Fernando Ramos da Silva (29 November 1967 – 25 August 1987) was a Brazilian actor who became renowned for his role as "Pixote," the 10-year-old title character in Hector Babenco's 1981 film Pixote: A Lei do Mais Fraco, a documentary-style account of the street children of Brazil. Da Silva became a controversial figure after the film's release and found it hard to separate himself from his depiction as the street assailant Pixote.
On 25 August 1987, da Silva was fatally wounded in an alleged shootout with police. Police reports claim that da Silva was resisting arrest, but there are conflicting reports from eyewitnesses who claim da Silva was unarmed.
Born on 29 November 1967 in São Paulo, da Silva was the sixth of ten children.[1] When he was eight years old his father, João Alves da Silva, died, leaving him with his widowed mother, Josefa Carvalho da Silva, and the rest of his siblings. They lived in a poor city called Diadema on the outskirts of São Paulo.
As the opening of Pixote states, his upbringing was similar to that of the role he would become famous for playing. His mother received a pension of less than $10 a month. The family sold lottery tickets to generate a livable income.[1]
After attending grade school briefly, he soon joined a theater group and began acting in plays at the age of eight.
The biggest break of his young life came when da Silva was picked out of 1,300 applicants by Hector Babenco to play the role of Pixote.
Pixote: A Lei do Mais Fraco
Pixote was released in 1981 and would become Babenco's first internationally successful film.
The film follows four young boys through their stay in a reformatory and their subsequent breakout. After escaping, they return to their lives as children of the street, pickpockets, prostitutes, drug dealers, and, eventually, murderers.
Controversial aspects of the film include the brutal depiction of sex involving children, scenes of children committing acts of murder and drug trafficking, and that one of the major characters, Lilica, is a 17-year-old sex worker that sees older men.
Pixote became a huge international success, even earning a nomination for best Foreign-language film at the Golden Globes, although it achieved only moderate success in Brazil. An estimated 2.5 million viewers in 20 countries saw the movie.[1] The movie received praise from film critics such as Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times and Vincent Canby of the The New York Times.[2]
Life after Pixote
Da Silva's newfound success landed him a one-year contract on TV Globo in the prime-time soap opera O amor é nosso. However, he was soon fired, apparently for missing filming sessions, although his inability to read lines due to his illiteracy may have contributed to the perception that he was lazy.[1]
After being fired from the soap opera, da Silva appeared in a small role in Gabriela, a movie by Bruno Barreto. He subsequently went to acting school where he dropped out after just two days.[3]
Da Silva struggled to recapture his fame and eventually returned to the street life he had come from. In 1984 he was arrested on robbery charges in Diadema, one of several charges that would become a frequent occurrence for the former child star.
Da Silva married Maria Aparecida Venancia da Silva in 1985, with whom he had one daughter, Jacqueline.[3]
Death and surrounding controversy
On 25 August 1987, da Silva was shot by three policemen who claimed he had got into a shootout with them after being involved in a mugging. His sister Maria Aparecida Luz challenged the official report, claiming that he was unarmed and had fled a police raid.[3] While the police report stated that da Silva had been shot while resisting arrest, a forensic examination showed that he had been shot while lying on the ground. Both his wife and mother called the shooting "a police execution."[1]
The story of Fernando Ramos da Silva is depicted in the 1996 biographical film Quem Matou Pixote?.
References
^ abcdeLong, William R. (4 September 1987). "The Short Life, Bitter Death of Pixote : Brazilian Film Star's Life Ends in Slums He Couldn't Escape". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2 January 2023.
^Canby, Vincent (5 May 1981). "Babenco's 'Pixote' Shows the Boys of Brazil". New York Times. Retrieved 2 January 2023.
^ abcRiding, Alan (27 August 1987). "Fernando Ramos da Silva, 19, Star of Brazil's 'Pixote,' Dies". New York Times. Retrieved 2 January 2023.
Pixote: A Lei do Mais Fraco. Dir. Hector Babenco. Perf. Fernando Ramos da Silva, Jorge Julião, Marília Pêra, Gilberto Moura. Embrafilme, 1981. Film.
Levine, Robert M. "Pixote: Fiction and Reality in Brazilian Life." Based on a True Story: Latin American History at the Movies. Lanham, MD: SR, 1997. 201-214. Print.
Ebert, Roger. "Pixote Movie Review & Film Summary." RogerEbert.com. Ebert Digital LLC, 12 Sept. 2004. Web.
Riding, Alan. "Fernando Ramos Da Silva, 19, Star of Brazil's 'Pixote, Dies.'" Editorial. The New York Times 27 Aug. 1987. Web.
Holmstrom, John. The Moving Picture Boy: An International Encyclopaedia from 1895 to 1995. Norwich, Michael Russell, 1996, p. 368-369.
