Moraes was an alcoholic who said, "O uísque é o melhor amigo do homem—é o cão engarrafado" ("Whiskey is man's best friend, it's the dog in a bottle"), After a long period of poor health, which included several visits to rehabilitation clinics, he died at his home in Rio de Janeiro on July 9, 1980, at the age of 66, in the company of his ninth wife, Gilda de Queirós Mattoso, and the faithful Toquinho. He is buried in Rio de Janeiro's Cemitério São João Batista.