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THE D.A./NBC/1971-72
**(Ned Romero) Bob Ramirez, Hispanic investigator for Paul Ryan, a deputy
district attorney in Los Angeles.
DEA: SPECIAL TASK FORCE/FOX/1990-91
*(Jenny Gago/costar) Teresa Robles, an attractive Hispanic female undercover
operative of the Drug Enforcement Agency working to make a "difference in the
world." Bad guys on the series included Miguel Sandoval as Rafael Cordera, the
head of an Ecuador-based crime family; John Vargas as Ricky Prado, Cordera's
Lieutenant; Roya Megnot as Isabella Solana, a sexy but deadly daughter of a
crime family; Pepe Serna played Isabella's bodyguard; and Joseph Gian as Severo
De Lasera.
DALLAS/CBS/1978-91
**(Paco Vela) Raul, a Chicano manservant/butler who worked at the Southfork
estate owned by the Ewing family, wealthy oil millionaires who lived outside of
Dallas, Texas. Also featured was Roseanna Christiansen as Theresa, the family
maid. She typically had lines like "Mrs. Ewing, someone's on the phone."
Alejandro Rey appeared as Luis Rueda during the 1986 season. Victoria Principal
(Hispanic in real-life) in a non-Hispanic role played Pamela Ewing, the wife of
Anglo Bobby Ewing. Her first film was as a Mexican mistress in The Life and
Times of Judge Roy Bean, starring Paul Newman. Throughout the series, a number
of prominent Hispanic actors appeared on the show including Barbara Carrera
(born in Nicaragua), Mel Ferrer, and Henry Darrow.
DAN AUGUST/ABC/CBS/1970-71
**(Ned Romero) Sgt. Joe Rivera, Hispanic police detective working in California
with Det. Lt. Dan August of the Santa Luisa Police Department.
DANGEROUS MINDS/ABC/1996-97
**(Greg Serano) Guzmaro Lopez, one of a number of teenagers facing their
troubles at an inner-city high school with the aid of a white ex-marine female
teacher. Other cast include Maria Costa as Blanca Guerrero.
THE DANNY THOMAS SHOW/ABC/1953-57/CBS/1957-64
**(Bill Dana) Jose Jimenez, an easy-going Latino elevator operator and doorman
working in New York City. The Jose Jimenez character became so popular he got
his own series - THE BILL DANA SHOW.
DAVID CASSIDY-MAN UNDERCOVER/NBC/1978-79
**(Michael A. Salcido) Paul Sanchez, an Hispanic Los Angeles policeman who
occasionally assisted in undercover activities.
DAVIS RULES!/ABC/CBS/1991-92
**(Rigoberto Jimenez) Rigo Cordona, a chubby Hispanic adolescent who hung out at
the house of his friend who was the son of an elementary school principal.
DELORA BUENO/DUM/1949
*(Delora Bueno) Delora Bueno, a beautiful Latin singer and musician who hosted
this musical program in the early days of television. Actually, Delora Bueno was
born in Iowa and raised in Brazil.
DETECTIVE SCHOOL/ABC/1979
**(Taylor Negron) Silvio Galindez, an Hispanic man attending night classes at
Nick Hannigan's detective school where he hoped to be taught the tricks of the
trade used by private investigators.
DHARMA & GREG/ABC/1997-2002
**(Lillian Hurst) Celia, the Hispanic maid of Kitty and Edward Montgomery, the
wealthy parents of lawyer Greg Montgomery, the show’s title character who
married a hippy named Dharma Finkelstein.
DICK TRACY/SYN/1961
**(Voice of Mel Blanc/Paul Frees) Go Go Gomez, a slow-talking, Mexican detective
who assisted Dick Tracy in capturing such criminals as the Mole, Itchy, Prune
Face and Mumbles. This character was a complete stereotype that wore sombrero,
sandals and spoke with a slow-witted Mexican accent.
