Thursday, February 22, 2024

Adelino Moreira, a songwriter of torch songs

There was a time in the 1950s when Adelino Moreira was probably the most popular song writer in the Brazil. Adelino wrote mostly 'torch songs' that told of betrayl, women who ended up on the wrong side of town, drunkeness, masochism, sadism and all sorts of human feelings and conditions. Nelson Gonçalves (*21 June 1919) by far the most popular crooner in the 1950s, usually got Adelino's best songs and sold hundreds of thousands of records up to the early 1960s, before Brazilian rock'n'roll caught up with them. 

Adelino Moreira de Castro was born on 28 Mach 1918, in a small village near Pôrto, Portugal. His father Serafim and mother Rosa migrated to Brazil in 1919, when little Adelino was only 1 year old, so he grew up in Rio de Janeiro. 

Nelson Gonçalves was Adelino Moreira's  songs most faithful performer.
Adelino Moreira with Cauby Peixoto and Angela Maria. 
Adelino Moreira's repertoire as of 1971

Tuesday, May 23, 2023

Mary Wynne & her São Paulo night-club column at Estadão

We don't know with certainty when US citizen Mary Wynne started as a journalist at daily 'O Estado de São Paulo' for she began her role working 'behind the scenes'. We presume she was first given the task of assembling a list of the best restaurants and night-clubs in town and publish it among the cinema & theatre ads section at the last pages of the newspaper. 

A column called 'Bares Boites Restaurantes' was first published on 6 June 1954. From a nameless strip it soon started being signed by Mary. Eventually it became highly personalized changing its name to 'Mary go-round'.

Mary Wynne as a young lady in the 1920s.
15 January 1955 - Mary turns her 'list-column' into some sort of 'gossip column' in which she tells the latest news about show business. She comments about weekly illustrated magazine Manchete's article about the Oasis night-club with photos showing Russo do Pandeiro (Antonio Cardoso Martins *4 Feb 1913 +16 May 1985) doing what he did best: play his tambourine. Russo performed with Carmen Miranda in the US. 
Mary's short notes at the bottom of her column on the Sunday 'Estadão' on 27 February 1955. Soon, she would write much more than 3 selected notices. 
Peters Sisters with their highly-polished act in a Dutch club visited São Paulo in 1955.
6 March 1955 (Sunday) - Ms Wynne writes about US trio Peters Sisters who had been  touring Brazil having performed on TV Paulista, Channel 5 and done stints at both Lord and Oasis night-clubs. 
6 June 1954 - This was Mary Wynne's very first Sunday column at 'OESP'. It contained the names of 8 night-clubs and 7 restaurants) around town. 
15 January 1955 - By January 1955, Mary Wynne had increased her restaurant & night-club list from 15 in mid-1954 to 21, besides adding 7 places from Rio de Janeiro. Business was booming! 
3rd April 1955 - Mary mentions US pianist Freddy Feld for the 1st time. Mary & Feld would become fast friends until his tragic death in Rio. Fred Feld  was born Friederick Wilhelm Feldman on 8 April 1914, in Iowa, USA and passed away on 9 November 1970, in Rio de Janeiro, aged 56. He is most remembered as a nightclub pianist celebrity in São Paulo and Rio during the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. Unfortunate murder victim of a violent homophobic crime. His zodiac sign was Aries.
Mary Wynne dancing with a Gaucho probably before she moved to Brazil in 1929. Judging by the whip Mary has around her arm it could've been part of an act.
Mary Winne's Portrait of a Clown, she painted circa 1961

Sunday, April 9, 2023

Mary Wynne, an American journalist with a daily column about São Paulo's night-life

Once upon a time there was an American young lady from Texas named Mary Wynne who arrived in São Paulo, Brazil circa 1929, to work as a governess for an American family who had a young daughter to be educated. Miss Wynne was only 18 years of age and we can't say much more about her then. 

We only know that Mary eventually met a young Dutch national whose last name was Tadema like the Dutch painter Lawrence Alma-Tadema. They got married and had a baby boy called Klaas who eventually went to school in the USA, while Mary stayed in Brazil. 

