Lyceum until he was in junior high. Personal life His life was full of a variety of tragedies. His father died from a stabbing before Grande Otelo was born and his mother was an alcoholic. In 1948, he officially married his first companion Lucia Maria Pinheiro. In the following year, Lucia shot the six year old child and then killed herself. In 1954, Otelo married for a second time, this time to Olga Vasconcellos. He remained in a relationship with her for 20 years. His final marriage was to a dancer named Joséphine Helene, which lasted 13 years. He had four children, one of whom also became an actor: José Prata ("O Pratinha"), who initiated his artistic career at 14. He acted in the 1986 version of the soap opera Sinhá Moça (in the role of Bentinho) in addition to participating in the sitcom As Aventuras do Tio Maneco, and in the plays "O Pagador de Promessas" and “A Turma do Pererê”. In the 2010s, Pratinha worked as a cellphone repairman. Another of Otelo's Children, Carlos Sebastião Vasconcelos Prata, had become homeless around the same time. Effects of racism on his career Grande Otelo is seen by many as a great success story. He is widely known today because of the prolific nature of his acting career. However, his career was marked by racism and prejudice. In one of his first roles, that of Sebastião in the film Onde Estás Felicidade, Grande Otelo's character is subject to many racial stereotypes. Incorrect stereotypes were a theme in many of his works, even well into his later years. Additionally, Grande Otelo faced prejudice against his acting abilities. It was and still is difficult to obtain leading roles for black actors. The leading roles that he managed to secure were all shared with a white co-star. Selected filmography Noites Cariocas (1936) João Ninguém (1936) Onde Estás Felicidade? (1939) - Sebastião Futebol em Família (1939) - Gibi Laranja da China (1940) - Boneco de Piche Pega Ladrão (1940) Céu azul (1941) - Chocolate A Sedução do Garimpo (1941) Samba in Berlin (1943) Caminho do Céu (1943) Tristezas Não Pagam Dívidas (1943) Moleque Tião (1943) - Tião Berlin to the Samba Beat (1944) Romance Proibido (1944) - Molecote Não Adianta Chorar (1945) O Gol da Vitória (1945) - Laurindo Segura Esta Mulher (1946) - Olho Vivo Fantasma Por Acaso (1946) Luz dos Meus Olhos (1947)