1 9 6 1 - January to June

Eva Wilma and John Herbert in an ad for Romi-Isetta in 1961 at Parque do Ibirapuera. 

Eva Wilma and John Herbert are enthused by their mini car... 

Mary Wynne was a journalist from Dallas, Texas who settled permanently in São Paulo, Brazil sometime in the 1940s. She landed a job as a night-club columnist at daily 'O Estado de S. Paulo'. She was a delight to read... She could express herself really well in Portuguese. 

Each year as of 1957, Ms Wynne organized the election of the best people in the night club scene in each category and granted them a trophy she called Sacizinho named after the famous Sacy statuettes given out yearly by OESP to the best performers in theatre & movies.

The yearly bash was usually held  at Danubio Hotel's night-club on Avenida Brigadeiro Luiz Antonio. And as most of the awardees worked the night-shift, the celebration started at 5:00 PM. This particular year it was on Sunday, 25 March 1962.

26 February 1961 - Mary Wynne presents the list of the winners of 1960's best performers... 

These are 1961's best night-club acts in Sao Paulo voted by the readers of Mary Wynne's daily column at 'O Estado de S. Paulo'.

Fred Aurieres - permanent foreign attraction
William Forneaud - male singer
Leny Eversong - national attraction for 1957, 1958, 1960 & 1961 - Sacizinho de Honra
Caco Velho - permanent national attraction
Robledo - pianist

Isaura Garcia - national attraction
Luiz Chaves - musician
Tristão da Silva - international attraction
Mario Tatini - personality
Elza Mayda - female singer

Carlos Pinedo - 'Chef de cousine'
Luiz Carlos Prado - male revelation
Mariá - female revelation
Andres Molinero - barman
Fritz Behr - Maitre d'Hotel
Vadeco-Odilon e seu Conjunto - musical combo:
Odilon, Duilio, J.Ordenez, J. Bilaimente, Tony Marcillo & Vadeco.

Best of the best in São Paulo's night life receive their Sacizinhos at Hotel Danubio on Sunday, 25 March 1962.

5 February 1961 - TV Record had its own year-round ice-rink build alonside its studios at the suburb called Airport.

5 March 1961 - Italian cartoonist Morales J. Morales depicts Gianfrancesco Guarnieri, Cacilda Becker, Leonardo Vilar, Cleyde Yaconis & others in an event at Teatro Brasileiro de Comedia; Teatro Cacilda Becker celebrates its 3rd year of existence...

19 March 1961 - Roberto Anderson's 1953 play 'Tea and sympathy' (Chá e simpatia) is back at Teatro Bela Vista with Nydia Licia. It tells in 3 acts a story about a male private school student, Tom Lee, who faces accusations of homosexuality. A woman, Laura, who is married to an instructor, opposes the students' shaming of Lee and romantically pursues him so he can prove that he has a masculine character. (taken from Wikipedia).

21st March 1962 - Mary Wynne shows singer-comedian Zé Fidelis' photo on the top-left-side of her column and tells the 'Number One enemy of Sadness' who worked as a public-relations person for Cia. Antarctica Paulista, a major brewery - would be a major attraction at next Sunday Sacizinho gala at the Danubio Hotel.

3 March 1961 - Teatro Cacilda Becker started in March 1958 and is 3-years-old with Abilio Pereira de Almeida's  '...Em moeda corrente do país' at Teatro Federação on Avenida Brigadeiro Luiz Antonio.

11 March 1961 - Arthur Miller's 1953 play 'The Crucible' (Feiticeiras de Salem) played at Teatro Maria Della Costa; Abilio Pereira de Almeida's 'Em moeda corrente do país' played at Teatro Cacilda Becker; José Vasconcelos's 'Eu sou o espetáculo' was playing for the 3rd year in a row at huge Teatro Paramount; Vasconcelos was so successful in his one-man-show that pantomime actor Ricardo Bandeira thought he might emulate him with his 'O show sou eu' at the much smaller Teatro de Arena. At Cine Monaco, Mexican comedian Cantinflas' 1959's 'Sube y baja' (Sobe e desce) always attracts big crowds.

