José Abelardo Barbosa de Medeiros (Surubim, September 30, 1917 — Rio de Janeiro, June 30, 1988), better known as Chacrinha, was a Brazilian comedian, and radio and TV personality.[1] He began as a radio presenter, and then enjoyed great success and inspired controversy with his anarchic sense of humor while hosting many TV shows on Globo and other networks in the 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s .[2] He would interrupt the musical numbers of major stars, blow a horn like Harpo Marx while poking fun at guests and throw codfish to the audience.[3] He coined the Brazilian phrase: "Na televisão, nada se cria, tudo se copia" (In television, nothing is created, everything is copied). He introduced many new artists on his TV programs, like Roberto Carlos, Paulo Sérgio, Guilherme Arantes, Raul Seixas, and many others.
Since the 1970s he is referred as "Velho Guerreiro" (Old Warrior), conform a homage made by Brazilian singer and composer Gilberto Gil.
On October 30, 2009, a documentary film about Chacrinha was released in Brazil. The film, directed by Brazilian filmmaker Nélson Hoineff, was titled Alô Alô Terezinha (a nonsense expression constantly cited by Chacrinha in his TV shows). [1]