José do Patrocínio Oliveira ( Jundiaí, February 11, 1904 – Los Angeles, December 22, 1987), known by the pseudonym Zé Carioca, was a Brazilian musician and voice actor.

Biography

Self-taught on musical instruments, Zé Carioca played the guitar, ukulele and banjo. He worked as an employee of the Butantan Institute in São Paulo. In 1931, he went on to perform at the Columbia Orchestra, directed by Odmar Amaral Gurgel conductor at Radio Cruzeiro do Sul. At that time, he exchanged the

ukulele The ukulele ( ; from haw, ukulele , approximately ), also called Uke, is a member of the lute family of instruments of Portuguese origin and popularized in Hawaii. It generally employs four nylon strings. The tone and volume of the instrumen ...

by banjo, earning him the nickname Zezinho do Banjo. In 1932, he went to

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a ...

, through César Ladeira, to perform at

Radio Mayrink Veiga Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitt ...

. At that station, he worked alongside the great composers of that period: Garoto,

Pixinguinha Alfredo da Rocha Viana Filho, known as Pixinguinha (; April 23, 1897February 17, 1973) was a Brazilian composer, arranger, flautist and saxophonist born in Rio de Janeiro. Pixinguinha is considered one of the greatest Brazilian composers of pop ...

, Nélson Souto, among others. When Ladeira became artistic director of the Cassino da Urca, took Zé Carioca to perform at the famous carioca casino. Was where he met

Carmen Miranda Carmen Miranda, (; born Maria do Carmo Miranda da Cunha, 9 February 1909 – 5 August 1955) was a Portuguese-born Brazilian samba singer, dancer, Broadway actress and film star who was active from the late 1920s onwards. Nicknamed "The Br ...

in 1939. By the 1940s, Zé Carioca started to work alongside Carmen Miranda together with the

Bando da Lua Bando da Lua was a Brazilian band that made recordings from 1933-1954, notable for being Carmen Miranda's band. It was formed by Aloísio de Oliveira Aloísio or Aloysio de Oliveira (December 30, 1914 – February 4, 1995), also known as Louis ...

in several movies from

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

, initially participated only the soundtrack, and then also in scene. It was at this time that he met

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...

, through

Aloísio de Oliveira Aloísio or Aloysio de Oliveira (December 30, 1914 – February 4, 1995), also known as Louis Oliveira, was a Brazilian record producer, singer, actor and composer. A key figure in the internationalization of Brazilian popular music, he contribute ...

, starting to dub studio cartoon characters. The contact with Disney inspired the American producer to create the character José Carioca, who made his debut in the 1942 film '' Saludos Amigos'', voiced by Zé Carioca and named after him. Oliveira became a celebrity with this film, in which he also performed the song "

Tico-Tico no Fubá "Tico-Tico no fubá" (; " rufous-collared sparrow in the cornmeal") is a Brazilian choro song written by Zequinha de Abreu in 1917. Its original title was "Tico-Tico no farelo" ("sparrow in the bran"), but since Brazilian guitarist Américo Ja ...

", and was even more popular after the 1944 film ''

The Three Caballeros ''The Three Caballeros'' is a 1944 American live-action/animated musical anthology film produced by Walt Disney and released by RKO Radio Pictures. The film premiered in Mexico City on December 21, 1944. It was released in the United States on ...

'', in which he voiced José Carioca again. For some scholars, there was at the time a pact between the US government and Hollywood to produce films of the "

Good Neighbor Policy The Good Neighbor policy ( ) was the foreign policy of the administration of United States President Franklin Roosevelt towards Latin America. Although the policy was implemented by the Roosevelt administration, President Woodrow Wilson had prev ...

" strategy for the advancement of U.S. influence in Latin America during the presidency

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

. Oliveira even voiced José Carioca in the Brazilian Portuguese version of ''Saludos Amigos'' and ''The 3 Caballeros''. Oliveira had an uncredited appearance in the 1955 movie ''

Hell's Island ''Hell's Island'' is a 1955 American film noir directed by Phil Karlson starring John Payne and Mary Murphy. The film was shot in the VistaVision wide-screen format. ''Hell's Island'' was re-released in 1962 under the title ''South Sea Fury''. ...

'', and voiced José Carioca again in the

Disneyland Disneyland is a theme park in Anaheim, California. Opened in 1955, it was the first theme park opened by The Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney. Disney initially envision ...

specials "2 Happy Amigos" (1960) and "Carnival Time" (1962). By 1947, Zé Carioca with Nestor Amaral, Russo do Pandeiro, Russinho and

Laurindo Almeida Laurindo Almeida (September 2, 1917 – July 26, 1995) was a Brazilian guitarist and composer in classical, jazz, and Latin music. He and Bud Shank were pioneers in the creation of bossa nova. Almeida was the first guitarist to receive Gra ...

create together the ''Carioca Boys''. The group participated in the movie ''

Road to Rio ''Road to Rio'' is a 1947 American semimusical comedy film directed by Norman Z. McLeod and starring Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, and Dorothy Lamour. Written by Edmund Beloin and Jack Rose, the film is about two inept vaudevillians who stow away on ...

'' starring Bing Crosby and

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in Bob Hope filmography, more than 70 short and ...

, with the presence of the Andrews Sisters.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Oliveira, Jose do Patrocinio 1904 births 1987 deaths Brazilian male singer-songwriters Música Popular Brasileira singers 20th-century Brazilian male singers 20th-century Brazilian singers Brazilian male voice actors

Biography

See also

References

External links