Gerson da Cunha (16 June 1929 – 7 January 2022) was an Indian advertising professional who was also a stage and film actor, social worker, and author. He headed the Indian market communications agency Lintas and also worked for J. Walter Thompson, and Hindustan Lever in a career spanning 25 years. He worked with UNICEF in Brazil and was awarded the Order of Rio Branco by the government of Brazil in 2018 for his services to that country.
Da Cunha acted in English-language plays and movies such as Electric Moon (1992), Cotton Mary (1999), Asoka (2001) and Water (2005), among others.
Early life
Gerson da Cunha was born on 16 June 1929 into a Bombay Goan family of Portuguese descent and grew up in the Mazagaon neighborhood of Bombay (now Mumbai). He graduated in science from the University of Bombay studying at St. Xavier's College. He would later describe his college as a 'fussy and priggish Jesuit College'. His uncle was José Gerson da Cunha, physician and historian, who had written one of the first historical works documenting the origins of Bombay, somewhat aptly titled, The Origins of Bombay. Da Cunha Sr. was also the family physician of the Aga Khan.