Important Brazilian filmmaker and writer, Walter George Durst He also had a career on television. One of the pioneers of the vehicle, the author signed texts for TV de Vanguarda, on Tupi, and starred in several soap operas and series. The first version of Gabriela, shown in 1975 on Globo, was one of his most famous works.
Durst died in 1997, shortly after discovering terminal spinal cancer. At the time, the author was writing the remake of The Baron’s Bones (1997), based on the work of Jorge Andrade and produced by SBT.
He asked doctors to keep him alive until the work was completed, starring names like Ana Paula Arósio, Tarcísio Filho (photo above) and Othon Bastos.
Trajectory
Intellectual, Walter George Durst debuted on television in the early years of the medium, adapting classic theater texts for TV de Vanguarda, which marked the beginning of teledramaturgy in Brazil. His first soap opera was Cleópatra (1962), on the now extinct Tupi.
Durst wrote some of the most striking works on the small screen, such as Gabriela (1975) and Nina (1977), a plot that was created hastily after the cancellation of Despedida de Casado (1977), a soap opera he wrote that was prevented from airing by the Censorship. He also adapted literary classics into miniseries, such as Terras do Sem-Fim (1981) and Anarquistas, Graças a Deus (1984).
In 1995, the author worked at the now extinct Manchete, as supervisor of Tocaia Grande, a plot based on the work of Jorge Amado written by Duca Rachid, Marcos Lazarini and Mário Teixeira. Afterwards, he starred in the remake of Os Ossos do Barão on SBT.
Discovery of cancer
Walter George Durst died on August 24, 1997, at age 75, due to spinal cancer. At the time, he was working on the text of Os Ossos do Barão, with the collaboration of Duca Rachid, Marcos Lazarini and Mário Teixeira.
Even before discovering the disease, the author already felt fragile, but, even so, he insisted on carrying his work to the end, as revealed by Marcelo Walter Durst, the writer’s son.
“He never stopped writing. Even when he was writing The Baron’s Bones, he felt weak, but the tests did not indicate symptoms of cancer. He then asked the doctors to make sure he lived until the work was finished,” he told Folha de S. Paulo on August 25, 1997.
The cancer was discovered in April 1997. When the author passed away, Ossos do Barão was still airing on SBT. However, the work was already finished, as the soap opera premiered with all its chapters recorded.
Last job
Remake of Jorge Andrade’s soap opera shown on Globo in 1973, Os Ossos do Barão was the last soap opera of the “golden era” of SBT television drama. The plot told the story of Egisto (Juca de Oliveira), a man of humble origins who becomes wealthy during the Industrial Revolution and becomes obsessed with having a title.
Fascinated by the nobility, he buys all the items from the bankrupt and deceased Baron of Jaguará, including the bones. Aegisto finally sees the chance to become a titled nobleman when his son Martino (Tarcísio Filho) falls in love with Isabel (Ana Paula Arósio), the Baron’s great-granddaughter. But Miguel (Othon Bastos), her father, is against the union.
The recording of Os Ossos do Barão began in October 1996, and the soap opera was expected to debut in November of that year, replacing Razão de Viver. However, Silvio Santos postponed the premiere and aired Dona Anja (1996), a plot produced by JPO Produções and starring Lucélia Santos.
As a result, Ossos do Barão went on air in sequence and was practically completely recorded, in April 1997. The plot was shown until September 1997 and had 115 chapters. In the cast, in addition to the aforementioned actors, there were also Rubens de Falco, Bete Coelho, Jussara Freire, Cleyde Yáconis and Leonardo Villar, among others.
