Francisco Nicholson | |
|---|---|
| Born | Francisco António de Vasconcelos Nicholson 26 June 1938 |
| Died | 12 April 2016 Age 77 Lisbon, Portugal |
| Occupation(s) | actor, director and writer |
| Known for | Lisbon theatre and television |
| Spouse(s) | (1) Colette Liliane Dubois; (2) Magda Cardoso |
| Children | one daughter with (1) |
Francisco Nicholson (1938 – 2016) was a Portuguese actor, director, playwright, songwriter and screenwriter. He was a co-founder of theTeatro Ádóque theatre cooperative. He wrote, directed, and acted inrevues and was a writer of television soap operas, among many other accomplishments.[1]
Francisco António de Vasconcelos Nicholson was born on 26 June 1938, the son of John Francis Quintela Nicholson, who was born inSouthsea, inHampshire, England and his wife Maria Alice de Vasconcelos Marques. His father had an English father and a Portuguese mother. Coming from an artistic family, Nicholson started doing theatrical performances at the age of 14 while attending the prestigiousCamões Secondary School in the Portuguese capital ofLisbon. On the strength of this he was invited to join a theatre group of other young artists. Facing opposition from his parents regarding his choice of a theatrical career he trained to join theMerchant Navy, but was clearly unsuited for this. He then studied drama in Paris at theCharles Dullin Academy, together with French actors such asJean Vilar,Georges Wilson, andGérard Philipe.[1][2][3]
Nicholson made his professional debut as an actor and author with the Gerifalto Theatre Company, performing a children's play. Five other plays written by him for children were performed. He next worked with the National Theatre Company and theStudio Theatre of Lisbon, performing in works by authors such asAugust Strindberg,Bernard Shaw andArnold Wesker. He was then invited byRaul Solnado to take part in the first play performed at the newTeatro Villaret in Lisbon, which wasNikolai Gogol’s play,The Inspector General.[1][3]
Nicholson became popular amongst the wider public by performing in what is known in Portugal asTeatro de Revista ("Magazine" shows, orRevues), initially as a performer at theTeatro ABC in Lisbon, and then as a co-author of the innovative showGente Nova em Bikini (New people in bikinis), which as a huge success and was followed by other similarly successful revues. He also performed at theTeatro Monumental, where he directed the musicalFérias em Lisboa (Holidays in Lisbon). On television he made himself known withRiso e Ritmo (Rice and rhythm) (1964), a programme in which he was the author, producer and one of the actors. He also had considerable success as a song writer and as a screenwriter.[1][3]
With the impresario, Sérgio de Azevedo, Nicholson returned to theTeatro ABC in 1972. One of his revues,Tudo a Nu (Everything naked), was being performed on 25 April 1974 when theCarnation Revolution overthrew theEstado Novo dictatorship. With the end of censorship after the revolution, the cuts made by theEstado Novo censors were put back and the name was changed toTudo a Nu com Parra Nova (Everything naked with a new fig leaf). However, the liberated approach of Nicholson and some of the other performers led to conflict with the management of theTeatro ABC and they left to form theTeatro Ádóque as a cooperative, which became recognised for its different approach to the presentation of revues. According to Nicholson, "we were irreverent, shameless, impertinent, naughty, but always fraternal, generous... Always with the concern to be politically very incorrect".[4]
Nicholson was the author ofVila Faia, the first Portuguese TV soap opera. After the closure of theÁdóque in 1982 he moved toTeatro Maria Vitória, starring in a succession of revues, while also directing and performing in television programmes and, later, writing other soap operas. In 2014 he wrote a novel,Os Mortos não dão Autógrafos (The dead don't give autographs).[2][3][5]
Francisco Nicholson married twice, first with Colette Liliane Dubois in 1969, with whom he had a daughter, the actressSofia Nicholson, and second with the dancer and actress Magda Cardoso. He died on 12 April 2016, at the age of 77, in Lisbon, following complications from a liver transplant that he had undergone in 2011.[2]
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