Former Globo, allergic to cosmetics and best man at Íris’ first wedding; learn interesting facts about Silvio Santos

Silvio Santos was born on December 12, 1930, in Lapa, Rio de Janeiro. The son of immigrants Alberto Abravanel, of Greek origin, and Rebeca Abravanel, of Turkish origin, his baptismal name was Senor Abravanel. He began working as a street vendor at the age of 14, and it was a city inspector who noticed Silvio’s talent for communication. Instead of being arrested, he was sent to a contest at Rádio Guanabara, where he beat out 400 candidates.

The presenter, who died this Saturday (17) at the age of 93, worked at Globo for 10 years (1966 to 1976), and tried to enter politics by running for Mayor of São Paulo twice, in 1988 and 1992. In 1989, Silvio tried to run in the 1989 presidential election, the first by direct vote after the military dictatorship, for the Brazilian Municipalist Party (PMB). As the businessman’s candidacy was officialized 15 days before the first round, scheduled for November 15, it was contested by opposing parties and blocked by the Superior Electoral Court (TSE).

An ice cream fanatic and allergic to cosmetics, the businessman created his own factory, Jequiti, a line of anti-allergy products. According to SBT, the network founded by Silvio, his favorite song was “Eu Sei Que Vou Te Amar” by Vinicius de Moraes. His favorite singers were Roberto Carlos and Julio Iglesias. The presenter left behind six daughters and 14 grandchildren. Learn more interesting facts:

The real name, Senor Abravanel, is a tribute to Dom Isaac Abravanel, a minister who saved Portugal from bankruptcy in the 16th century. The presenter’s father was told that in Brazil there was no “dom”, only “senhor”. That’s why the name became Senor Abravanel.

During his childhood, one of Silvio’s greatest pastimes was going to the movies with Léo, his younger brother, at Cinelândia, in Rio, and they would always try to get into the movie sessions without paying. One day in the 1940s, Silvio woke up with a cold and a slight fever. Rebeca, his mother, forbade the pair from going to the movies. The next day, he discovered that the cinema had caught fire and several children had been injured.

The owner of SBT had a slight hypochondriac tendency and had confessed several times that he was afraid of dying.

In addition to Patrícia Abravanel, who was kidnapped in 2001, Silvio had a sister who was kidnapped in 1992. At the time, Sara Abravanel was the Regional Director of SBT. The incident occurred in Rio when she left her apartment to work at the station. The family did not have to pay the ransom – the criminals were demanding US$500,000 – because the police were able to locate her through wiretaps and arrested the men. The kidnapping lasted about 15 hours and she was rescued.

Silvio Santos was best man at Íris Abravanel’s wedding, which was revealed by Íris herself in an interview with Danilo Gentili. At the time, Íris was 19 years old, while Silvio was 37, separated and the father of Cintia and Silvia Abravanel, daughters from his relationship with Maria Aparecida. The communicator was her first husband’s cousin. The relationship was initially disapproved of by Íris’s father. “When my father found out, he stayed in bed for three days. He went crazy and punched the wall.”

An icon of Brazilian television, the communicator was the subject of, for example, the samba theme song of Tradição in 2001. At the time, the owner of SBT paraded at Marquês de Sapucaí, where he was applauded by the audience, alongside other stars of the network, such as announcer Lombardi, presenters Gugu Liberato, Hebe Camargo, Ratinho and comedian Carlos Alberto de Nóbrega. The school from Madureira came in eighth place. That year, the winning school was Imperatriz Leopoldinense.

He was also the owner of Banco Panamericano, Banco Pan as it was known, sold to BTG in 2011, after a billion-dollar hole was discovered.