The famous actress Dora Leal, known in the revue theatre, has died.

Actress Dora Leal, who stood out in the revue theatre since the 1960s thanks to her work alongside her husband, actor José Viana, died on Monday evening in Lisbon, a source from the Casa do Artista told Lusa.

Dora Leal died at the S. Francisco Xavier Hospital, where she was admitted. The actress lived in the Casa do Artista.

A revue and comedy actress, she made her debut at the Teatro Varriedades in the Parque Mayer in Lisbon in 1964 in the magazine “Elas São o Espectáculo”. It was there that she met her future husband, José Viana (1922–2003), with whom she formed a successful partnership on stage and television.

In a career spanning more than three decades, he has starred mainly in comedies and revues such as Eh, pa pega sur broom, The Big Job and Sua Excelência, o Pendura, with José Viana on stage and on the small screen.

On television, he also participated in programs such as “Grande Noite” and “Ora Viva”, as well as comedies such as “O Milagre em Casa dos Lopes”. Rabli’s “Ardina” and “Dora the Gypsy” are mentioned in various theatrical sources as some of his most successful interpretations.

He was one of the founders of Adoque – the Theatre Workers’ Cooperative in 1974, after the fall of the dictatorship, along with Enrique Viana, Antonio Montes, Francisco Nicholson and the set designer Mario Alberto, as well as José Viana.

In 1976, together with Rogerio Paulo, António Machado, Maria Dulce and José Viana, he founded the Popular Theatre Cooperative in Almada. In 2013, 10 years after the death of José Viana, the Santos-o-Velho Parish Council in Lisbon dedicated a retrospective exhibition of the acting couple’s career.