Mogul in the making

"I am not and I will never be Sílvio Santos's successor," says Gugu Liberato to anyone who asks whether he is being prepared to take the place of aging TV owner and TV host legend Sílvio Santos. Certainly not. Gugu wants much more. He is getting ready to be Sílvio's competition.

Divya Shukla

Sunday afternoon Brazilian television entertainer Gugu Liberato has achieved success as a TV host, financial rewards as a savvy businessman and stardom as a master at publicity. The youngest child of Portuguese immigrants, Antônio Augusto Liberato (a.k.a. Gugu), contributed to his family's income by working at a real estate agency in São Paulo as an office-boy when he was 13 years old. Now at the age of 37, his net worth is calculated to be around $18 million.

Gugu Liberato is the host of a four hour television show called Domingo Legal telecast by the SBT network owned by the king of television entertainment Sílvio Santos. The variety show concentrates mainly on humorous pieces similar to the American television show Candid Camera. Domingo Legal originally aired on July of 1994 and has captivated the Brazilian audience ever since.

In response to the show's popularity, the competitor network O Globo retaliated by assigning popular shows in the same time slot as Domingo Legal. Gugu fought back with a new idea a weekly surprise visit to any one of the 500 thousand fan letters that he has received, so far. These weekly visits are not only a complete surprise, but also a complete invasion of privacy. In previous episodes, Gugu has walked through each and every room of the chosen home, with no regard given to what the homeowner might be doing, which often times has included taking a shower.

Domingo Legal's most popular skit is the piece called O Taxi Do Gugu (Gugu's Cab), during which the host dressed in one of his many disguises (he can be an old and grumpy guy or a young metal rocker) will pick-up unsuspecting participants in a cab equipped with two hidden cameras. During one of these taxi rides, Gugu drove a passenger on a wild ride through the streets of São Paulo while pretending to be blind. And nothing stopped the host from actually driving on sidewalks, not even the screams of the passenger.

The Taxi Do Gugu show has offended passengers during at least two occasions. Once when a foul-smelling gas was released inside the cab, all in the name of humor, and passengers felt ill. Another time when the show contracted a young boy to throw paint on a passenger ruining her dress in the process. Afterwards, Domingo Legal's producer, Homero Salles, opted to pay for all of the damages incurred and also chose to enact a few informal rules, which include excluding pregnant and elderly passengers from the cab episodes claiming that they might not be healthy enough to survive the scares provided by the gags.

Cruel humor? The Brazilian audiences seem to be eating it up! The Ibope (Brazilian system of ratings) has been registering record high ratings. The ratings have been so good that they have surpassed those received by Xuxa, the television personality best known for hosting a variety show aimed at children.

The rear doors of the taxi, used during the filming of O Taxi Do Gugu, are now kept locked following an incident with a passenger that threatened to jump out when Gugu, in disguise, said that the cab was being followed by a jealous husband. The fact that he was able to convince this passenger, along with others, is proof of his satisfactory acting abilities. For Gugu, the cab driver, it is hard not to be recognized as Gugu, the celebrity. He has even had to change automobiles twice. Gugu's taxi-cab-show inspiration is an aristocratic cab driver that he met during a vacation trip from Nice to Cannes, in France.

A master at publicity, Gugu is often romantically linked to several of the young dancers that appear regularly on the show, although, he admits to being a hopeless bachelor who is too busy to date. He often prefers the company of a good whisky. Gugu says that his preferred hobby is gardening but rumor has it that the actual gardener is his driver Antônio, who takes care of the beautiful garden in front of his house.

The TV host's monthly salary of $70 thousand, in addition, to business smarts (in 1994 his companies made $24 million), has enabled him to be an avid investor. Gugu Liberato has owned several export companies, such as Banatropi which exported banana drinks to Europe. Banatropi, along with other food and beverage companies were sold by him when profit levels became scarce. Gugu currently owns Promoart and Gugu Promoções e Merchandising. Promoart promotes artists such as Banana Split, the duo Jean e Marcos and the popular singer Marcelo Augusto.

Along with a partner, he is investing in Parque do Gugu (Gugu's Park), to be built in a São Paulo shopping center. Parque do Gugu will be an entertainment center filled with video games, virtual reality games and space for shows.

Gugu's humble beginnings are a contrast to his current life style. He lives in the height of luxury in a house furnished with Persian rugs, two swimming pools and an art collection. The $1.5 million house is located in an isolated mountainous region of São Paulo called Aldeia da Serra, a barely populated area that is occupied by 800 families. This luxurious mansion is merely one of the five homes owned by this television host. Gugu also owns an apartment building.

When one mentions Gugu, it is hard not to draw comparisons between him and Sílvio Santos. Sílvio Santos, his mentor and employer, also had similar humble origins being the son of immigrants. Sílvio didn't work as an office-boy, but he was a street vendor. Sílvio and Gugu even dress alike a formal suit and tie attire. When questioned about the similarities, Gugu's response has always been that there will never be an equal to Sílvio Santos.

Gugu met Sílvio Santos while studying journalism at the Cásper Líbero College in São Paulo. The latter employed him as a reporter for his Semana do Presidente (The President's Week). Gugu was responsible for following and interviewing then President general João Baptista de Oliveira Figueiredo (1979-1985). Gugu's television host career actually started in 1982 when he starred in the show Viva a Noite. Prior to this he had been a radio personality for 10 years.

In an apparent contrast to his materialistic exterior and his chubby figure is Gugu's spirituality. He keeps in his office a small chapel dedicated to St. Jude, known in Brazil as the saint for the impossible causes. Gugu, who was an altar boy, belongs to a deeply religious family. Gugu's mother, Maria do Céu, told Isto É magazine of a miracle (prayers to St. Anthony of Padua) that made her youngest son recover from pneumonia as an infant, and to this day she is devoted and grateful to that saint.

Gugu Liberato's immediate goal is to own a television network similar to his mentor Sílvio Santos. He even has a name for the venture: Sistema Liberato de Comunicação. Until then, Gugu will surround himself with art, fans, success and whisky, of course.