Héctor Elizondo

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Héctor Elizondo
Born December 22, 1936 (1936-12-22) (age 71)
New York City, New York, USA
Spouse(s) Carolee Campbell (1969-present)

Héctor Elizondo (born December 22, 1936) is a Golden Globe-nominated and Emmy Award-winning American actor.

Contents

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early years

Elizondo was born in New York City, the son of Puerto Rican parents who moved to New York City, like many other Hispanics at the time, with the hope of finding a better way of life. His mother, Carmen Medina (née Reyes), was from a land-owning family, and his father, Martin Echevarria Elizondo, an accountant and notary public, was of Basque descent and born on a ship traveling from Spain to Argentina.[1][2] Elizondo has a younger brother. At a young age, Elizondo demonstrated a talent in sports and music. He sang for the Frank Murray Boy's Choir when he was 10 years old. Upon graduating from Jr. High School in 1951, he enrolled in the High School of the Performing Arts; he also attended a regular public high school where he excelled in basketball and baseball - his baseball skills were good enough for him to be scouted by both the New York Giants and the Pittsburgh Pirates.[3]

In 1954, Elizondo enrolled in City College of New York, with the intention of becoming a history teacher. During his freshman year he became a father and dropped out of College and went to work full-time in order to support his family. Later, he was divorced and gained full custody of his son, Rodd.[3] He and his wife Carolee Campbell, an Emmy-Award winning actress, photographer and celebrated publisher, live in Sherman Oaks, California.[3]

[edit] Career

From 1962-1963, Elizondo studied dance at the Ballet Arts Company at Carnegie Hall and in 1963 he landed parts in two Off-Broadway shows: Kill the One-Eyed Man and The Great White Hope. His first major success came when he played "God" in guise of a Puerto Rican steam room attendant in the play Steambath. Elizondo won an Obie Award for his performance. Many of his roles involve playing a friend or sympathizer to the lead character. He provided the voice of Bane, one of the more aggressively themed characters in Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman.[4]

In the 1980s, Elizondo befriended Garry Marshall; Marshall was impressed with his talent and it was to become a lifelong friendship, which would bring benefits for both. Their first movie together was Young Doctors in Love. In some of the movies in which Elizondo appeared, he went uncredited and he would not have minded staying that way for the movie Pretty Woman, however it was Marshall who insisted on crediting him. His role in Pretty Woman only lasted 10 minutes, but it led to his receiving a Golden Globe nomination. Elizondo has participated in over 80 movies and 12 of them have been Marshall's.[4]

On April 30th, 2008 It was announced by USA Network, that he will become Adrian Monk's new therapist, on their award winning series Monk.[5] Elizondo replaces actor Stanley Kamel who passed away suddenly on April 8th, 2008.

[edit] Filmography

[edit] See also

[edit] References

[edit] External links