DIRTY DANCING/CBS/1988-89
**(Constance Marie) Penny Rivera, a sexy Latin dance partner of Johnny Castle, a
dance instructor at Kellerman's summer resort in the Catskill Mountains. The
Penny character first appeared in the movie "Dirty Dancing" (1987) as Penny
Johnson (played by Cynthia Rhodes).
DISNEY PRESENTS THE 100 LIVES OF BLACK JACK SAVAGE/NBC/1991
**(Bert Rosario) Governor General Abel Vasquez, the corrupt petty dictator who
ran the small Caribbean Island of San Pietro, the home of the 17th-century
pirate Black Jack Savage.
THE DIVISION/LIF/2001-2004
**(Lisa Vidal) Inspector Magdelena "Magda" Ramirez, streetwise Puerto-Rican
policewoman with amber hair and leather jacket who works at SFPD Central Station
in San Francisco. Magda takes her work very seriously and is often torn between
her family and the Department. When her family began to use her association with
the police as a perk to get have her fix parking tickets and get lighter
sentences for a cocaine arrest, a frustrated Magda announced to them all "I'm on
strike, I'm no longer going to be your personal cop-for-hire." One of seven
children in a Puerto Rican family, police work is Magda’s way of trying to make
the world a better place...for herself, for her son, Ben. Magda's husband left
when he learned she was pregnant Actress Lisa Vidal had previously played police
woman in the TV series NEW YORK UNDERCOVER (as Carmen Torres); HIGH INCIDENT
(Officer Jessica Helgado); ER (CFD Lt. Sandy Lopez) and THIRD WATCH (as Dr. Sara
Morales).
DOC/CBS/1975-76
**(Lisa Mordente) Teresa Ortega, an Hispanic female who worked at the Westside
Clinic where "Doc" Joe Bogert attended to his many patients.
DOCTORS HOSPITAL/NBC/1975-76
*(Victor Campos/costar) Dr. Felipe Ortega, chief resident at the fictional
Lowell Memorial Hospital in Los Angeles. Albert Paulsen played the hospital's
director, Janos Varga.
DON QUIXOTE/SYN/1965
*(Josef Meinrod) Don Quixote De La Mancha, a starry-eyed dreamer/country
gentleman who set out in search of adventure amidst the scenery of 17th century
Spain with his squire Sancho Panza. The series was based on the classic Spanish
novel Don Quixote De La Mancha written in 1605 by Miguel De Cervantes Saavedra
(1547-1616). A short lived (six episodes) British sci-fi satire, THE ADVENTURES
OF DON QUICK/LWT/1970, loosely based on the adventures of Don Quixote, starred
Ian Hendry as Captain Don Quick, a member of the Intergalactic Maintenance Squad
and his second-in-command Sgt. Sam Czopanser (Ronald Lacey). Rex Harrison later
played the role of Don Quixote in the 1972 BBC movie version The Adventures of
Don Quixote costarring with Frank Finlay as Sancho Panza. An animal adaptation
of the tale appeared in the Hanna-Barbera cartoon THE ADVENTURES OF DON COYOTE
AND SANCHO PANDA/SYN/1990-91 (voice of Frank Welker as Don Coyote and Don
Messick as Sancho Panda).
DORA THE EXPLORER/NIK/2000-02
*(Cartoon Character) Dora the Explorer (voice of Kathreen Herles), a show aimed
at preschoolers, tells the adventures of a bilingual heroine who interacts with
the audience to troubleshoot her way through different problems. Dora, along
with her friend Boots go on adventures.
THE DORIS DAY SHOW/CBS/1968-73
*(Naomi Stevens) Juanita, Hispanic housekeeper who worked for a widow and her
two sons on a ranch located in Northern California near San Francisco.
