazilian television series created by Wilton Franco. Its members were Dedé Santana
Dedé Santana
Manfried Sant'Anna , known artistically as Dedé Santana, is a Brazilian comedian, best known for his role in the television series Os Trapalhões, where he was one of the four protagonists.-Short bio:...
, Zacarias
Zacarias (Os Trapalhões)
Mauro Faccio Gonçalves , known artistically as Zacarias, was an brazilian actor, notable for being a member of the comedic group Os Trapalhões..-Television:...
, Mussum
Mussum
Antônio Carlos Bernardes Gomes , known artistically as Mussum was a famous Brazilian actor and musician, notable for being a member of the comedic group Os Trapalhões...
and their leader Didi Mocó, that was played by Renato Aragão
Renato Aragão
Antônio Renato Aragão is a Brazilian comedian. He is best known for leading the television series Os Trapalhões.-Biography:...
. The name Trapalhões is derived from the Portuguese verb atrapalhar, which means the opposite of helping or to do something the wrong way. The name is translated "Tramps" in English DVD subtitles. It was aired by Rede Globo
Rede Globo
Rede Globo , or simply Globo, is a Brazilian television network, launched by media mogul Roberto Marinho on April 26, 1965. It is owned by media conglomerate Organizações Globo, being by far the largest of its holdings...
from 1977 to 1993.
On March, 1990, Zacarias died due to respiratory failure, but the group and the series didn't come to an end until July 1994, when Mussum died due to an unsuccessful heart transplant.
The show
The series consisted of several different minutes scenes featuring comic adventures and situations of the four protagonists, sometimes with just one of them (mostly Didi), two, three and even with all of them, in which they opposed enemies and even each other (these internal fights between them almost every time consisted of Dede, Mussum and Zacarias against Didi, but Didi, as well as anyone of them who stood by Didi's side, often triumphed over them, very similar to Looney TunesLooney Tunes
Looney Tunes is a Warner Bros. animated cartoon series. It preceded the Merrie Melodies series and was Warner Bros.'s first animated theatrical series. Since its first official release, 1930's Sinkin' in the Bathtub, the series has become a worldwide media franchise, spawning several television...
' Bugs Bunny
Bugs Bunny
Bugs Bunny is a animated character created in 1938 at Leon Schlesinger Productions, later Warner Bros. Cartoons. Bugs is an anthropomorphic gray rabbit and is famous for his flippant, insouciant personality and his portrayal as a trickster. He has primarily appeared in animated cartoons, most...
and Daffy Duck
Daffy Duck
Daffy Duck is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons, often running the gamut between being the best friend and sometimes arch-rival of Bugs Bunny...
rivalry), played pranks on each other or worked together in order to achieve a common goal. There was also, in all the years of the series, several parodies of traditional comics
Comics
Comics denotes a hybrid medium having verbal side of its vocabulary tightly tied to its visual side in order to convey narrative or information only, the latter in case of non-fiction comics, seeking synergy by using both visual and verbal side in...
' superheroes, like Superman
Superman
Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
(mostly played by Didi because of his leader role), Batman
Batman
Batman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
(played as a second banana by Dede because of Dede's second banana role and also because of the homosexual interpretations
Homosexuality in the Batman franchise
Homosexual and pederastic interpretations have been part of the academic study of the Batman franchise at least since psychiatrist Fredric Wertham asserted in his 1954 book Seduction of the Innocent that "Batman stories are psychologically homosexual"...
about Batman and him), Spider-Man
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko. He first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15...
, Hulk
Hulk (comics)
The Hulk is a fictional character, a superhero in the . Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in The Incredible Hulk #1 ....
, The Phantom
The Phantom
The Phantom is an American adventure comic strip created by Lee Falk, also creator of Mandrake the Magician. A popular feature adapted into many media, including television, film and video games, it stars a costumed crimefighter operating from the fictional African country Bengalla.The Phantom is...
, etc.
Celebrities
Didi
The leader of the group who however, in some scenes, was treated by his three friends as the most worthless member. A very clever man from CearáCeará
Ceará is one of the 27 states of Brazil, located in the northeastern part of the country, on the Atlantic coast. It is currently the 8th largest Brazilian State by population and the 17th by area. It is also one of the main touristic destinations in Brazil. The state capital is the city of...
with a peculiar manner of speaking. He rarely ended the scenes with bad luck or as the loser, in which he "fought" enemies or even his own friends.
Dede
Interpreted as a "second in command" role. He was the most serious one and acted as the brain of the group. His masculinity was always mocked by Didi.Mussum
An afro-brazilianAfro-Latin American
An Afro-Latin American is a Latin American person of at least partial Black African ancestry; the term may also refer to historical or cultural elements in Latin America thought to emanate from this community...
man who was ever proud to say that he came from Morro da Mangueira, a slum in Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
. He also had a very peculiar vocabulary. His greatest passion being cachaça
Cachaça
Cachaça is a liquor made from fermented sugarcane.It is the most popular distilled alcoholic beverage in Brazil. It is also known as aguardente, pinga, caninha and many other names...