19 March 1961 - At Champanhota on Rua Amaral Gurgel, singer Noite Ilustrada performed nightly; at Michel on Rua Major Sertorio, a revue with comedienne Maria Vidal, Dorinha Duval, Hugo Santana, Flavio Pedroso & Denise Dumont; at La Vie en Rose on the same rua Major Sertorio, only on Sundays, comedians Ronald Golias & Carlos Alberto de Nobrega shared the stage; at Farney's on Praça Roosevelt, Dick Farney played piano nightly. Chansonier Sacha Distel would sing at Farney's on the 21 March. Mr. Distel was actually singing nightly at Teatro Record as of the 21st through to the 27th.

26 March 1961 - The very best of S.Paulo's night life in 1960 chosen by columnist Mary Wynne: Leny Eversong (internacional act); Robledo (pianist); Uccio Gaeta (musician); suave Dick Farney (male singer); Fred Feld  being the best pianist of 1957, 1958 & 1959 will be granted a 'Sacizinho de Honra' (a Little Sacy Honours).

4 April 1961 - Horn-player & band-leader Ray Anthony performed nightly at Teatro Record; on Thursday, 6 April Anthony his band and his singers would play at ball at Club Pinheiros; Carolina Maria de Jesus's 'Quarto de despejo' with Ruth de Souza playing the squatter & author at Teatro Bela Vista; Colé & his company opened at Teatro Natal with 'Mulher só à francesa' (Women only the French way) with Lilian Fernandes as a star on Thursday too.

13 April 1961 - Premiere of Roberto Freire's 'Sem entrada e sem mais nada' with great cast: Eva Wilma, Liana Duval, Mauro Mendonça, Elias Gleiser directed by vanguardist Antunes Filho.

19 April 1961 – Mary Wynne writes: Old time singer Caco Velho and his friend Edy own the Brazilian’s Bar on Rua Peixoto Gomide.  The place is small and it seems like the smaller it is the more people want to get in. It’s standing room only every night.  

I met charming Caterina Valente at the bar two nights ago just when she was saying good-bye to S.Paulo after performing a whole week at Teatro Record on Rua da Consolação. The international singer conquered a lot of hearts; you should have seen all the gifts she got and everyone trying to greet her. Caco Velho with his Olga and Chininha and his combo did one of the best performances I’ve seen.

Agostinho dos Santos whom I haven’t seen for a long time sang some of his best songs especially to Miss Valente. They have actually belonged to the same label Polydor some time in the past. What a voice, what heart felt delivery! I don’t know anybody who can evoke the late Dolores Duran so well as Agostinho.  

Caterina listened attentively to each song, following the beat with her head and her expressive hands softly trying to memorize each word for future recordings in Europe.

The Brazilian’s Bar has been chosen as the hang-out of International stars that visit São Paulo like Sacha Distel, Ray Anthony and now Caterina Valente. 

19 April 1961 - show-girl Marly Marley & friends strutted their thing at Boite Oasis; Geraldo Cunha played his guitar and sang at Bon Soir on Praça Franklin Roosevelt; pianist Robledo & his combo played at Bon Voyage on Estrada São Paulo-Paraná (future Via Raposo Tavares); organist Walter Wanderley played at Hotel Comodoro's Captain Bar; Dick Farney played piano and sang at Farney's his own night-club on Praça Roosevelt; Alda Perdigão sang at La Vie en Rose on Rua Major Sertório; Barbara Ardauney sang at Moleque Bar on Alameda Nothmann; The Avalons, Brazil's very first rock'n'roll combo played at Noubar on Rua João Dias in Santo Amaro every Sunday in a 'chá dançante' followed with 'jantar dançante'; Moacyr Peixoto (Cauby's brother) and his Quintet played 'jantar dançante' from 10:00 PM to 3:AM every night at Hotel Jaragua's Studium.

26 May 1961 - São Paulo was such a cosmopolitan city where one could go and watch a whole play acted in the French languaga like Molière's 'Les précieuses ridicules', Eugene Ionesco's 'Rhinoceros', Marivaux's 'Les fausses confidences' etc. 

25 June 1961 - TV Excelsior, Channel 9 could be seen now in Santos-SP as long as one directed its aerial towards Morro Santa Terezinha... 

