A report published in the magazine "Joyce Pascowitch" in May focused on the brief career and life of Lauro Corona. The title was quite appropriate: "Boy Interrupted". In fact, Lauro's disappearance from the scene was shocking and aggressive, as if his enlightened and charismatic trajectory had been abruptly interrupted.
And it was. On July 20, 1989, the actor's death saddened the public, after months of Corona's arduous fight against health problems. Although he was never admitted by his family, everything indicates that he was a victim of HIV. His family members, today, are also gone: his mother, Maria Alice, his stepfather – the French singer and musician Louis André – and his only sister, Luciana. The identity of the actor's biological father was never disclosed.
Lauro Corona was born in Rio de Janeiro on July 6, 1957. As a teenager, in the 70s, he began working as a photographic model and as a theater actor. He became an advertising star in the 70s, starring in a variety of commercials, including one for Commander cigarette, in 1976 – film that has just been rescued on YouTube.
Owner of a stunning beauty, it didn't take long for Lauro to end up on television, debuting in the Globo special "Ciranda Cirandinha" (1977, which has no relation to the series of the same name produced by the network the following year). O initial excerpt of the program is also on YouTube.
In 1978, he debuted in soap operas, in the overwhelming success "Dancin' Days", playing the rich boy Beto, who was involved with Marisa (Glória Pires) and Vera (Lídia Brondi). This is where the intense friendship between Lauro and Glória was born in real life.
With Beto's success, Lauro became a new global young star – the scenario was very different from today, when we have dozens of young aspiring "actors" infesting TV. This was followed by the soap operas "Os Gigantes" (79/80), "Marina" (80), "Baila Comigo" (81), "Elas por Elas" (82), "Louco Amor" (83) and "Corpo a Body" (84/85).
In addition to Glória, Lauro's other notable partnership was with actress Lídia Brondi – now also out of the spotlight. Lauro and Lídia formed a romantic couple in "Dancin' Days" and "Os Gigantes", and were brothers in "Baila Comigo".
In cinema, unfortunately, Lauro acted in only two productions: "O Sonho não Acabou" (81), where he starred with Lucélia Santos, Miguel Falabella and Chico Diaz; and the classic new wave "Bete Balanço" (84), paired with Débora Bloch and opposite Cazuza. A third film with Lauro would be "Sleeping Ember" (87), by the great filmmaker Djalma Limongi Batista. Djalma thought of Lauro to create a love triangle with Maitê Proença and Edson Celulari. But he ended up opting for Paulo César Grande – Lauro had scheduling problems with filming and was very short, about Maitê's height, which could weaken the triangle.
In "Bete Balanço", a real friendship was born between Corona and Cazuza. The Barão Vermelho singer had some affinities with the global star – a certain physical similarity and a passion for rock. The disappearance of the two artists also had a tragic similarity: Cazuza even gave his opinion on the matter in the press, stating that Corona probably suffered from HIV; since Cazuza himself knew very well what he was talking about and had already publicly announced that he was HIV positive. But Lauro left exactly one year before Cazuza, who died in July 1990.
And in this connection with rock, Lauro took risks as a singer, recording two compacts – for the youngest: the compacts were vinyl records, usually with two songs, which tested the artist before launching him on the adventure of recording a entire album, the so-called LP. In total, Lauro left four tracks with his voice: "Não Vivo Sem Meu Rock", "Tem que Provar", "O Céu por um Beijo" and "Tudo Pode Happen". His flirtation with music had already shown signs in 1978, when he recorded a music video for "Fantástico": the song "João e Maria", alongside Glória Pires.
During the same rocker phase, Corona became host of the Sunday youth program "Cometa Loucura" (84), alongside Carla Camurati. Previously, he had already presented the musical "Globo de Ouro", and would also present some editions of the "Video Show".
In addition to his mini-career as a pop singer, Lauro continued at Globo, where he appeared in a special role at the beginning of the soap opera "Vereda Tropical" (84/85), and also starred in the miniseries "Memórias de um Gigolô" (1986, where he made his best work on TV). Finally came the period soap operas at 18pm: "Direito de Amar" (87) and "Vida Nova" (88/89).
And it was during "Vida Nova" that symptoms began to appear that the actor was ill. Caught between persecution from the press, constant hospitalizations and fleeting recoveries, Lauro ended up asking to leave the plot where he was the protagonist, the Portuguese Manoel Victor. The character left the story before the end. And it was the actor's last performance.
Much has been said about the global star's personal life. Lauro has never publicly appeared with any love affair. He never appeared on magazine covers with pseudo-girlfriends and kept his intimate life completely discreet. He ended up being compared to the Hollywood heartthrob of the 50s, Rock Hudson – but he ended up revealing that he was gay and HIV-positive, shortly before he died in 1985.
The actor even sued a magazine in the 80s, because the publication commented on the fact that he was never seen with girlfriends. According to reports, he maintained a long-lasting love affair in Ribeirão Preto, in the interior of São Paulo. And he had a habit of disappearing on nights out after hosting the famous debutante balls in cities all over Brazil.
But despite so much buzz about his sexuality, what really remained was the actor's work. Currently, Lauro's work can be reviewed in the films he made – "O Sonho não Acabou" was released on DVD and "Bete Balanço" can be seen in screenings on Canal Brasil or tracked on the internet – and even in some soap operas: enough dive into the parallel market of download sites or even browse YouTube. Scenes of the actor in "Dancin' Days", "Baila Comigo", "Corpo a Corpo" and "Vida Nova" are there. And it will soon be seen on DVD: Globo Marcas announced the launch of the box set with the soap opera "Dancin' Days", where Lauro shows a performance that is still inexperienced, but full of life and creativity.
Here is our tribute to this actor who, as we rarely see nowadays, managed to bring together dramatic talent, sensitivity, charisma and beauty and proved that he was far from just being a pretty boy.