We can only surmise Mary and her husband had a pretty busy social life going out to restaurants and night clubs around São Paulo very often.   

14 April 1976 - 'O Estado de S.Paulo' obituary page.

Mary Wynne Burns Tadema's grave stonehead at Tenaha City Cemetery in Tenaha, Shelby County, Texas, USA. Her remains though are still interred at Cemitério do Morumbi, in São Paulo, Brazil. 


5 April 2023.
Hello. My oldest aunt wrote the nightlife column as "Mary Wynne," and I would love to find out more about her years in Brazil. Any information appreciated. Thank you. Sincerely, Margie Burns (margie.burns@gmail.com)


Fri, 7th April 2023.

Hello, Margie,

I only found out about your aunt Mary Wynne a few years ago when I started a research about São Paulo's night life in the very newspaper Ms Wynne worked for.
 
I fell in love with her style by degrees. She was a very friendly and sophisticated lady and it was pure delight to read her texts.
 
By reading her column I surmised she arrived in Brazil in the late 1930s, for she mentioned having seen Carmen Miranda in person along with Aurora, Carmen's sister in a night-club. As Carmen left Brazil for California in 1939, I guessed Ms Wynne must have arrived in Brazil in 1938 or 1939; 10 years before I was born (1949). 

Margie answers: 

Hello! Thank you for writing; I am pleased to hear from you and look forward to finding out more, also. My Aunt Mary Wynne died in Sao Paulo, 11 April 1976. I heard that she originally went to Brazil at age 18, to be a governess to a small child, a relative, whose parents were working for a U.S. company in Brazil. Since she was born in 1911, according to records, that must have been about 1929.

I do not know when she started working for O Estado de Sao Paulo, or how she got the job there, or how she began in journalism. 

Her full name was Mary Wynne Burns Tadema, and she must have learned Portuguese while living in Brazil. She and her spouse separated long ago; I never knew him, but I believe that his ancestry was Dutch (like the painter Alma-Tadema), and presumably they met in Brazil. As to her personal life, she had only one child; he grew up in the U.S.

I have been impressed with the columns that I've seen. It looks as though Mary Wynne was very active and energetic. I never heard her talk much and seldom saw her in person; the last time, I was in my teens, and there wasn't much chance for talking at a family funeral. 

I am trying to find out more about her small place in the big world at the time.

8 April 2023

Hi, Margie, 

I found a simple note about your Aunt's death on the obituary page on 14 April 1976I was glad to have found something about Mary Wynne's death but at the same time really disappointed for she deserved much more than a few words. 

It says more or less: D. Mary Wynne... I was wondering what D. stands for... I guess it stands for 'Dona' (Dueña in Spanish) which is a title like 'Lady' or 'Madam' in English. 

It also says Mary was the daughter of (sr.) Robert E. Burns and (d.) Ruby Lee W. Burns

It also mentions her son Klaas Tadema married to Dorothy Tadema, both living in the USA. It fails to mention Mary's husband's name.
 
In the end it says the funeral was being held at Morumbi Cemitery (the poshest cemetery in town) with the burial schedule for 4:00 pm of that day, 14 April 1976

Tenaha, Shelby County in Texas...where Mary Wynne hailed from... see the red arrow. 
Tenaha, Shelby County, Texas.

Friday, February 3, 2023

Millor Fernandes


Millor being interviewed by Clarice Lispector for Manchete, 2nd November 1968.
Diálagos possíveis com Clarice Lispector. 