25 June 1961 -  Believe it or not, great song-writer, pianist and band leader Ary Barroso was conducting his full orchestra at Theatro Paramount in São Paulo less than 3 years prior to his death (early 1964); grandiose Russian ballet was more popular than ever with Stanislavski at Ibirapuera arena; Russians were popular as space-travellers too; Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin visited Brazil wowing the crowds with his good looks; the local burlesque Teatro Natal could not ignore him - 'Gagarin na lua' (Gagarin in the Moon) with voluptous show girls Celia Coutinho & Eloina; at MacKenzie University a Bossa Nova recital with Vinicius de Moraes, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Alaide Costa, Agostinho dos Santos, Carlos Lyra, Caetano Zamma, Ana Lucia etc.

25 June 1961 - actress Bibi Ferreira MCs 'Brazil '61', the best variety show on Brazilian TV.

1 9 6 1 - July to December

2nd July 1961 - Italian cartoonist Morales J. Morales whose real name was Diego Chiappero, gives the tone to the Saci Awards to the best in Sao Paulo's theatre scene. From left to right: Sergio Cardoso, ..., ..., ..., Paulo Autran, Cacilda Becker and Nydia Licia.

7 July 1961 - Nelson Rodrigues' legendary play 'O beijo no asfalto' opens at Teatro Ginástico in Rio de Janeiro-GB with Fernanda Montenegro, Sergio Britto, Italo Rossi, Carminha Brandão etc.

16 July 1961 - At Teatro Maria Della Costa, Ferdinand Bruckner's 1929's 'Krankheit der Jugend' (Males da juventude).

Ferdinand Bruckner's real name was Theodor Tagger (*26 August 1891, in Sofia, Bulgaria +5 December 1958, in Berlin) was an Austrian-German writer and theatre manager. 

23rd July 1961 - At Teatro Bela Vista, Nydia Licia in Pirandello's 1930's 'Questa sera si recita a soggetto' (Esta noite improvisamos).

23rd July 1961 - Italian-American Vic Damone sings at Teatro Ritz (former Cine Ritz) at Rua da Consolação, 2.304; one of his recitals was broadcast by TV Tupi who tried hard to emulate TV Record for some time in 1961... until the dollar-cruzeiro exchange-rate went up through the roof and they had to abandon such a folly.

30 July 1961 - a brand-new theatre opens in São Paulo: Teatro Oficina, at Rua Jaceguay, 520.

30 July 1961 - New play at Teatro de Arena: 'O testamento do cangaceiro'...

30 July 1961 - 

30 July 1961 - Miss Brazil Number Two Vera Maria Brauner Menezes was the runner-up at Long Beach's II Miss International Beauty Contest. Stanny Van Baer, Miss Holland was voted the most beautiful girl...

1st August 1961 - Argentine actress Suzana Freyre plays 'The miracle worker' (O milagre de Anna Sullivan) at Teatro Copacabana in Rio de Janeiro-GE. Glauce Rocha, Fregolente and Sergio Viotti are in the cast too.

5 August 1961 - Mary Wynne shows a photo of piano player Pachá, who tickles the ivories every night at Farney's. The other combo playing at Dick Farney's is led by bass-player Luiz Chaves who's Saba's kid brother. 

 6 August 1961 - Moliere's 'La malade imaginaire' (O doente imaginário) at Teatro Leopoldo Fróes.

13 August 1961 - Admov's 'As almas mortas' based on Nikolai Gogol's 1842 book at Teatro Brasileiro de Comedia with Cacilda Becker, Cleyde Yaconis, Gianfrancesco Guarnieri, Stenio Garcia etc.; Arthur Admov (23 August 1908 + 15 March 1970) was one of the foremost exponents of the Theatre of the Absurd. Music by Carlos Lyra.

27 August 1961 - At Sociedade Harmonia de Tenis, on Rua Argentina, 290, a great 'Festival da Canção Brasileira' with Norma Benguel, Sylvia, Telles, Alaide Costa, Morgana, Agostinho dos Santos, Sergio Ricardo, Carlos Lira, Tito Madi, Pery Ribeiro, Daisy Paiva etc. This was actually the forerunner of what would become a trend in 1963, a maelstrom in 1964 and then lead to those legendary song-festivals that had its peak in 1967, at TV Record.

