Antonio Viana Gomes, better known as Tony Tornado or Toni Tornado (

Mirante do Paranapanema Mirante do Paranapanema is a city in the western part of the state of São Paulo, in Brazil. It is part of the microregion of Presidente Prudente. The population is 18,338 (2020 est.) in an area of 1239 km². The altitude is 448 m. It is situ ...

, May 26, 1930), is a Brazilian actor and singer. In 1970 he won the Brazilian stage of the V International Song Festival with the soul song "BR-3".

Biography

Son of a Guyanese father and a Brazilian mother, at 11 years old Tony ran away from home and ended up in

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 b ...

where he became a street kid and made a living selling peanuts and shining shoes. At 18 he served in the Deodoro School of Parachuting along with the future TV presenter and entrepreneur

Silvio Santos Senor Abravanel, known professionally as Silvio Santos (Portuguese: /ˈsiwvju ˈsɐ̃tus/) (born December 12, 1930), is a Brazilian entrepreneur, media tycoon and television host. He is the owner of holdings that include SBT, the second largest ...

. In 1957, he fought in the

Suez Canal The Suez Canal ( arz, قَنَاةُ ٱلسُّوَيْسِ, ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia. The long canal is a popular ...

. Tony began his artistic career in the 60s with the stage name Tony Checker,

lip-synching Lip sync or lip synch (pronounced , the same as the word ''sink'', short for lip synchronization) is a technical term for matching a speaking or singing person's lip movements with sung or spoken vocals. Audio for lip syncing is generated thr ...

and dancing on "Hoje é dia de Rock" show of Jair Taumaturgo. That time Tony imitated singers

Chubby Checker Chubby Checker (born Ernest Evans; October 3, 1941) is an American rock and roll singer and dancer. He is widely known for popularizing many dance styles, including The Twist dance style, with his 1960 hit cover of Hank Ballard & The Midnighte ...

and

Little Richard Richard Wayne Penniman (December 5, 1932 – May 9, 2020), known professionally as Little Richard, was an American musician, singer, and songwriter. He was an influential figure in popular music and culture for seven decades. Described as the " ...

. Even in the 60s, he traveled to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

where he lived for five years in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. In New York, Tony served as drug dealer and pimp, to deceive the immigration department, pretending to be an employee of a car wash. At that time, Tony met another Brazilian who also lived in New York, the also singer

Tim Maia Tim Maia (, born Sebastião Rodrigues Maia; September 28, 1942 – March 15, 1998) was a Brazilian musician, songwriter, and businessman known for his iconoclastic, ironic, outspoken, and humorous musical style. Maia contributed to Brazilian mus ...

. Back in Brazil in 1969, he worked in the group of Ed Lincoln and also sang at night with the pseudonym Johnny Bradfort, the owner of the club forced him to pretend to be a foreigner. In 1970, he adopted the name with he came to be known, "Tony Tornado". Influenced by

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, dancer, musician, record producer and bandleader. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music, he is often referred to by the honor ...

, Tony was one of the artists who introduced

soul music Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in the African American community throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. It has its roots in African-American gospel music and rhythm and blues. Soul music became po ...

and

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

in Brazilian music. That same year, alongside Trio Ternura defended the song BR-3, which got the first place in the festival. His first role on television was in 1972, in the 1972 telenovela "Jerônimo" on TV Tupi. Tornado often participates in several soap operas and miniseries, although almost never in prominent roles. The biggest role of his career on TV was

Gregório Fortunato Gregório Fortunato (24 January 1900 – 23 October 1962) was the head of the personal guard of Brazilian president Getúlio Vargas. Fortunato was also known as , due to his size, physique and his black skin. Biography Fortunato was born on 2 ...

, the "Black Angel", the chief of the security of the president and statesman Getúlio Vargas in the 1993 miniseries Agosto, based on the work of

Rubem Fonseca Rubem Fonseca (May 11, 1925 – April 15, 2020) was a Brazilian writer. Life and career He was born in Juiz de Fora, in the state of Minas Gerais, but he lived most of his life in Rio de Janeiro. In 1952, he started his career as a low-level cop ...

. Another important role of his career was the foreman Rodésio, who worked for Viúva Porcina (

Regina Duarte Regina Blois Duarte (born 5 February 1947) is a Brazilian actress who briefly served as Special Secretary of Culture, a cabinet position in President Jair Bolsonaro's federal administration, from March to May 2020. Political activities Her eff ...

) in

Roque Santeiro ''Roque Santeiro'' is a Brazilian primetime telenovela produced and broadcast by TV Globo. It premiered on 24 June 1985 and ended on 21 February 1986, replacing ''Corpo a Corpo'' and was replaced by ''Selva de Pedra''. It was created by Dias Gom ...

. Tornado was married to actress

Arlete Salles Arlete Sales Lopes, more known as Arlette Salles (born Paudalho, 17 June 1942) is a Brazilian actress. Biography Born in the interior of Pernambuco, she was married between 1958 and 1970 to the actor Lucio Mauro, with whom she has two childre ...

in the 70's. He is father of the also actor and singer Lincoln Tornado Currently, Tornado returned to performing on stages all over Brazil singing his greatest hits, accompanied by the band Funkessência and Lincoln Tornado.

References

Living people 1930 births Afro-Brazilian male singers Brazilian male film actors Brazilian male telenovela actors Brazilian male stage actors Brazilian people of Guyanese descent Brazilian funk singers Brazilian soul singers {{screen-actor-stub