Tuesday, December 13, 2022

TV PAULISTA, Channel 5

 

Radio speaker Hélio de Alencar who commanded ubiquotous 'Parada de Sucesso' every single day at Radio Nacional Paulista with radio new-face Silvio Santos in 1956. Silvio would eventually go to much bigger things. Both take part at Manoel de Nóbrega Program.
Silvio Santos circa 1965 commands his 10-hour Sunday show from TV Paulista auditorim on Rua das Palmeiras. 
Hebe Camargo who was very active at Channel 5, TV Paulista, takes some time to pay a visit to a correctional school for under-previleged children in 1956.
'Café-Concêrto', a musical show with band-leader Enrico Simonetti is launched in 1956; from left to right: TV director Elio Tozzi, the sponsor União dos Refinadores director Dr. Hans Matte, maestro Henrique (as he was commonly known among Brazilians) Simonetti and producers José Castellar and David Conde. 
Francisco Negrão, born on 16 October 1932, lead actor who worked quite regularly at the drama department at TV Paulista.
'Cine Estúdio Anselmo Duarte' started in 1956, and lasted a couple of years with actor-director Anselmo Duarte, the most popular Brazilian matinee idol of the 1950s. Here Anselmo gives directions to cameraman João Macedo, assistant-director Regis Cardoso and script-girl Ruth Schelske. Radiolândia. 
Revista do Radio reviews (favourably) 'Cine Estúdio Anselmo Duarte' shown on TV Paulista,Channel 5, in 1956
Cyro Monteiro, Canarinho & Cacilda Lanuza crack up with Ronald Golias antics, in 1957.
Sergio Porto aka Stanislau Ponte Preta, Canarinho posing as a waiter & Lan in 1957; Radiolândia #146. 
Canarinho in 1958 (Revista do Rádio 465).
TV Paulista on Monday night, 5 August 1963: 'Praça da Alegria' at 8:00 pm and 'Intimidade' at 8:30 pm. 
'Miss Campeonato 1963' with Anilza Leone, Roberto Barreiro (Corinthians) & Diamantina Gomes (dona da pensão). 


Art done on tiles that used to cover the walls of 'Salada Paulista', a popular restaurant situated by Cine Ipiranga in the 40s, 50s & 60s. 

15 November 1957, Friday - Correio Paulistano - Victor Costa Organization opens a TV station in Santos-SP, the fourth Brazilian city to have one, after São Paulo-SP, Rio de Janeiro-DF and Belo Horizonte-MG. It was initially called Channel 5 Substation in Santos and was linked to Radio Clube de Santos.  

28 March 1953 - 'Correio Paulistano' - On the first anniversary of TV Paulista's opening, they offered a series of live shows from Noon to Midnight at Cine Odeon's Blue Room on Rua da Consolação. TV Paulista invited São Paulo population to show up for the entrance was free. 

Monday, October 10, 2022

Radio Mayrink Veiga & Radio Mundial O.V.C.

 

'Buraco de fechadura' (Key-hole), a comedy hour produced by Francisco Anysio at Radio Mayrink Veiga, PRA-9 with Zé Trindade, Nancy Wanderley... Revista Fon-Fon, 21 January 1956
Haroldo Barbosa's 'Musica da cidade', every Sunday at 1:00 pm; Fon-Fon, 28 January 1956.
'Noites que não voltam mais' produced by Roberto Mendes at Radio Mundial, which belonged to Organização Victor Costa on Thursdays, at 8:30 pm. Revista Careta, 16 July 1955
'Jornal das Moças', 22nd September 1955 - Yara Salles stars on Radio Mundial.
'Serestas' at Radio Mundial still played live music in 1956; revista Careta. 
'Angela Maria canta' on Radio Mayrink Veiga, on Sundays at 12:30 am in 1956; Chico Anysio, Antonio Carlos, Macedo Neto & Nancy Wanderley at Radio Mayrink Veiga; Chico Anysio wrote 'Balbaina, meu xodó', 'Esse norte é de morte', 'Vai levando...' etc.; Revista Fon-Fon 10 November 1956
'Radiolândia' no.132 presents the best radio-drama writers at O.V.C. (Victor Costa Organization) in 1956: Amaral Gurgel, Teixeira Filho, Eurico Silva, Mario Brasini, Alberto Madeira and Ênio Santos. 
Organização Victor Costa wishes a Happy 1957 to the patrons of Radio Mayrink Veiga in Rio de Janeiro; Radio Nacional Paulista, Radio Cultura, Radio Excelsior and TV Paulista, Channel 5.