Antônio Carlos Bernardes Gomes, better known as Mussum (pronounced:moo-SOON), was a Brazilian comedian, actor, musician, and composer. In the 1984 Brazilian parody film Os Trapalhões e o Mágico de Oróz, Mussum played Tonel, an adaptation for the Tin Man in the 1939 "The Wizard of Oz".
Biography[]
Mussum was born in Morro da Cachoeirinha, in Lins de Vasconcelos, North Zone of Rio de Janeiro. Mussum concentrated on his studies, passing on his teachings to his mother, the maid Malvina Bernardes Gomes, completing primary school in 1954. Not wanting to interrupt his education, he joined the Fundação Abrigo Cristo Redentor.
At the Getúlio Vargas Professional Institute, one of the institutions belonging to Abrigo Cristo Redentor foundation, Mussum was approved in a selection process for the "Nutrição Boa" program. In 1957, Mussum obtained his mechanical adjuster diploma along with a job recommendation, the newly graduated began working as na apprentice in a workshop in Rocha in North Zone of Rio de Janeiro. He served in the Brazilian Air Force for eight years.
While serving in the Brazilian Air Force, Mussum took the opportunity to participate in Carlos Machado's Brazilian Music Cultural Caravan. He began his artistic career playing reco-reco in the group Os Modernos do Samba under the artistic names "Carlinhos da Mangueira" and "Carlinhos do Reco-Reco".
Later, he founded the group "Os Sete Modernos" with his friends, which later became known as "Os Originais do Samba", a group he was a member of for 14 years. With them, Mussum recorded a total of 13 albums, and had several hits, such as "Falador Passa Mal", "Tragédia no Fundo do Mar (O Assassinato do Camarão)" and "Aniversário do Tarzan". Due to his charisma, swagger and good humor, Mussum always stood out among the group members. After a few appearances on television, many people believed that he could be successful as a comedian, but Mussum always refused the invitations, justifying that painting his face, as is the custom of actors, was not a "men's thing". In 1965, Mussum finally agreed to participate in the TV Globo comedy program Bairro Feliz and acting alongside the comedian Grande Otelo. It was behind the scenes of this program that Othello would have given the then Carlinhos the nickname "Mussum" in reference to a black South American fish Synbranchus marmoratus (known in Brazil as "mussum").
Through his friend Jair Rodrigues, Mussum was introduced to Dedé Santana, who at the time formed the comic duo "Didi e Dedé" alongside Renato Aragão. Dedé invited Mussum to join them, and after much insistence, he ended up accepting. Alongside the two, Mussum acted in the comedy films "Os Insociáveis" and "A Praça da Alegria", both shown on TV Record.
In 1975, alongside Renato, Dedé, and Zacarias, Mussum started the humorous program "Os Trapalhões" on TV Tupi, which became one of the network’s biggest successes, beating Fantástico's audience. The success of the program would have bothered Boni, who invited the Trapalhões to take their program to Globo. This exchange that would only be carried out in 1977 after a list of three sheets of demands made by Aragão.
Mussum died on July 29, 1994, at 2:45 am, at Hospital Beneficência Portuguesa, in São Paulo, due to complications occurred after a heart transplant. His body was buried in Cemitério Congonhas cemetery, in São Paulo.
Role as Tonel[]
In Os Trapalhões e o Mágico de Oróz, Mussum had been separated from Os Trapalhões for between 6 months to 1 year prior to the production of that film, that being the film that marked the group's return to the big screen after their separation. As the film was a parody of the 1939 MGM film, Tonel was an adaptation for Tin Man, serving the same role of a tin man joining the main character to get a heart.