Adolpho Bloch | |
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| Born | 8 October 1908  |
| Died | 19 November 1995 (aged 87) |
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Adolpho BlochGCIH, bornAvram Yossievitch Bloch (inUkrainian: Аврам Йоссійович Блох; in Russian: Аврам Йосиевич Блох) (8 October 1908 — 19 November 1995) sometimes writtenAdolfo Bloch; was a Brazilian press and television businessman. Founder of the eponymousBloch media group, he was one of the creators of the weekly magazineManchete, in 1952, and also of Rádio Manchete (1980) and the television networkRede Manchete (1983), now defunct.
The Bloch family was of Jewish origin. They suffered from hunger and repression during theRussian Revolution. In 1917, Adolpho Bloch and seventeen relatives left their hometown,Zhitomir, to live in Kiev. In 1921, he had to leave Ukraine permanently. After a nine-month stopover in Naples; they were able to leave for Brazil, arriving inRio de Janeiro in 1922.[1]
The Blochs had worked in the printing industry, and upon arriving in their new country they continued in this sector. Their first job was printing ballots for the popularjogo do bicho, an illegal lottery. In 1931 they obtained Brazilian nationality.[1]
During the 1940s, Adolpho worked at the Rio Gráfica publishing house, owned byRoberto Marinho. By that time, he had already made friends with artists and politicians, and frequented the bohemian area of Rio. There was the Grêmio Recreativo Familiar Kananga do Japão, where he would go to danceforró in the so-calledrodas de gafieira. This place would inspire the 1989 telenovelaKananga do Japão, of which Adolpho was the creator.[2]
On 26 April 1952, Adolfo Bloch launched the first issue of Manchete magazine, a national weekly that became the most widely read in the country.[3] Among of the writers who worked in the magazine wereCarlos Drummond de Andrade andRubem Braga.[1] From there, he began building one of the largest media empires in Latin America, Grupo Bloch.[4] Bloch was known by his close friendship to presidentJuscelino Kubitschek.[5]
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From its foundation until the mid-1970s, Bloch Editores was located on Frei Caneca Street, in the center of Rio. Then, its headquarters moved to Russel Street in theGlória neighborhood (South Zone of Rio). In addition to Manchete, they also published books and magazines in a wide variety of segments:Fatos e Fotos,Pais e Filhos,Desfile,Amiga andSétimo Céu.[4]
Neither radio nor television ever aroused the businessman's interest. However, in 1980, with the collaboration of his nephew Pedro Jack Kapeller, Rede Manchete de Rádio FM was launched, with 5 stations in the country, and Rádio Manchete AM, in Rio de Janeiro.[6]
Also in the early 1980s, Adolpho Bloch created a team to develop the project for a television station. On 19 August 1981, the Brazilian government granted Bloch four of the concessions held by the formerRede Tupi (the first TV station in Latin America, which was closed due to bankruptcy in 1980). After several postponements,Manchete began broadcasting on 5 June 1983. That same year, Bloch bought Rádio Clube do Pará, which remained in his hands until 1992.[1][4][6]
In November 1995, Bloch was admitted to theBeneficência Portuguesa hospital in São Paulo, to treat two problems: pulmonary embolism and dysfunction of the mitral valve prosthesis of the heart. In the early morning of the 19th, his condition worsened and he needed an emergency operation, which he could not overcome.
Bloch died at the age of 87, without having had any children. He left only his wife, Anna Bentes, with whom he had lived since 1980, not having made the marriage official until 1992. His body was laid to rest at the headquarters of the publishing house.[7][8]
The conglomerate's companies were then controlled by his nephew Pedro Jack Kapeller (known as Jaquito),[7] who remained at the helm until 2000, when the Bloch Group went bankrupt and dissolved.[9]
