The Portuguese acting profession is in shock today with the news that one of the country’s leading soap actors Rodrigo Menezes has been found dead at his home in Oeiras, near Lisbon.
The 40-year-old actor was found by a friend this morning (Saturday). Details are still sketchy but according to Público police have not ruled out the possibility of crime.
According to Jornal de Notícias, the well-connected actor once linked with TV presenter Diana Chaves suffered from epilepsy. Friends think perhaps he may have had an attack and been unable to seek help.
As messages of shock and farewell flood social media, Menezes latest telenovela “Beijo de Escorpião” is due to have its last episode screened this evening. “It’s the best homage we could we could give him”, TVI’s marketing director Helena Forjaz told Público this afternoon.
Menezes worked exclusively for TVI in recent years, having risen to fame as a soap star in the late 1990s.
What few may know is that the father-of-one had an extraordinary family tree, being the great-grandson of two viscounts and a descendent of Luís, the count of Narbonne-Lara, the bastard son of Louis XV of France.
According to Wikipedia, the actor was related to actresses Rita Salema and Madalena Brandão and a 3rd cousin of Miguel Pais do Amaral – the aristocratic millionaire keen to buy-out TAP airways.
