Pelé, a star also off the pitch
Ball artist, Pelé also took advantage of his immense notoriety to embrace several parallel careers outside the field: actor, singer or even publicist.
In 1971, Pelé introduced actress Brigitte Bardot to his Santos teammates.
AFP
Giving the reply to Sylvester Stallone in a Hollywood film, extolling the merits of Viagra or pushing the song with Elis Regina, legendary voice of Brazilian song, “King” Pelé left no one indifferent.
The meeting of two myths
Under the jersey of the Seleção, Pelé was surrounded by cracks like Garrincha, Rivelino or Jairzinho. In the recording studio, he chose the best teammate, Elis Regina, one of the greatest Brazilian singers of all time.
The improbable duo gave birth, in 1969, to a disc, a compact with the very appropriate title: “Tabelinha”, a term used in Portuguese to designate the one-two, exchange of quick passes between two players.
Pelé was not content to push the song: he was also the author-composer of the two titles, “Vexamão” and “Perdão, não tem”, accompanying himself on the guitar.
The first begins with a hilarious dialogue between the two sacred monsters, Elis asking the “King” to sing, to which he responds at first “I don’t have the voice for that”, before giving in, on a rhythm of bossa nova.
The following year, Pelé also recorded a Christmas carol, a few months after giving Brazil a third world championship title.
In 1987, the refrain “ABC, ABC, all children must read and write” was sung by the eternal No 10, in a song recorded with the group Trem da Alegria, formed by four children, and later used for a literacy campaign by the Ministry of Education.
He had already made a foray into show business through his romance with presenter Xuxa, a sexy blonde whose shows were followed by millions of young viewers.
In 2006, Pelé will again treat himself to “PeléGinga”, an album which includes a duet with Gilberto Gil and also a first version of “Acredita no véio”, which he will sing again in 2020, on the occasion of his 80 years, accompanied by the guitars of the Mexican duo Rodrigo and Gabriela.
The film “Victory is Ours”
The time of a film, Pelé was called Luis Fernandez. Nothing to do with the former midfielder of the Blues, the “King” embodies a prisoner of war from Trinidad and Tobago, confined in a prison camp in 1943.
Trained by Michael Caine, he must play a match against a selection of German soldiers at the Colombes stadium, near Paris.
Directed by John Huston, this film, “Victory is ours”, released in 1981, includes other renowned former players in its cast, such as Bobby Moore, captain of England, world champion in 1966, the Argentinian Osvaldo Ardiles or the Belgian Paul Van Himst.
But Pele also has teammate Sylvester Stallone, who is riding the wave of “Rocky” success but was visibly more skilled with boxing gloves than the ball at his feet.
“I will be sincere. You don’t shoot well, you don’t dribble well, but you can be a very good goalkeeper, ”advises the Brazilian in one of his main lines in the film.
But Pelé, a young retiree from the field, above all made his technique speak, with a splendid acrobatic return to ensure the draw against the Germans.
Only one take was necessary, according to members of the film crew.
Pelé was also the star of Brazilian films, notably “Os trapalhões eo Rei do Futebol” (1986), with a famous comic trio of the time.
He shot a commercial for Viagra
“Talk to your doctor. I would talk about it.” In 2002, at the age of 62, Pelé appeared in the middle of the Maracanã, the stadium where he had scored his thousandth goal thirty-three years earlier. But it’s not about football.
In voice-over, he evokes the taboo of erectile dysfunction, in an advertisement for Viagra which caused a lot of ink to flow.
“I never took it, I never needed it,” he later claimed, at the age of 70.
Pub man, Pelé has also lent his image to brands of drinks, clothing, mobile phones, but also video games.
In the early 1980s, we find him alongside pilot Mario Andretti and basketball player Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and even a controller in hand to praise the merits of the Atari 2600 game console. He was everywhere.
AFP
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