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Lois Hamilton (Areno) personified a new wave of actresses who built careers on both beauty and brains. Lois attend Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennslyvannia, and the University of Florence in Florence, Italy, where she received degrees in Psychology and Fine Arts. As a top Ford model in the late 1970s, Lois graced the covers and pages of countless magazines, such as "Cosmopolitan", "Fortune", "Mademoiselle", "Italian Vogue", "Prevue", "Neue Revue Illustrierte", "Newsweek", "Paris Match", "Hello", "Redbook", "Ladies' Home Journal", "Glamour", "Time", and many others. Some of her ad campaigns included Chanel, Clarol, Halston, Pucci and Hermes, and she appeared in over 150 commercials worldwide. She was one of the pioneers who made the successful transition from model to actress. When she came to Los Angeles, her career immediately took off and she found herself splashed all over the television and movie screens. Within a year she landed more TV stints than any other actress at ICM. She worked with such luminaries as Ivan Reitman, Neil Simon, Sydney Pollack, Robert Redford, Ned Beatty, Burt Reynolds, John Candy, John Larroquette, Dom DeLuise, Roger Moore, Bill Murray, Jane Fonda, Dean Martin, Carl Reiner, David Carradine, Sammy Davis Jr., Steve Guttenberg, Howard W. Koch, Albert S. Ruddy, Hal Needham, and Thomas R. Bond II to name a few. She was one of the privileged few to be photographed by George Hurrell Sr. before his death. When she wasn't involved in a feature film or television project, she took to the skies as a licensed private pilot. She logged over 600 flying hours and was an accomplished aerobatic pilot flying her 1936 German biplane. For what it's worth, Lois was also a titled Italian baroness with a family that lays claim to noble of ancestry dating back to 11th-century Naples. Not one to be typecast as just another pretty face, and in keeping with her artistic talents, she was also an accomplished sculptor, painter and writer. She exhibited her bronze sculptures and oil paintings in many one-woman shows in Los Angeles. An author as well, she penned her first novel, "Move Over Tarzan," a woman's guide on how to be as assertive as the most aggressive, successful man using a woman's feminine wiles. Lois Hamilton was definitely a woman just right for her time.

José Wilker de Almeida was born on 20th August 1947 in Juazeiro do Norte, Brazil. He worked as a speaker in a radio there but he later moved to Recife where he started worked in the theatre as a member of "Movimento de Cultura Popular (MPC)". The group not only brought culture to people but also reading, writing and political lessons. During the military repression, however, MPC was made illegal and Wilker moved to Rio de Janeiro, where he started working in cinema. His first film as "A Falecida", starred by Fernanda Montenegro.

In Rio Wilker kept on working in theatre. In 1968 he wrote his own play, "O Trágico Acidente que Destronou Teresa". His next move as a playwright was "A China é Azul", in 1972. In this year he starred "Os Inconfidentes", a movie by Joaquim Pedro de Andrade. Still in 1972 he worked on his first TV series, "O Bofe".

Between 1976 and 1985 he didn't work in theatre, but played important roles in cinema and TV. "Dona Flor e Seus Dois Maridos" (1976), based on Jorge Amado's novel, is a recordist on Brazilian cinema box office. "Xica da Silva" (1976), "Bye Bye Brasil (1979)", "Bonitinha Mas Ordinária" (based on Nelson Rodrigues' text, 1981), and "O Homem da Capa Preta" (1986) were blockbusters too. His works for TV were very successful too.

In 1989 he worked on two then famous films: "Doida Demais" and "Dias Melhores Virão". In 1992 he was on "Medicine Man", directed by John McTiernan and starred by Sean Connery. In the next five years Wilker worked almost exclusively for Tv. However, in 1996, a compilation of his reviews on cinema was released in a book, "Como Deixar um Relógio Emocionado". In 1997 he came back to the Seventh Art with "O Pequeno Dicionário Amoroso" and "A Guerra de Canudos", where he was the protagonist and producer.

Wilker carried on his acclaimed TV career but in 2000 he worked on Villa Lobos, Uma Vida de Paixões". In 2002 he was on "Dead in the Water" starred by Henry Thomas. He then had three films in a role: "O Homem do Ano" (2003) and "Maria, Mãe de Deus" (2003) and "Redentor" (2004). In 2003 he was elected president of Rio Filmes, a cinema company in Brazil.

