Anselmo Duarte

Anselmo Duarte Bento (April 21, 1920 – November 7, 2009) was a Brazilian actor, screenwriter and film director.

Initially known as a leading man in popular musical comedies (known in Brazil as “chanchadas”), he debuted as filmmaker in 1957’s “Absolutamente Certo”, in which he also stars. His next film, “O Pagador de Promessas” (1962), adapted from a stage play by Dias Gomes, won the Golden Palm at the 1962 Cannes Film Festival. It is, to date, the only Brazilian feature film to be so distinguished and the first Cannes’ Southern Hemisphere Golden Palm for best feature film.

Duarte was awarded with the Order of The Cultural Merit, Brazil’s highest cultural civilian honor, and with the Order of Ipiranga, which is the state of São Paulo’s highest civilian honor. He was also awarded with titles of merit citizenship by numerous Brazilian municipalities including Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Salto, his birthplace. In 2009, the municipality of Salto inaugurated a multimillion-dollar cultural and educational center named “Centro Cultural e Educacional Anselmo Duarte”, housing a 500 audience amphitheater for film and theatrical events. The center also displays for public view the original “Golden Palm” awarded to Duarte at the 1962 Cannes Film Festival. n 2008, at 88, Duarte founded a cultural organization (Instituto Anselmo Duarte) dedicated to restoring selected Brazilian films and creating special, free of charge, educational projects aimed at young filmmakers to improve their technical filmmaking skills. After his death, his son, Ricardo Duarte, 69, became the institute’s president.

Upon being diagnosed by suffering Alzheimer’s dementia in 2002, Duarte spent his last 7 years of life under the care of his son, Ricardo, and his grandchild, Daphne, a preeminent Brazilian artist. Anselmo had 4 children.

Reaching stage 6 on his Alzheimer illness condition, a bladder cancer was detected which led to a severe blood hemorrhage, precipitating a heart stroke. Although both the bladder cancer and heart conditions had been successfully treated, a sudden massive hemorrhagic brain stroke left the legendary Brazilian actor and filmmaker in a coma for 6 days, which led to his passing on November 7, 2009.

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