DOWN AND OUT IN BEVERLY HILLS/FOX/1987
**(April Ortiz) Carmen, the Hispanic maid who worked for Dave Whiteman (Hector
Elizondo), a clothes hanger businessman living Beverly Hills with his family and
a live-in homeless man. In the film version that inspired the TV spin-off
Elizabeth Pena played the role of the Carmen, the spirited maid who was humping
her employer while his wife was sleeping upstairs. The idea for both film and TV
series was based on the French play "Boudu Sauve des Eaux" by Rene Fauchois and
the classic film Boudu Saved from Drowning (1932).
THE DREW CAREY SHOW/ABC/1995-2004
**(Ian Gomez) Larry Almada, a balding Hispanic executive working at the
Winfred-Louder Department Store in Cleveland, Ohio. Larry was the ultimate yes
man. He even became to boy toy of Mrs. Louder, the store's owner to keep himself
in good graces with his employment status. Larry later got fired. He resurfaced
as the host of a talk show called "Love Almada Style," a local talk show about
romance and dating.
DUDLEY/CBS/1993
**(Lupe Ontiveras) Marta, the Hispanic maid for a New York composer and
nightclub pianist. She spoke no English and had to communicate through the
family's 14-year-old son Fred Bristol who spoke fluent Spanish.
DYNASTY II: THE COLBYS/ABC/1985-87
**(Ricardo Montalban) Zachary Powers, a scheming Hispanic tycoon who interacted
with patriarch, Jason Colby, a wealthy white California businessman.
E/R/CBS/1984-85
**(Luis Avalos) Dr. Thomas Esquivel, physician on duty at Chicago's Clark Street
Hospital. Also featured was Conchata Ferrell as Nurse Judy Thor.
EARTH 2/NBC/1994-95
**(Antonio Sabato, Jr.) Alonzo Solace, cocky Hispanic pilot who was stranded
with a group of space station personnel who fled the confinement of space
station life to live on the surface of a seemingly uninhabited planet G-889
(a.k.a. "Earth 2").
THE ED SULLIVAN SHOW/CBS/1949-70
**(Senor Wences) Senor Wences, internationally known ventriloquist (born Moreno
Wenceslao in Salamanca, Spain) who frequently appeared on television in the
1950-60s, especially on the CBS Sunday night variety program THE ED SULLIVAN
SHOW. His act consisted of throwing his voice into a number of objects including
a box, his own hand and animal hand puppets like Cecilia Chicken. The most
famous puppet in his gallery of characters was Johnny (Wences' hand decorated
with two eyes, a large mouth painted along the juncture of the thumb and index
fingers). Sometimes, Wences placed Johnny on top of a headless dummy to create
the illusion of a small person talking. Senor Wences' interest in ventriloquism
was inspired by his exposure to vaudeville acts seen in silent movie theaters
where his violinist father played with the orchestras. Wences honed his vocal
skills by throwing his voice in school sometimes answering "present" for
students not in attendance. It was one such time that the idea for his Johnny
character was conceived. Punished for causing a disturbance in class by throwing
his voice, Wences had to clean all the ink wells in the classroom. When he
finished, however, he noticed some ink stains on his hand that resembled a face.
When he moved his thumb, it appeared to be talking. Synchronizing his
ventriloquist talents with the movements of the cartoon like face, Johnny was
born. Originally, Johnny smoked a cigarette, but with the changing social
values, Wences eliminated the smoking from his act. The Johnny character
appeared in the vaudeville film Mother Wore Tights (1947) starring Betty Grable
& Dan Dailey. Senor Wences usually dressed in tuxedo and tails, as he
entertained in supper clubs and vaudeville halls throughout Spain and South
America. When he translated his act into English, Senor Wences took his act to
North America, England and Europe. During World War II he entertained troops at
military bases and hospitals. His contacts with then newspaper columnist Ed
Sullivan later garnered him some 48 guest appearances on THE TOAST OF THE TOWN
which later became THE ED SULLIVAN SHOW/CBS/1948-71. Another of Wences' popular
puppet characters was Pedro, the face in the box. Throwing his voice into a
small black box, Wences carried on a conversation with the bodiless entity. At
the conclusion of each encounter, Senor Wences inquired about Pedro's feelings
by saying "Sall right?" Pedro quickly replied "S-all right!" Senor Wences also
appeared on THE PERRY COMO SHOW; at a command performance at the London Paladium
with King George VI, Queen Elizabeth; and with the US Presidents Roosevelt,
Truman, Eisenhower and Nixon. His admirers included Walt Disney, Danny Kaye and
Edgar Bergen. Senor Wences was the mystery guest on the October 23, 1969
installment of the syndicated quiz/panel program WHAT'S MY LINE/CBS/1950-67/SYN/1968-75.
