Rubens de Falco da Costa (October 19, 1931 – August 22, 2008) was a Brazilian actor best known for his work in telenovelas, most notably his portrayal as a slave owner in the 1976 telenovela, Escrava Isaura (The Slave Isaura) and the 1986 telenovela Sinhá Moça (Little Missy).
Career
De Falco was born in São Paulo, Brazil on October 19, 1931. He began his acting career in the local theater. In 1955, he joined the group "Os Jograis", of São Paulo, and played beside such actors as Ruy Afonso, Italo Rossi and Felipe Wagner. He made his cinema debut in 1952, in the movie Apassionata, for the movie studio Companhia Cinematográfica Vera Cruz.
In television, he had big roles in telenovelas such as O Rei dos Ciganos (1967), A Rainha Louca (1967), O Passo dos Ventos (1968), Gabriela (1975), O Grito (1975), Escrava Isaura (1976), Dona Xepa (1977), A Sucessora (1978) and Sinhá Moça (1986).
Perhaps his best-known work came in 1976, when he played the cruel villain Leôncio Almeida, a powerful farm owner and ruthless slave owner in the telenovela Escrava Isaura. De Falco's character, Leôncio Almeida, fell in love with one of his slaves, played by Brazilian actress Lucélia Santos.
Escrava Isaura was very popular around the world and became a hit in Africa, Eastern Europe and Latin America. Escrava Isaura was the first soap opera ever broadcast in Poland and Soviet Union and became the first television series shown in China with a foreign actors in main roles. Rubens de Falco, who played Leôncio Almeida as one of his most famous roles, was called "the great villain of Brazilian television drama" by Lucélia Santos.
He again played a powerful farm owner and ruthless slave owner, the cruel villain Baron de Araruna in the 1986 telenovela, Sinhá Moça alongside Lucélia Santos who starred this time as his rebellious daughter.
De Falco's last television role was as Almeida in 2004 in the Rede Record remake of A Escrava Isaura, and his last movie and acting role was as Deputado Ernesto Alves in 2008 in Fim da Linha.
Death
Rubens de Falco died on February 22, 2008, of heart failure at the CIAI Center for the Aged in São Paulo, Brazil. He never married, had no children and left no heirs.