3rd September 1961 - Mary Wynne is told by Claudette Soares she started working in São Paulo in March 1961... Ms Wynne catches up with Mary Gonçalves now Mrs. Gus Standish who tells her she's about to go back to Barranquilla, Colombia where she'd been living since she left São Paulo's night life in early 1960.

3rd September 1961 -

3rd September 1961 - At Teatro Federação, Claude Magner's 'Oscar' with Jô Soares & Cecilia Carneiro; at Teatro Oficina, Clifford Odets' 1933's 'Awake and sing!' (A vida impressa em dolar).

Renato Borghi, Celia Helena, Moracy do Val & Etty Fraser in 'Awake and sing!' (A vida impressa em dolar); photo taken by Fredi Kleemann.

1st October 1961 - Morales J. Morales draws his vision of Moracy do Val, Celia Helena & Etty Fraser in 'A vida impressa em dolar' which opened a new theatre in São Paulo: Teatro Oficina.

'Awake and sing!' premiered at the Belasco Theater on 19 February 1935, running for 184 performances before closing on 27 July 1935; it returned in September 1935 for an additional 24 performances. Directed by Harold Cluman, it starred Luther Adler (Moe Axelrod), Stella Adler (Bessie Berger), Morris Carnovsky (Jacob), John Garfield (Ralph Berger) & Sandord Meisner (Sam Feinschreiber).

7 September 1961 - Mary Wynne reminisces about 7 September 1954, when Bon Voyage owned by Sergio Rolim in a building designed by Oscar Niemeyer opened its doors. Robledo was playing piano at the nightclub on Rodovia Raposo Tavares; Ms Wynne says Robledo and Fred Feld were the only foreign piano players who were still going on strong in São Paulo of late.

10 September 1961 - Ms Wynne wishes Happy Birthday to Leny Eversong and prints a photo where Leny celebrates her b'day with Pedrinho Mattar, a Brazilian pianist who accompanied Miss Eversong in her stints at the Thunderbird in Las Vegas, Nevada. Unfortunately the quality of the photo was poor so we made do with another non-identified pianist.

10 September 1961 - at Teatro Bela Vista, 'As guerras do Alecrim' with Berta Zemel, Wolney de Assis, Rosamaria Murtinho etc.

10 September 1961 - Elaborate articles about Antonio José's 'Guerras de alecrim' and Clifford Odets' 'Awake and sing!' (A vida impressa em dolar). 

Clifford Odets in 1938. 

24 September 1961 - José Vasconcelos got tired of his one-man-show 'Eu sou o espetáculo' and now shared Teatro Paramount's stage with Walter D'Avila, Otelo Zeloni, Maria Fernanda and big cast in a revue called 'No país dos bilhetinhos' which meant the little notes written by President Janio Quadros to his staff. The play must have lost its raison d'être when Mr. Quadros resigned from the Presidency on 25 August 1961

1st October 1961 - I had been living in Sao Paulo since 16 December 1960. I was 12 years old, went to night-school, I was at year 5 (1a. serie ginasial) at Ginasio Vila Madalena on Rua Morás. Even though I had moved from a small town 500 km away from Sao Paulo I was not a 'dumb kid'. In a matter of few weeks I could take the tram-cars 'Praça Ramos de Azevedo' from Rua Fradique Coutinho corner of Rua Aspicuelta and get off at the very heart of the city and go & see a movie 'downtown'. 

I remember distinctly weel, I made friends with a dark boy called Sergio who lived on Rua Ignacio Pereira da Rocha near Rua Fradique Coutinho who was in the same class as I. Sergio invited me to go and visit 'Primeiro Salão da Criança' - (First Kids' Hall) as the ad above says it went on from 30 September through to 15 October 1961. I didn't have the slightest idea what sort of business that was but went ahead and let me be guided by Sergio who knew the intricacies of how to get to Ibirapuera Park that was off-limits to me. I don't know how we finally got to the spot but we did... and we must have had a lot of fun because I still remember that day. It actually was a sort of a fair inside a great hall with stands that would sell all sort of things a child would love to have.