(the most common distilled beverage
Distilled beverage
A distilled beverage, liquor, or spirit is an alcoholic beverage containing ethanol that is produced by distilling ethanol produced by means of fermenting grain, fruit, or vegetables...
in Brazil), which he nicknamed "mé" (or "mel", Portuguese for honey
Honey
Honey is a sweet food made by bees using nectar from flowers. The variety produced by honey bees is the one most commonly referred to and is the type of honey collected by beekeepers and consumed by humans...
). He was always the butt of jokes and nicknames because of his skin color, as to be sarcastically called Maizena (Corn Starch) by Didi or then the latter's insinuations and innuendos comparing his skin color to that of a vulture's, at which Mussum would become verbally (sometimes phisically) agressive and answer back with offensive jokes about Didi's own northern origins or even his own mother.
Zacarias
A stocky, little man with child's voice and manerism - frequently putting on child-like tantrums in face of trouble or even role playing as a kid when the sketch asked for it. He also wore a wig due to baldness. This was exploited in sketches where it would be taken off either by Didi or by any other adversity such as an arrow which, missing his head, stabbed the wig to the wall, for instance.Main cast of supporting actors
- Dino SantanaDino SantanaOndino Santana known artistically as Dino Santana, was a brazilian actor and brother of the famous comedian Dedé Santana. He is most known for his role of supporting character in the brazilian comedic series Os Trapalhões and some of its films...
- Dede real life's brother. He played several secondary roles in the series and in some Trapalhões' films. He also was a secondary actor in the series Dedé e o Comando Maluco, where Dede played the role of General Dedé. He died in 2010.
- Carlos KurtCarlos KurtCarlos Kurt born José Carlos Kunstat, was a Brazilian actor. He is most known for his role of supporting character in the Brazilian comedic series Os Trapalhões and some of its films...
- A tall blonde man with a very bad look and huge eyes. He often played villainVillainA villain is an "evil" character in a story, whether a historical narrative or, especially, a work of fiction. The villain usually is the antagonist, the character who tends to have a negative effect on other characters...
, bully and other enemy roles in the series and also in some Trapalhões' movies. He died in 2003.
- Roberto Guilherme- An obese and bald man with whom Didi always had fun by taking off his wig. Also played a large number of antagonistAntagonistAn antagonist is a character, group of characters, or institution, that represents the opposition against which the protagonist must contend...
roles, sometimes along Carlos Kurt. Though he played numerous secondary characters, the most memorable of them was the Sargento Pincel (Sergeant BrushBrushA brush is a tool with bristles, wire or other filaments, used for cleaning, grooming hair, make up, painting, surface finishing and for many other purposes. It is one of the most basic and versatile tools known to mankind, and the average household may contain several dozen varieties...
).
- Tião MacaléTião MacaléAugusto Temístocles da Silva Costa known artistically as Tião Macalé, was a Brazilian comedian...
- A very funny toothToothTeeth are small, calcified, whitish structures found in the jaws of many vertebrates that are used to break down food. Some animals, particularly carnivores, also use teeth for hunting or for defensive purposes. The roots of teeth are embedded in the Mandible bone or the Maxillary bone and are...
less black man that usually ended the scenes saying the word Nojento! (Portuguese for Disgusting). This quote make him very famous both in the series and in Brazil. He died in 1993.
- Ted Boy Marino - A real-life wrestler with spanish accentAccent-Speech and language:* Accent , pronunciation characteristic of a certain locality* Accent , of a word* Stress , tone levels and emphasis used in many languages for words or grammar* A diacritical mark is also known as an accent....
and haircut similar to He-ManHe-ManHe-Man is a fictional heroic character featured in the Masters of the Universe media franchise. In most variations, he is the alter ego of Prince Adam...
's.
Comics
Comic bookComic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
series based on Trapalhões were published in the 80 and 90 respectively by
"Bloch Editores" and Editora Abril
Editora Abril
Editora Abril is a major Brazilian publisher and printing company and one of the biggest media holdings in Southern America. The company was founded in 1950 by Victor Civita in São Paulo and is now part of Grupo Abril....
, usually in digest size
Digest size
Digest size is a magazine size, smaller than a conventional or "journal size" magazine but larger than a standard paperback book, approximately 5½ x 8¼ inches, but can also be 5⅜ x 8⅜ inches and 5½ x 7½ inches. These sizes have evolved from the printing press operation end...
.
External links
- Os Trapalhões at IMDB.