TV Globo Actor Tom Veiga, Interpreter of Beloved ‘Louro José’ Puppet, Dies at 47

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Actor Tom Veiga, who interpreted puppet character “Louro José” (Joe the Parrot) in the ‘Mais Você’ show hosted by Ana Maria Braga on TV Globo, was found dead at his home in Barra da Tijuca, Rio, on Sunday, November 1st. He was 47 years old and leaves four children.

Until the last update of this report, the cause of death had not been disclosed. According to information from the 16th Police Department (Barra da Tijuca), the case is under investigation.

Veiga has worked on ‘Mais Você’ since the show premiered in 1999. Responsible for the voice and manipulation of Louro José since the character was created, in 1996, he became known for the humor tirades.

“Louro José is a troublemaker, grumpy, womanizer, charmer, but he is very funny, intelligent. Sometimes, when I re-watch a show, I find myself laughing. I laugh with Louro José. The great thing about his personality is that he’s grown up, but he’s still a big kid,” Veiga said in a statement to the Memória Globo website.

Ana Maria Braga lamented Veiga’s death. “I lost my everyday partner, my friend, my son,” she wrote on social media. In a note, TV Globo reported that Ana Maria will host “Mais Você” live on Monday, November 2nd, “in honor of her great friend and journey partner”.

The appearance of Louro José

The Louro José parrot was idealized by Ana Maria Braga in 1996, reports Memória Globo. At the time, she was hosting the ‘Note e Anote’ show on Record, which would be aired after the children’s program. For this reason, she came up with the idea of creating a character that would draw the children’s attention.

“It needed to be an animal that would talk, that would interact with me, but it couldn’t be a dog, because a dog doesn’t talk, a bird doesn’t talk. And, by exclusion, we decided on the parrot. I have one at home called “Louro José”. He talks and whistles the national anthem,” Ana Maria recalled in a statement.

“And I said, ‘Let’s get the parrot’. I prepared a first draft of the drawing and asked someone who developed puppets to do it. He was born quite simple. Then we started to fix him, changing the foam, until he became global – then he became a star, beautiful. He’s a real son”.

Several people were tested to manipulate the parrot, which combines puppet elements with remote control – but Tom Veiga got the part from the start.

At the time, he was working as a studio assistant for “Note e Anote”. However, he once picked up the puppet to play with his co-workers. That’s when Ana Maria saw him and invited him to play the parrot live the next day.

“I was playing with the puppet in production, making fun of the people who worked with us, and she [Ana Maria Braga] saw it and liked it. She said, ‘Tomorrow you’ll be on the air as Louro José, okay?” Veiga said in a documentary produced in 2014 by Memória Globo.

One of the show’s big hits at that time was a prank piece in which Ana Maria and Louro José compete over jokes. In a good mood, the parrot had funny jokes.

As time went by, Louro José gained more space in Record. In “Mais Você”, he shared the show with “mãe” (‘mom’). He also had his story told on the show. When he turned 18, he achieved an ‘Arquivo Confidencial’. A success among children, the parrot became a toy.

In March 2017, Ana Maria paid tribute to the character on his birthday:

“My most loved parrot, my son. Thanks for the company, partnership, loyalty. We never argued, we never fought, we never stopped talking for any reason. It’s one of the most fantastic relationships in my life. He is the brother of my parrot at the farm, who is also called “Louro José”. He is my feathered son.”

Source: G1