Sergio lived in a nice 2-story-house and had 2 older sisters. We ended up growing apart because he left Ginasio Vila Madalena in 1962 and must have enrolled in some better school. I still remember passing in front of his house and saying 'hello' eventually... but one day as I was going to say 'Oi!' he turned his face away. I would still see him at his porch eventually but he was not a 'friend' anymore. He grew to be an obese kid and after a few years his family must have moved away from there.

8 October 1961 - Still 'Primeiro Salão da Criança' where Radio Bandeirantes - the most popular radio station then - had a stage where they presented shows like 'Periquitos em revista' where kids wearing roller-skates would tell a story...

8 October 1961 - Liana Duval, Berta Zemel & Nydia Licia as seen by Morales J. Morales in J.B. Priestly's 1937's 'Time and the Conways' at Teatro Bela Vista.

15 October 1961 - Musical revue 'Alô, alô juventude' set up by TV Record as an opening act for US sensational teen-ager Brenda Lee on her 2nd visit to São Paulo (she had been here in 1959); Miss Lee sang at 5:00 and 9:00 PM;  from 22nd to 29th October, Harold Nicholas - famous half of Hollywood's 1940s musical wonder Nicholas Brothers did his 'Uma noite de cha-cha-cha'.

22nd October 1961 - 

22nd October 1961 - at Teatro de Arena, The Avalons finally reverted to their original sound after having played rock'n'roll in 1959 and 1960. Mary Wynne says The Avalons were: Dudú at leading guitar, Massao Ukon blowing his horn, Heitor Costa at clarinet, Paulinho at the drums and Daniel at the bass. 

22nd October 1961 - Jorge Andrade's 'A escada' with Cleyde Yaconis, Nathalia Timberg, Nilda Maria, Miriam Mehler, Carmen Silva, Ruthnéa de Moraes, Luiz Linhares, Elisio de Albuquerque, Juca de Oliveira. 

12 November 1961 - Morales J. Morales depicts actors Elias Gleiser, Dionizio de Azevedo & Raul Cortez in Abilio Pereira de Almeida's 'O bezerro de ouro' at Teatro Leopoldo Fróes.

 

12 November 1961 - Cartoonists Borjalo, (Mauro Borja Lopes * 15 November 1925, in Pitangui-MG), Ziraldo (Ziraldo Alves Pinto * 24 October 1932, in Caratinga-MG), Fortuna,(* 21st August 1931, in Sao Luiz do Maranhão) Jaguar (Sergio Jaguaribe * 29 February 1932, in Rio de Janeiro-DF), Hilde Weber (Waldau-Germany) & Claudius (real name: Claudius Sylvius Petrus Ceccon) show their humoristic cartoons collectively at Galeria Ambiente on Rua Martins Fontes.

12 November 1961 - Pianist Moacyr Peixoto, whose kid brother Cauby Peixoto was one of the most popular singers in the country, opens a night-bar on Rua Nestor Pestana, next to famous restaurant Gigetto. Moacyr played piano accompanied by Luiz Chaves at the double-bass.

12 November 1961 - Piano player contest done by OESP's own Radio Eldorado according to Morales J. Morales...

 

 

26 November 1961 - Great females singers like Dircinha Costa (at Black-and-White), Julie Joy at La Vie en Rose and Claudia Barroso (at Muradas) could be seen and heard at those night clubs...

2nd December 1961 - Teatro de Arena team come back from a long tour...

7 December 1961 - In 1961, Sao Paulo's Escola de Arte Dramática was news-worth... times have indeed changed...

9 December 1961 -

10 December 1961 -

10 December 1961 - At Teatro Record on Monday (4) and Tuesday, 5 December 1961, daily 'Folha de S.Paulo' plus Radio & TV Record held the I Brazilian Jazz Festival (I Festival Brasileiro de Jazz) with various combos from Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. 

17 December 1961 - Unidentified jazz-loving journalist tells it like it is. In few words he dissects the whole Brazilian jazz scene in late 1961.

17 December 1961 -

24 December 1061 -

31st December 1961 - Morales J. Morales told it all about Sao Paulo's theatre scene when he drww this magnificent cartoon...