EISENHOWER & LUTZ/CBS/1988
**(Rose Portilla) Millie Zamora, a female Hispanic secretary working for the
legal firm of Eisenhower and Lutz located in a small shopping mall in Palms
Springs, California.
THE ELECTRIC COMPANY/PBS/1971-85
**(Rita Moreno, Irena Cara, Luis Avalos) Educational program produced by the
Children's Television Workshop that taught reading skills to children seven to
ten years.
EMERGENCY/NBC/1972-77
**(Marco Lopez) Fireman Lopez, Hispanic firefighter stationed at Squad 51 of the
Los Angeles County Fire Department Paramedics Rescue Service during the 1973-77
seasons.
EMPIRE/NBC/1962-63
**(Charles Bronson) Paul Moreno, a rugged Hispanic ranch hand working at the
Garret ranch, a modern-day half-million acre spread in Sante Fe, New Mexico.
THE FACULTY/ABC/1996
**(Miguel A. Nunez, Jr.) Luis Jackson, a young Hispanic school nurse working at
a contemporary junior high school called Hamilton Middle School. An
overachieving but imaginary student named Carlos Garcia was created by the
faculty as a joke on Amanda Duvall, a flighty 60's type math teacher.
FALCON CREST/CBS/1981-90
**(Rick Ramus) Gus Nunoz, Hispanic grape picker working at the Falcon Crest
vineyards and winery of Angela Channing in the fictional Tuscany Valley. Mario
Marcelino appeared as Gus's son, Mario. Other cast included Kristian Alfonso as
Pilar Ortega; Castulo Guerra as Cesar Ortega; Dan Ferro as his son, Tommy
Ortega; Danny Nucci as his other son Gabriel Ortega; Jay Varela as Miguel
Aviles; Nick Najera as Paco; Israel Juarbe as Raoul; and Ronald G. Joseph as
Sheriff Sanchez. Lorenzo Lamas (the son of Fernando Lamas) played the non-hispanic
role of Angela Channing's grandson, Lance Cumson. Other Hispanic actors to
appear on the show included Anna Alica as Melissa Agretti, the daughter of a
rival wine-grown gamily; Cesar Romero played Greek Tycoon Peter Stavros and
Julia Carmen played Romero's Daughter Sofia.
FAME/NBC/SYN/1982-87
**(Erica Gimpel/costar) Coco Hernandez, talented Hispanic singer/dancer who
attended the famous High School for the Performing Arts in New York City. during
the 1882-83 season. Also featured was Jesse Borrego as Jesse Valesquez, a
talented Mexican-American dance student featured during the 1984-87 seasons
FAME L.A./SYN/1997-98
**(Roselyn Sanchez) Lili Arguelo, a strikingly beautiful Latino woman from
Puerto Rico, Lili has been studying dance since she was eight-years-old. Ballet,
tap, jazz, funk -- you name it and she can do it. She has great confidence and
inner strength, a result of her strong upbringing. No stranger to struggle, she
has witnessed great poverty in her own family and community. Yet, she is
determined and emotionally equipped to follow her dream to be a professional
dancer. Born March 14, 1970 in San Juan, Roselyn Sanchez moved to New York City
at age 21 to study acting, dancing and singing. Born in San Juan she had been in
commercials and music videos at age 15. She became co-host, dancer and
choreographer of Puerto Rico's number #1 weekly television comedy-variety show,
"Que Vacilon," where she starred for three years. In 1993, she won the title of
Miss Puerto Rico Petite, and in 1994, she successfully represented Puerto Rico
to win the national title of Miss America Petite. She later played the role of
Pilar Domingo, the first-ever Latina character in the 40-year history of CBS
soap opera "As the World Turns." While in New York, she also wrote and performed
her one-woman show, "Out Here On My Own." Roselyn also played the role of Kim
Veras on the police drama RYAN CAULFIELD: YEAR ONE (1999. (Check out the
official official FAME L.A. web site at http://www.fame-la.com).
