Antônio Renato Aragão (born January 13, 1935, in Sobral, Ceará) is a Brazilian comedian actor, producer, and writer. He is best known for leading the television series Os Trapalhões.

Biography

Aragão's parents are Paulo Aragão and Dinorah Lins Aragão. In 1955, he graduated as a reserve officer in the Brazilian Army (second lieutenant in the Infantry) by the CPOR. He then graduated in Law at the Universidade do Estado do Ceará in 1961. At 25, he won a competition at TV Ceará to work as "realizador" - a kind of director, writer and producer of shows, demonstrating his talent and soon after began acting. His first TV show was Vídeo Alegre.

In 1963, Renato moved to Rio de Janeiro in order to study directing and soon was hired by TV Tupi to work in the comedy show A E I O URCA. A move to TV Excelsior in 1964 gave him the chance to create his own comedy show; Os Adoráveis Trapalhões was then born, where he acted with Wanderley Cardoso, Ivon Cury and Ted Boy Marino. Although he would have parts in many other comedy shows, Aragão would never forget the formula used in Adoráveis Trapalhões, and finally he would be able to give it definitive form in 1975, when Os Trapalhões debuted, back at TV Tupi, alongside Dedé Santana, Mussum, and Zacarias.

Renato Aragão acted in many films, some of them winning international awards, such as Os Vagabundos Trapalhões and O Cangaceiro Trapalhão, at the Festival Internacional de Cinema para a Infância e Juventude (Portugal), in 1984, and Os Trapalhões e a Árvore da Juventude ("The Trapalhőes and the Tree of Youth"), at the III Festival de Cine Infantil de Ciudad Guayana (Venezuela), in 1993.

In 1977, he founded Renato Aragão Produções Artísticas Ltda., tasked with the production of films, television programs, videos, and live shows, amongst other things. He received, in 1980, the title of Citizen of the State of Rio de Janeiro and, in 1982, the title of Illustrious Personality of the State of Rio de Janeiro, both granted by the City council of Rio de Janeiro. In 1991, he became special representative of the UNICEF and ambassador of the same agency, on behalf of Brazilian children. He was awarded the title of Chancellor of the Order of the Rio Branco by the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Relations, in 1994. In this same year, he was awarded with admission of the National Order of the Educative Merit, in the degree of officer, as indicated by the Ministry of the Education and the Sports. Still in 1994, Renato Aragão debuted a show in Portugal, invited by Portuguese broadcaster SIC, with the participation of the actors Dedé Santana, Robert Guillermo and several Portuguese actors. In 1995, he received the title of Paulistano Citizen, awarded by the City council of São Paulo. The group Os Trapalhões entered the Guinness Book of Records, in 1997, as the longest-running Brazilian TV comedy show.

Renato Aragão is married to his second wife, photographer Lílian Taranto. He has a daughter, Livian, with the current wife as well as four other children from his first marriage. Two notable episodes evidenced the religious side of Renato Aragão: the humorist once climbed the Christ the Redeemer statue, in Rio de Janeiro, to kiss the hand of the statue (which he had wanted to do in Os Trapalhões e o Mágico de Oróz, but was allowed only at the foot at the time), and made a pilgrimage on foot from São Paulo to Aparecida, carrying an image of Our Lady from Aparecida, to repay a promise to the saint.

Aragão hosts the yearly telethon Criança Esperança, with participation of several artists, collecting funds for children in need.

Renato spent some years away from TV during, feeling that with the death of his colleagues Zacarias and Mussum, the program Os Trapalhões would not make sense anymore. In 1998 he debuted a new show in a different format, A Turma do Didi. In 2000, he celebrated 40 years of his career. In 2002, his company Renato Aragão Producões Artísticas Ltda. celebrates 25 years of success. In this same year, his book Meus Caminhos was published.