Norma Bengell was born on 21 February 1935 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She was an actress and director, known for Planet of the Vampires (1965), The Murdered House (1971) and Eternamente Pagú (1987). She was married to Gabriele Tinti. She died on 9 October 2013 in Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

He studied Law. He also directed theatre pieces, wrote movie criticisms and took part in the creation and development of the 'cinema novo' movement in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, becoming its theoretical leader and first embassador in Europe. After "Barravento (1962)", a trilogy of films and "Antonio das Mortes (1969)" he won various international prizes. As he symbolized the feelings of the ideology of the May of 1968, he became very popular in Europe and America. But when he started to film in Africa and Spain his followers were distracted and this marked the beginning of the decline of his fame. Thus, he only made a couple of films of minor interest later on.

Here he grew up in the educated Jewish middle class, together with his brother Alfred. The Zweig family was not religious. He passed his high school diploma at the Wasagymnasium in Vienna. Zweig wrote his first poems here. At that time he was influenced by writers such as Hugo von Hofmannstahl and Rainer Maria Rilke. In 1901, Stefan Zweig's first volume of poetry entitled "Silberne Saiten" was published. He also began translating works by French writers at this time. In 1904 he completed his doctorate in German and Romance studies. Until 1910 he traveled extensively through Europe. The focus here was on exchanges with other writers and artists, with whom he mostly maintained friendship through intensive correspondence. By 1911, works such as "Tersites", "The House by the Sea" and "Burning Secret" as well as his first biography "Émile Verhaeren" had been created.

With his work "First Experience. Four Stories from Kinderland," Zweig approached an intuitive psychological style. At the beginning of the First World War, Stefan Zweig signed up as a volunteer. Here he was employed in the war press quarters until 1917. To demonstrate against war in any form, he wrote the drama "Jeremiah", which premiered in Zurich in 1918. From 1918 onwards, Zweig also worked as a journalist and correspondent for the Swiss newspaper "Neue Freie Presse". He also uses this medium to publish his non-partisan views. After the end of the war he settled in Salzburg. His idea was to found a spiritually, holistically and humanistically motivated alliance in Europe. So he began, initially in numerous lectures and essays, to warn against radicalization through nationalism and to call for calm, diplomacy and patience.

In 1920, Zweig published the writings "Fear", "The Compulsion" and, from 1920, three essays about master builders of the world: "Three Masters", in 1925 "The Fight with the Demon" and in 1928 "Three Poets of Their Life". Zweig enjoyed great stage success in 1926 with his adaptation of Ben Jonson's "Volpone". The publication of the book "Star Hours of Humanity" in 1927 was equally successful. In 1928 he traveled to the Soviet Union, where his books were also published in Russian at the instigation of Maxim Gorki, with whom he corresponded. After the NSDAP came to power in Germany, Stefan Zweig fled to London for fear of persecution. The book "Impatience of the Heart" was written here. From 1934 onwards, his works were no longer published in Germany and with the annexation of Austria to the Third Reich in 1938, production in his homeland also stopped. In 1935, Zweig wrote the libretto for the opera "Die schweigsame Frau" for Richard Strauss.

In 1936 the NSDAP immediately banned the sale of all of his works. His first marriage ended in divorce in 1938, and his second marriage was to Charlotte Altmann in 1939. In 1940 he received English citizenship from Great Britain. Nevertheless, he left Europe and traveled on to New York. In 1942 his chess novella and the monograph Brazil were published. After a short stay he visited Argentina and Paraguay. He then settled in Brazil. Here Stefan Zweig fell into deep sadness and depression.

Stefan Zweig committed suicide on February 22, 1942 in Petrópolis, near Rio de Janeiro. In 1944 his autobiography was published posthumously under the title "The World of Yesterday".

Born in Rome, on 21st July of 1930, at the Brazilian embassy, son of Formula 1 champion and then ambassador Manoel de Teffe; he was named Antonio Luiz and became the Baron de Teffe. The de Teffe family had a noble origin but during Second World War, teenage Antonio left home to join the partisans against the Nazis.