FAMILY LAW/CBS/1999-2002
*(Cristian Del La Fuentes) Andres Diaz, 25-year-old Chilean-born paralegal
working at the legal offices of Holt & Associates in Los Angeles. Andres had an
affair with Randi King, the firm's middle-aged defense lawyer who spent a stint
of time in state prison for murdering her husband. During the run of the series
Andres is faced with deportation and asks the firm to prosecute a man he
suspects as being the Chilean Army Colonel who killed his father and tortured
his mother 27 years earlier. Note: People Español named Chilean born Fuentes as
the "Sexiest Man on the Planet." In Spanish, his name means "Christian in the
Fountain."
THE FAMILY MARTINEZ/CBS/1986
*(Robert Beltran) Hector Martinez, a former Hispanic gang member who turns his
life around by enrolling in law school and moving back into his family's house.
Daniel Faraldo, Anne Betancourt, and Karla Montana appeared as his family
members. This Tommy Chong written pilot never made it to a series status but
only ran as a special.
FANTASY ISLAND/ABC/1978-84
*(Ricardo Montalban) Mr. Roarke, an elegant yet mysterious guardian of Fantasy
Island, a tropic paradise where dreams became reality. Roarke was assisted by a
dwarf manservant named Tattoo played by Herve Villechaize. TRIVIA NOTE: In the
1970s and 1980s Mexican born Ricardo Montalban became famous for mouthing the
catchphrase "Rich Corinthian Leather" in a series of successful Chrysler
Corporation commercials.
FATHER KNOWS BEST/CBS/NBC/1954-62
**(Natividad Vacio) Frank "Fronk" Smith, a newly naturalized American citizen
from Mexico who occasionally was seen tending to the gardening and landscape
needs of the Anderson family who lived in the town of Springfield.
FAWLTY TOWERS/BBC/1975 & 1979
**(Andrew Sachs) Manuel, a bumbling, Spanish bellhop/waiter from Barcelona,
Spain who had a difficult time speaking the English language and communicating
with his employer, Basil Fawlty the incompetent owner of the British hotel known
as Fawlty Towers. Once upset with Manuel, Basil cried "Please try to understand
before one of us dies!"
FELICITY/WB/1998-2002
**(Ian Gomez) Javier Clemente Quintata, a gay, balding, pudgy Hispanic
restaurant manager who works at Dean & Deluca’s in New York City. He manages
coworker Felicity Porter, a 17-year-old pre med student and also manages to get
involved in her life. When he noticed that Felicity had a crush on a guy named
Ben, Javier says “I think she has a little ‘crunch’ on him.” Javier’s boyfriend
is Samuel.
FIRST TIME OUT/WB/1996
*(Jackie Guerra) A single Latina trying to survive in Los Angeles.
FLAMINGO ROAD/NBC/1981-82
**(Fernando Allende) Julio Sanchez, Cuban refugees living in a Cuban Barrio in
the steamy Southern Florida city of Truro. Gina Gallego appeared as his sister
Alicia.
FLASH/CBS/1990-91
**(Alex Desert) Julio Mendez, the Black/Hispanic lab technician who worked for
the Police Department in Central City.
THE FLASH/CBS/1990-91
**(Alex Desert) Julio Mendez, Hispanic lab technician working in Central City
with police scientist Barry Allen (aka the superhero "The Flash").
