Friday 11 January 2019

Whatever happened to MARY GONÇALVES?

1950s Brazilian singer Mary Gonçalves had a very interesting career. She started as a movie actress in the late 1940s, switched to a career as a recording artist in 1952. Then moved on to be one of the best night-club acts by the end of the 50s while touring Uruguay, Argentina, Chile, Colombia and Venezuela. By 1960, she knew she had to re-invent herself again. While singing in a night-club in Barranquilla, Mary met an American oil executive who lived in Colombia and got married.

Revista do Radio n. 566 - 23rd July 1960
3rd September 1961 - OESP columnist Mary Wynne chats with Mary Gonçalves at A Baiuca where had sung for many years... and tells Ms Wynne that even though she'd been in São Paulo for just a few weeks she'd already packed to go back to Barranquilla, Colombia, where she had been living since she married Gus Standish. As one can see, Mary didn't stay long in the city... she only stayed for a few days catching up with old friends but her mind was elsewhere... 
Revista do Radio n. 627 - 23rd September 1961
Revista do Radio n. 642 - 30 December 1961.
Revista do Radio n. 820 - 5 July 1965.

This is the last entry of Mary Gonçalves' name at 'Revista do Radio'. Times had changed so much in the last 3 years the columnist had to identify Mary as... 'the Brazilian singer Mary Gonçalves'... (who has been living in Caracas for some years - actually RR is wrong: Mary had been living in Colombia, not Venezuela) has returned to Brazil. No one knew how long Mary stayed, whether it was a short or a long stay. The fact is that Mary Gonçalves disappeared from the media altogether. She was living in the USA with her American husband by then and as Brazilian show business had changed radically by 1965, Mary was yesterday's news.