His life in the film business started as studio messenger for Vittorio De Sica who was then directing Bicycle Thieves (1948) and years later Antonio starred in the critically acclaimed Gli sbandati (1955). Then he went into typical examples of popular Italian films of the late 50s such as sword and sandal epics, comedies, adventures and even great American movies like Robert Aldrich's Sodom and Gomorrah (1962), but it was with Spaghetti Westerns that renamed Anthony Steffen achieved worldwide stardom. His acting is often accused of being wooden, but in many ways is ideally suited to playing the steely-faced gunslinger synonymous with the gender. Steffen's most memorable role was in Django the Bastard (1969), which he also co-wrote, playing a phantom gunslinger returned from the grave to avenge his own death. This is the uncredited inspiration for Clint Eastwood's High Plains Drifter (1973).

His others successes include well liked features as Seven Dollars to Kill (1966), A Train for Durango (1968) (with Mark Damon), Killer Kid (1967) and many others. He was still enjoyable in other genres, especially thrillers as the successful The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave (1971), Tropic of Cancer (1972) or The Crimes of the Black Cat (1972), a good example of a giallo where he played a blind pianist - one of his roles he most liked, and Killer Fish (1979), with James Franciscus and Lee Majors. Steffen was a very reliable leading man and supporting actor and was among the elite of European cinema such as Federico Fellini, Sergio Leone, Riccardo Freda, Mario Bava, Lucio Fulci, Luchino Visconti, Antonio Margheriti, Ennio Morricone, Roger Vadim, Carlo Ponti, Sophia Loren and many others.

Elegant, educated and handsome, fluent in English, French, Portuguese, Spanish and Italian, Steffen lived in international jet-set, but in the early 80s he moved to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, place he just adored, occasionally visiting his beloved Rome. Since 2002 he had been fighting a dreadful cancer. He died on July 5, 2004, in Rio de Janeiro. He left three sons: Manuel de Teffe, Luiz and Chiara. Besides De Sica's Shoeshine (1946), his favorite film was John Ford's My Darling Clementine (1946). Good taste until the end.

Fernando Torres was born on 14 November 1929 in Guaçuí, Espírito Santo, Brazil. He was an actor and director, known for Baila Comigo (1981), Minha Doce Namorada (1971) and The Oyster and the Wind (1997). He was married to Fernanda Montenegro. He died on 4 September 2008 in Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Aurora Miranda had a successful career in Brazil and the US, although somewhat overshadowed by her sister Carmen Miranda's larger-then-life persona. Aurora was six years younger than Carmen, not as brilliant but equally talented and vivacious.

She made her recording debut on May 25, 1933, at the age of 18. On that day she sang Assis Valente''s marcha "Cai, Cai, Balão!" and 'Floriano Ribeiro de Pi'nho''s samba "Toque de Amor" in a duo with Francisco Alves, Brazil's greatest male singing star. Three weeks later she was in the studio again, recording a macumba by Pixinguinha and João da Baiana. Another duo with Chico Alves came in July: Noel Rosa's and Hélio Rosa's foxtrot "Você só . . . Mente." Aurora was launched.

Her record company was Odeon, and her principal competition--her sister Carmen--recorded for Victor. During the rest of the decade, Aurora recorded 162 more sides, many of them enormous hits, such as "Cidade Maravilhosa" (André Filho) and "Se a Lua Contasse" (Custódio Mesquita), whose composers were her constant songwriters, along with Walfrido Silva and Assis Valente. In 1936 Aurora appeared in the film Alô Alô Carnaval (1936), in which she was seen with Carmen dressed in gold-lamé top hat and tails, singing "Cantores do Rádio" (João de Barro / Alberto Ribeiro / Lamartine Babo). This film is apparently lost except from some short sequences.

In 1940 Aurora married Gabriel Richaid. Carmen gave the couple a trip to the US as a honeymoon present, and before long Aurora was appearing in American nightclubs and revues. During the war, when Walt Disney was producing his "Good Neighbor" south-of-the-border films, he wanted to cast Carmen with Ethel Smith in a picture to be called "Blame It on the Samba". Carmen was unavailable, and the technology wasn't advanced enough for making that film (it would eventually be made in 1948 (Blame It on the Samba (1948)) with Ethel as the only live character. However, Carmen recommended her sister, and Aurora was cast in The Three Caballeros (1944), in which she shined in the Bahia sequence, dancing with Donald Duck and Zé Carioca to the tune of Ary Barroso's "Os Quindins de Iaiá.". She also appears in the film noir classic Phantom Lady (1944), in which she can be seen as a nightclub performer.

