Beloved actor Luis Brandoni, a multi-faceted performer across theatre, film and television, has died at the age of 86.\u00a0<\/p>\n
His remains will lie in state with honours from midday this Monday at the Buenos Aires City Legislature, with flags at public buildings flown at half-mast for the next two days.<\/p>\n
\u201cLuis Brandoni has died. In ‘Beto’ we are losing the last leading actor of an unforgettable generation, a driving force for national theatre,\u201d his producer and friend Carlos Rottemberg wrote in a tribute on social media.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Brandoni had suffered a domestic accident causing a brain-bleed and had been hospitalised since April 11.<\/p>\n
Until then, he had been starring in the stage production Qui\u00e9n es qui\u00e9n<\/em>, alongside fellow leading light Soledad Silveyra.<\/p>\n \u201cYou are the last of the greats to leave us. Always in our memories. A very sad day for culture,\u201d Silveyra wrote on X.<\/p>\n The Avellaneda-born star performed across a variety of media. On film, he appeared in hits such as La tregua<\/em> and La Patagonia rebelde<\/em> (both 1974), Esperando la carroza<\/em> (1985), Made in Argentina<\/em> (1987) and La odisea de los giles<\/em> (2019), the latter alongside popular actor Ricardo Dar\u00edn. All were box-office successes in a filmography spanning more than 60 feature films.<\/p>\n Brandoni also shone on stage in memorable productions that ran for several seasons, including Conversaciones con mam\u00e1<\/em> (2012) and Parque Lezama<\/em> (2013-2016). A recent film adaptation of the latter, directed by his friend Juan Jos\u00e9 Campanella, was his final movie, \u00a0released in February.<\/p>\n On television, he starred in numerous successes. One of his most recent roles was in the Argentine miniseries Nada<\/em>, in which he appeared alongside legendary US actor Robert De Niro. The comedy-drama premiered on Disney+ in 2023.\u00a0In the series, he played a curmudgeonly Buenos Aires food critic whose life falls apart after his housekeeper dies, while De Niro played his friend.<\/p>\n His acting career was matched by a strong political commitment as a member of the Uni\u00f3n C\u00edvica Radical (UCR), whose ideals he embraced from a young age.<\/p>\n Brandoni was persecuted during Argentina\u2019s brutal 1976-1983 military dictatorship. He was abducted for several hours in July 1976, along with his wife Marta Bianchi, to whom he was married for more than two decades and with whom he had two daughters.\u00a0<\/p>\n The couple went into exile in Mexico but returned to Argentina 10 months later.<\/p>\n Brandoni\u2019s political engagement led him to serve as a national deputy for the party for two consecutive terms (1993-2001). He also worked as a cultural adviser to the late former president Ra\u00fal Alfons\u00edn (1983\u20131989).<\/p>\n \u201cI get very worked up about politics,\u201d he said in recent years, when he admitted he no longer wanted to hold elected office.<\/p>\n A fierce former critic of former president Cristina Fern\u00e1ndez de Kirchner (2007\u20132015), Brandoni was also critical of current President Javier Milei, whom he described as \u201cignorant\u201d over his criticisms of Alfons\u00edn.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cHe has a personality that unsettles me,\u201d Brandoni said of Milei.<\/p>\n In a statement reacting to the star\u2019s death, the national government described Brandoni as \u201can undisputed figure on the Argentine cultural scene\u201d and expressed its \u201cdeepest sympathy\u201d to the actor\u2019s family.<\/p>\n \u201cBrandoni was much more than an extraordinary actor: he was an emblem of our cultural identity, a performer who knew how to portray the Argentine soul like few others, and a figure whose commitment to his craft made him an example for colleagues, artists and future generations,\u201d said a statement signed by Culture Secretary Leandro Cifelli.<\/p>\n Buenos Aires City Mayor Jorge Macri described Brandoni as \u201ca central figure in Argentine theatre.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u2013 TIMES\/AFP\/NA<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\nrelated news<\/h6>\n<\/p>\n<\/section>\n