THE FLYING NUN/ABC/1967-70
**(Alejandro Rey) Carlos Ramirez, a handsome Puerto Rican playboy/discotheque
owner who was patron to the nuns at the Convent San Tanco near Puerto Rico. The
cast also included Shelley Morrison as Sister Sixto, a Puerto Rican nun who
valiantly tried to learn the proper phraseologies of the English language ("The
plumbing. She's on the blank."); Vito Scotti as Police Captain Gaspar Formento;
and Manuel Padilla, Jr as Marcello, the orphan boy. The series was based on the
book The Fifth Pelican by Tere Rios.
FOLEY SQUARE/CBS/1985-86
**(Israel Juarbe) Angel Gomez, Hispanic ex-con messenger working at the
Manhattan District Attorney's Office. Also featured were Hector Elizondo as
Jesse Steinberg, a Jewish deputy district attorney.
FOR LOVE AND HONOR/NBC/1983
**(Rachel Ticotin) Corporal Grace Pavlik, a tough Puerto Rican military recruit
(the only female) stationed at the U.S. Army Post in Fort Geller, Texas, the
headquarters for the 88th Airborne Division.
FOR RICHER, FOR POORER/NBC/1977-78
**(Chu Chu Mulave) Paco, Hispanic character who appeared on this primetime
serial set in Chicago.
FORT FIGUEROA/CBS/1988
*(Pepe Serna, Evelyn Guerrero) Hispanic family living in a a dilapidated
apartment building in Los Angeles owned by a Anglo family from the Midwest who
recently inherited the building. This hour-long pilot drama series never aired
on the network.
413 HOPE ST./FOX/1997-98
**(Vincent Laresca) Carlos Martinez, Hispanic counselor working at a busy
teen-crisis center in New York City where counselors help troubled youths with
their life's problems. Also featured was Shari Headley as co-worker Juanita
Harris.
FRANNIE'S TURN/CBS/1992
*(Miriam Margolyes) Frannie Escobar, Cuban-American seamstress living on Staten
Island in New York City. Other cast were members Tomas Milian as Joseph Escobar,
her macho Cuban-born husband; Phoebe Augustine as Olivia and Stivi Paskoski as
Eddie, Frannie's grown but screwed up children; Alice Drummond as Rosa Escobar,
the crazy mother-in-law; and Taylor Negron, as Armando, an insecure dress
designer.
FREEBIE AND THE BEAN/CBS/1980-81
*(Hector Elizondo/costar) Det. Sgt. Dan Delgado, aka the "Bean," an Hispanic
plainclothes police officer who worked special assignments for the San Francisco
Police Department with his partner, Sgt. Tim "Freebie" Walker.
FRESHMAN DORM/CBS/1992
*(Arlene Taylor/costar) Kamala Consuelo Ricardo, a lower-class Hispanic teenage
girl from Los Angles attending the fictional Western Pacific University in
Southern California on a financial scholarship. Ashamed of her background,
Kamala manufactures an alternate identity of K. C. Richards so she can get in to
the Kappa sorority.
FROM HERE TO ETERNITY/NBC/1979-80
**(Rocky Echevarria) Pvt. Ignacio Carmona, Hispanic soldier stationed in Pearl
Harbor around the time of the Japanese attack on Hawaii. Actor Rocky Echevarria
later changed his name to Steven Bauer.
FUTURAMA/FOX/1999-2003
**(voice of Joe DiMaggio) Bender Bending Rodriguez (Bending Unit 22), a robot
living in the year 3000 AD. designed to bend girders. He now works for the
Planet Express Delivery Company on the planet earth. Built to bend girders,
Bender got fed up with his career and began a new life as part of the Planet
Express delivery crew, along with his best friend, Fry. In his free time, he
enjoys gambling, cooking, stealing (kleptomania), folk singing, bending,
computer dating, and dating computers. His catchphrases are “Kill all humans.”
and “Bite My Shiny Metal Ass.” When accused of something Bender will profess "“I
was near the scene of another crime at the time, officer.”
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