Outgoing Prime Minister António Costa praised Herman José's career on Tuesday, considering him a “comedian unconditionally committed to freedom” and whose programs allowed democracy to leave “black and white television” and acquire colour.
At the ceremony of awarding the Order of Cultural Merit – which was held this afternoon in the gardens of the Prime Minister's official residence precisely on the day Herman José turns 70 and which ended with a cake and congratulations – Antonio Costa considered this “no coincidence.” ” It celebrates the 50th anniversary of the comedian's career at the same time that Portuguese democracy also celebrates the same half-century of life.
“The Portuguese Government offers him this public honour, awarding him the Order of Cultural Merit, in recognition of the invaluable work of his life devoted to television, the performing arts and radio, and in particular, to his pioneering work as a comedian committed unconditionally to freedom,” Antonio Costa paid tribute. .
According to the Prime Minister, Herman José “began his acting career a few months after April 25, 1974” in a play called “One on the Harpsichord and Another on the Dictatorship.”
Costa recalled his programs, such as Channel Tal and Hermanias, which represented a “historic change” and “a revolutionary change in the type of humor” that took place in Portugal, considering that Herman truly invented “modern humor in Portugal.”
He stressed, “With Herman José, our democracy emerged from black and white television, gained color, laughed, laughed and made us laugh. With Herman, we grew up in democracy and democracy grew in its freedom.”
According to the Prime Minister, the “absolute freedom” that Herman José brought to prime time on state television, when there was no private television, was “a true test of the maturity of a still young democracy.”
“Humor is vital to any democratic society because it tests the freedom of expression in that society. We have learned with Herman José that even in a democracy, humor is sometimes an act of courage,” he noted, referring to his Humor in Loss programme. It was “suddenly suspended” by RTP due to a section containing historical interviews.
Costa also noted that years later, a sketch about the Last Supper “led to a protest petition with 250,000 signatures that had no consequences except that this time RTP management resisted.”
“The succession of television programs he has written from the 1980s to the present day, almost without interruption, makes Herman José a unique case of television longevity,” he praised.
At this point in the speech, arousing the laughter of the small audience who witnessed the intimate moment, the Prime Minister, who was still in office, recalled figures from Herman José whose “phrases and expressions, repeated from episode to episode, entered into the daily speech of the people.” Portuguese”, citing some such as “There was no need”, for the character Deácono Remédios, or “This man is not from the North” and even “Where were you on April 25?”.
“Proud coffee junkie. Gamer. Hardcore introvert. Social media trailblazer.”