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This article s tone or style may not reflect the encyclopedic tone used on Wikipedia See Wikipedia s guide to writing better articles for suggestions April 2014 Learn how and when to remove this template message Fernando Ramos da Silva 29 November 1967 25 August 1987 was a Brazilian actor who became renowned for his role as Pixote the 10 year old title character in Hector Babenco s 1981 film Pixote A Lei do Mais Fraco a documentary style account of the street children of Brazil Da Silva became a controversial figure after the film s release and found it hard to separate himself from his depiction as the street assailant Pixote Fernando Ramos da SilvaBornFernando Ramos da Silva 1967 11 29 29 November 1967Sao Paulo Sao Paulo BrazilDied25 August 1987 1987 08 25 aged 19 Sao Paulo Sao Paulo BrazilOccupationActorYears active1975 1987On 25 August 1987 da Silva was fatally wounded in an alleged shootout with police Police reports claim that da Silva was resisting arrest but there are conflicting reports from eyewitnesses who claim da Silva was unarmed Contents 1 Early life 2 Pixote A Lei do Mais Fraco 3 Life after Pixote 4 Death and surrounding controversy 5 References 6 External linksEarly life EditBorn on 29 November 1967 in Sao Paulo da Silva was the sixth of ten children 1 When he was eight years old his father Joao Alves da Silva died leaving him with his widowed mother Josefa Carvalho da Silva and the rest of his siblings They lived in a poor city called Diadema on the outskirts of Sao Paulo As the opening of Pixote states his upbringing was similar to that of the role he would become famous for playing His mother received a pension of less than 10 a month The family sold lottery tickets to generate a livable income 1 After attending grade school briefly he soon joined a theater group and began acting in plays at the age of eight The biggest break of his young life came when da Silva was picked out of 1 300 applicants by Hector Babenco to play the role of Pixote Pixote A Lei do Mais Fraco EditPixote was released in 1981 and would become Babenco s first internationally successful film The film follows four young boys through their stay in a reformatory and their subsequent breakout After escaping they return to their lives as children of the street pickpockets prostitutes drug dealers and eventually murderers Controversial aspects of the film include the brutal depiction of sex involving children scenes of children committing acts of murder and drug trafficking and that one of the major characters Lilica is a 17 year old sex worker that sees older men Pixote became a huge international success even earning a nomination for best Foreign language film at the Golden Globes although it achieved only moderate success in Brazil An estimated 2 5 million viewers in 20 countries saw the movie 1 The movie received praise from film critics such as Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun Times and Vincent Canby of the The New York Times 2 Life after Pixote EditDa Silva s newfound success landed him a one year contract on TV Globo in the prime time soap opera O amor e nosso However he was soon fired apparently for missing filming sessions although his inability to read lines due to his illiteracy may have contributed to the perception that he was lazy 1 After being fired from the soap opera da Silva appeared in a small role in Gabriela a movie by Bruno Barreto He subsequently went to acting school where he dropped out after just two days 3 Da Silva struggled to recapture his fame and eventually returned to the street life he had come from In 1984 he was arrested on robbery charges in Diadema one of several charges that would become a frequent occurrence for the former child star Da Silva married Maria Aparecida Venancia da Silva in 1985 with whom he had one daughter Jacqueline 3 Death and surrounding controversy EditOn 25 August 1987 da Silva was shot by three policemen who claimed he had got into a shootout with them after being involved in a mugging His sister Maria Aparecida Luz challenged the official report claiming that he was unarmed and had fled a police raid 3 While the police report stated that da Silva had been shot while resisting arrest a forensic examination showed that he had been shot while lying on the ground Both his wife and mother called the shooting a police execution 1 The story of Fernando Ramos da Silva is depicted in the 1996 biographical film Quem Matou Pixote References Edit a b c d e Long William R 4 September 1987 The Short Life Bitter Death of Pixote Brazilian Film Star s Life Ends in Slums He Couldn t Escape Los Angeles Times Retrieved 2 January 2023 Canby Vincent 5 May 1981 Babenco s Pixote Shows the Boys of Brazil New York Times Retrieved 2 January 2023 a b c Riding Alan 27 August 1987 Fernando Ramos da Silva 19 Star of Brazil s Pixote Dies New York Times Retrieved 2 January 2023 Pixote A Lei do Mais Fraco Dir Hector Babenco Perf Fernando Ramos da Silva Jorge Juliao Marilia Pera Gilberto Moura Embrafilme 1981 Film Levine Robert M Pixote Fiction and Reality in Brazilian Life Based on a True Story Latin American History at the Movies Lanham MD SR 1997 201 214 Print Ebert Roger Pixote Movie Review amp Film Summary RogerEbert com Ebert Digital LLC 12 Sept 2004 Web Riding Alan Fernando Ramos Da Silva 19 Star of Brazil s Pixote Dies Editorial The New York Times 27 Aug 1987 Web Holmstrom John The Moving Picture Boy An International Encyclopaedia from 1895 to 1995 Norwich Michael Russell 1996 p 368 369 External links EditFernando Ramos da Silva at AllMovie Fernando Ramos da Silva at IMDb Fernando Ramos da Silva at Find a Grave Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Fernando Ramos da Silva amp oldid 1131150908, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