Unlike her sister, Aurora preferred married life to her career. In 1951 she returned to Rio de Janeiro and settled down as a wife and mother. She often spoke of her sister Carmen and appeared in many documentaries.

Aurora Miranda passed away at the age of 90 on Thursday, December 22, 2005.

Ivan Setta was born on 1 February 1946 in Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He was an actor, known for As Aventuras Amorosas de Um Padeiro (1975), Sítio do Picapau Amarelo (1977) and Mandacaru (1997). He was married to Sandra Bárbara Queiroz Schaeppi , Gilda Maria Ramos Fontoura and Dulce Continentino. He died on 6 April 2001 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Marília Pêra was born on 22 January 1943 in Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She was an actress and producer, known for Pixote (1980), Central Station (1998) and Urban Snap-Shots (2008). She was married to Bruno Faria, Nelson Motta, Paulo Villaça, Agildo Ribeiro and Paulo Graça Mello. She died on 5 December 2015 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Caio Junqueira was born on 15 November 1976 in Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He was an actor, known for Elite Squad (2007), Buena Sorte (1996) and For All: Springboard to Victory (1997). He died on 23 January 2019 in Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

José Lewgoy was born on 16 November 1920 in Veranópolis, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. He was an actor, known for Fitzcarraldo (1982), O Ibraim do Subúrbio (1976) and Perfume de Gardênia (1992). He died on 10 February 2003 in Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Helmuth Schneider was born on 18 December 1920 in Munich, Germany. He was an actor and assistant director, known for Die Göttin vom Rio Beni (1950), Der Löwe von Babylon (1959) and Don't Look Now... We're Being Shot At! (1966). He died on 17 March 1972 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Born in Santiago del Estero, Argentina in 1914, Carlos Hugo Christensen is considered one of the most prolific filmmakers in Latin American history.

A pioneer in the film industry, his love of literature combined with a forward-thinking attitude towards sexuality, resulted in a unique point of view which infused Argentine cinema of the forties and fifties with his trademark touch of audacity and veiled eroticism. Films such as "SAFO, Historia De Una Pasión" (1943), where Mecha Ortiz and Roberto Escalada smoked after an implied sexual encounter, or "El Ángel Desnudo"(1946), where famed Argentinean screen goddess Olga Zubarry bared her naked back to the camera in the first ever nude scene in Argentine history, or "Adan y la Serpiente" (1946) where Tilda Thamar exhibited a two piece bathing suit for the first time in Latin American film, pushed the sexual envelope and sparked much controversy and debate.

In 1954, Christensen's anti-Peron sentiments resulted in his political exile from Argentina, as part of the largest persecution of the artistic community and intellectual class in the country's history. This landed Christensen in Brazil, where he completed the first Technicolor film ever to be shot there, "Meus Amores No Rio," which was nominated for the Golden Berlin Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival in 1959. A contemporary of world-renowned Argentinean author Jorge Luis Borges, Christensen is the only director to have adapted many of Borges' short stories to the screen, including the incendiary "La Intrusa," a feature film centering on the relationship between two homosexual gauchos (Argentine cowboys) which was banned from cinemas throughout Latin America, but was the official selection representing Brazil at the Montreal International Film Festival in 1980.

Within a career that spanned seven decades, he completed 55 films, most of them comedies, melodramas or film noir, the majority of which he wrote, directed and produced. His films have each garnered numerous awards including Best Director and Best Film prizes, in countless festivals and award ceremonies throughout the world. Among his many cinematic distinctions, some of the most internationally notable include: Grand Prize of the Festival (Nomination), Cannes Int'l Film Festival for "La Ballandra Isabel Llego Esta Tarde" (1951); Venice International Film Festival, Official Selection, Brazil, for "Maos Sangrentas" (1955); Golden Berlin Bear (Nomination), Berlin Int'l Film Festival for "Meus Amores No Rio" (1959).

Although best known for his film work, Christensen was also an accomplished poet, publishing his first volume of poetry "El Libro del Primer Amor" at the tender age of 18. His next poetic compilation "El Mar Ante La Playa," was published to great critical acclaim shortly after, as was his first short story "Adolescencia." Armed with literary success, he abandoned his studies at the Facultad de Filosofia y Letras (University of Philosophy and Letters) in Buenos Aires, and began working as a journalist. From there he moved on to radio, then to writing and directing plays, and finally to what he is best known for, film. He continued to write poetry throughout his life; his final book of poetry "Poemas Para Os Amigos," was published shortly before his death in 1999.

