Marpessa Dawn and Breno Mello, the stars of the film “Black Orpheus,” both passed away in 2008, just a few months apart. Dawn died of a heart attack on August 25, while Mello died on July 13.
Marpessa Dawn, born Gypsy Marpessa Dawn Menor, was an American-born French actress, singer, and dancer, best known for her role as Eurydice in the 1959 film “Black Orpheus” (Orfeu Negro). The film was an adaptation of the Greek legend of Orpheus and Eurydice, set in the modern context of a Rio de Janeiro favela during Carnival. Dawn’s performance, alongside Brazilian actor Breno Mello as Orpheus, received international acclaim and the film won both the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival and the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
Eric Vander, on the other hand, does not appear to be directly related to Marpessa Dawn or the film “Black Orpheus.” There may be some confusion with the name, as there is no widely recognized figure by that name associated with Dawn or the movie. It’s possible that Eric Vander could be a private individual or a less-public figure, and therefore, there is no significant public information available about him in relation to Marpessa Dawn. If Eric Vander is a person of interest in a different context, additional information would be needed to provide an accurate account of his connection to Dawn or his own personal history.
