‘Silvio came with a mission: to bring joy’, says Faustão

Twice a week, Faustão undergoes hemodialysis (a routine procedure for those with kidney failure) at the Albert Einstein hospital in São Paulo. It was there that Silvio Santos died last Saturday (17), as a result of bronchopneumonia.

Fausto Silva knew that his colleague was hospitalized in the same institution, but he did not visit him.

“I knew about Silvio’s situation, but I didn’t visit him so as not to bother him,” he explained to Fantástico this Sunday (18). “When you’re hospitalized, you don’t want people going there, his family is already big enough. When I was hospitalized, I didn’t want visitors either,” he explained.

About his colleague, with whom he spent decades competing for Sunday audiences, Faustão was full of praise and respect.

“He was the true king of Brazilian TV,” he said. “Silvio came with a mission: to bring joy. And also the mission of entrepreneurship. How many people he helped. He entered the field in the game of life, won, lost, tied, but was active the whole time,” said Faustão.

“He leaves an immense legacy, not only for what he did on television, but for his story, the life he had, the difficulties he faced. I had opportunities, I studied at good schools, I went to college. When he was 14, he sold pens. He faced difficulties and prejudice. At the time, prejudice against Jews was very great,” he said.

Faustão, who spent more than 30 years at Globo, had not appeared on the network since 2021. In January 2022, he debuted on Band, but had to leave about a year later due to health problems. When asked by Renata Ceribelli if he wanted to return to work, he was evasive: “We have many competent presenters, Luciano Huck, Rodrigo Faro, Marcos Mion,” he listed.

With two transplanted organs, a kidney and a heart, Faustão stated in the interview that he is taking care of himself with physiotherapy and gymnastics, in addition to dialysis sessions, which are part of his treatment.

“I have the heart of a 35-year-old athlete, but I have to take care of myself,” he joked. “I’ve never smoked, never drank, I don’t drink liquor, beer, nothing, and I’ve never used drugs. I was caught in the red and had to have a transplant. If I deserved to come back, that’s a big responsibility,” he said.

In addition to his feelings for Silvio, the presenter lamented the recent loss of Caçulinha, who died on the 5th. The musician played on his Globo program for more than 20 years.