Among the innumerable personal honors and tributes he has received, the final one to date came shortly before his death, at the 18th Festival des 3 Continents, in Nantes (France), where 8 of his feature films were selected to screen as part of an exhibit dedicated to melodrama in Argentinean cinema. Posthumously, he has continued to screen around the world, most recently, at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. His multi award-winning film "La Ballandra Isabel Llego Esta Tarde" will screen in Los Angeles in June 2007 as the only Spanish Language offering of the 21st Annual Last Remaining Seats Series, alongside "North by Northwest," "Roman Holiday," "Flesh and the Devil," "Yankee Doodle Dandy," and "Scarface."

Stelvio Rosi was born on 1 August 1938 in Rome, Lazio, Italy. He was an actor and producer, known for Anaconda (1997), The Leopard (1963) and They Were Called Three Musketeers But They Were Four (1973). He died on 19 December 2018 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Elizângela was born on 11 December 1954 in Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She was an actress, known for Edge of Desire (2017), Paraíso (1982) and O Cafona (1971). She was married to José and Jorge Humberto Moreira. She died on 3 November 2023 in Guapimirim, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Paulo César Peréio was born on 19 October 1940 in Alegrete, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. He was an actor and writer, known for As Aventuras Amorosas de Um Padeiro (1975), Harmada (2003) and Summer Showers (1978). He was married to Cissa Guimarães, Suzana César de Andrade and Neila Tavares. He died on 12 May 2024 in Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Esmeralda Barros was born on 4 September 1944 in Ilhéus, Bahia, Brazil. She was an actress, known for Kong Island (1968), Presídio de Mulheres Violentadas (1977) and A Espiã Que Entrou em Fria (1967). She died on 10 October 2019 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Aracy Balabanian was born on 22 February 1940 in Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. She was an actress, known for The Next Victim (1995), Rainha da Sucata (1990) and Nino, o Italianinho (1969). She died on 7 August 2023 in Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Adriano Reys was born on 20 July 1934 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He was an actor, known for The Buzz (1985), Ciranda de Pedra (1981) and Final Feliz (1982). He was married to Viviane Cantinho. He died on 20 November 2011 in Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Nelson Pereira dos Santos was born on 22 October 1928 in São Paulo, Brazil. He was a director and writer, known for Memórias do Cárcere (1984), O Amuleto de Ogum (1974) and Barren Lives (1963). He was married to Ivelise Ferreira. He died on 21 April 2018 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Sandra Bréa was born on 11 May 1952 in Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She was an actress, known for O Bem-Amado (1973), Corrida do Ouro (1974) and Felicidade (1991). She was married to Silva Netto , Lídio , Arthur Armando Guarisse , Antonio Guerreiro , Ricardo Acher and Eduardo Espínola Neto . She died on 4 May 2000 in Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Thelma Reston was born on 6 July 1939 in Piracanjuba, Goiás, Brazil. She was an actress, known for The Seven Kittens (1980), Mandacaru (1997) and Kubanacan (2003). She died on 20 December 2012 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

One of the most beautiful women in Brazil in the 1950s and 1960s, Ilka Soares' career began in 1947 in a Miss Brazil pageant promoted by 'O Globo' newspaper. There, she met Vittorio Cardineli and Ugo Lombardi, actress Bruna Lombardi's father, who invited her to audition for Iracema (1949), an adaptation of the novel of the same name by José de Alencar. After a successful screen test at 'Brasil Vita Filmes' studios, she got the leading role in what is now considered a lost film.

In the 50s, she starred in ten films for 'Atlântida Empresa Cinematográfica do Brasil' and 'Companhia Cinematográfica Vera Cruz', two of the most prestigious Brazilian film studios at that time.

She started on TV in 1956 as a news anchor and variety show host, becoming popular on magazine covers as well as a professional model. Her 40-decade-long career in telenovelas began with O Cafona (1971).

Nelson Rodrigues was born on 23 August 1912 in Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil. He was a writer and producer, known for Gêmeas (1999), The Seven Kittens (1980) and Somos Dois (1950). He was married to Lucia Cruz Lima, Yolanda Camejo dos Santos and Elza Bretanha. He died on 21 December 1980 in Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.