Héctor Elizondo

Héctor Elizondo (born December 22, 1936) is an American actor. He is known for playing Phillip Watters in the television series Chicago Hope (1994–2000) and Ed Alzate in the television series Last Man Standing (2011-present). His film roles include The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974), American Gigolo (1980), Leviathan (1989), Pretty Woman (1990), Beverly Hills Cop III (1994), Runaway Bride (1999), The Princess Diaries (2001), and Valentine's Day (2010).

For the Mexican sport shooter, see Héctor Elizondo (sport shooter).

Héctor Elizondo
Elizondo in 2012
Born	(1936-12-22) December 22, 1936 New York City, New York, U.S.
Other names	Hector Elizondo
Education	Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1963–present
Spouse(s)	Marie Rivera ​ ( m. 1956; div. 1957) Marie Mandry ​ ( m. 1963; div. 1964) Carolee Campbell ( m. 1969)
Children	1

Elizondo is the recipient of an Obie Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and two ALMA Awards. He has also received nominations for a Drama Desk Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Satellite Award, and five Screen Actors Guild Awards.

Early years

Elizondo was born in New York, the son of Carmen Medina Reyes and Martín Echevarría Elizondo, a notary public and accountant.[1][2] His parents were Puerto Ricans of Spanish descent who moved from Puerto Rico to New York City with the hope of finding a better life.[3] He grew up on the Upper West Side.[4]

At a young age, he demonstrated a talent for sports and music. He sang for the Frank Murray Boys' Choir when he was 10 years old. Upon graduating from junior high school in 1950, he enrolled in the High School of the Performing Arts. He also attended another public high school, where he excelled in basketball and baseball. His baseball skills were good enough for him to be scouted by both the San Francisco Giants and the Pittsburgh Pirates.[5] In 1954, Elizondo enrolled in City College of New York, intending to become a history teacher. However, during his freshman year, he became a father and dropped out of college, going to work full-time to support his family. Later, he divorced and gained full custody of his son, Rodd.[5]

Career

From 1962–63, Elizondo studied dance at the Ballet Arts Company at Carnegie Hall. During 1962–63, he also studied acting under Mario Stiletti at Stella Adler Theatre Studio when it was located in the Dryden East Hotel on East 39th St. In 1965, he landed a part in the off-Broadway show Kill the One-Eyed Man.[6]

In 1968, he got a part in the play The Great White Hope.[7] His first major success came when he played "God" in the guise of a Puerto Rican steam room attendant in Steambath, for which he won an Obie Award for his performance. Many of his roles involve playing a friend of or sympathizer to the lead character.

In 1974, Elizondo played an ex-mafioso-turned-subway hijacker "Mr. Grey" in The Taking of Pelham One Two Three.[8]

He starred as a Puerto Rican widower on the CBS television series, Popi (1975–76).[9] The short-lived series, which ran for 11 episodes, was one of the first American network television series to feature a Latino theme and cast.[9] In 1975, he portrayed the murderer in an episode of Columbo, "A Case of Immunity". He was a member of the cast of the 1985–86 CBS situation comedy Foley Square, starring Margaret Colin.[8]

In the 1980s, Elizondo befriended Garry Marshall, who was impressed with his talent. Their first movie together was Young Doctors in Love, in which Elizondo displays his guitar-playing talent. His role in Pretty Woman lasted only 10 minutes, but led to a Golden Globe nomination. In 1999, he co-starred in Runaway Bride as Fisher, the husband of the male protagonist's ex. Elizondo has participated in more than 80 movies (17 of which have been Marshall's). He appeared in every movie that Marshall directed, including a brief but funny appearance as a Portuguese fisherman in Overboard, which starred Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn.[8]

Elizondo at the premiere for Earth in 2009

In 2001, he was featured in the short-lived television drama Kate Brasher and portrayed security head Joe in the movie The Princess Diaries, a role he reprised in the 2004 sequel, The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement.[8] As a voice-actor, he played Bane, one of the more aggressively themed characters in Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman.[8] He may be best known to television audiences as Dr. Phillip Watters on the CBS television series Chicago Hope created by well-known television creator David E. Kelley. He has won both an Emmy and ALMA award and was nominated for a Satellite Award and several SAG Awards for playing this role. He is one of only two people to remain on the show for its entire run, the other being Adam Arkin.[8]

On April 30, 2008, USA Network announced that Elizondo would be cast on Monk as Dr. Neven Bell,[10] Adrian Monk's new psychiatrist, following the sudden death of Stanley Kamel, the actor who played Monk's original psychiatrist, earlier that month.[11]

Since 2011, Elizondo has played Ed Alzate on the Fox (formerly ABC) comedy Last Man Standing, starring Tim Allen and Nancy Travis.[8]

Personal life

Elizondo has been married three times. He has a son from his first marriage. Since 1969, he has been married to Carolee Campbell, an Emmy Award-winning actress, photographer, and publisher. They live in Sherman Oaks, California.[5]

He became a father at the age of 19 with his first wife. His son Rodd was born on September 5, 1956 and died in 2017 at the age of 60.

In April 2013, Elizondo participated in the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, held at the University of Southern California, promoting children's reading.[12][13] Proud of his Latino heritage, Elizondo does not accept roles that he feels are stereotypical and/or demeaning in any way.[14]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1963	The Fat Black Pussycat
1969	The Vixens	Inspector
1970	The Landlord	Hector
1971	Valdez Is Coming	Mexican Rider
1971	Born to Win	Vivian
1972	Deadhead Miles	Bad Character
1972	Pocket Money	Juan
1972	Stand Up and Be Counted	Lou Kellerman
1974	The Taking of Pelham One Two Three	Mr. Grey
1975	Report to the Commissioner	Captain D'Angelo
1976	Diary of the Dead	Stan
1977	Thieves	Man Below
1979	Cuba	Capt. Raphael Ramirez
1980	American Gigolo	Det. Sunday
1981	The Fan	Police Insp. Raphael Andrews
1982	Young Doctors in Love	Angelo/Angela Bonafetti
1984	The Flamingo Kid	Arthur Willis
1985	Private Resort	The Maestro
1986	Nothing in Common	Charlie Gargas
1987	Overboard	Garbage Scow Skipper	Uncredited
1988	Astronomy		Short film
1988	Beaches	Judge	Uncredited
1989	Leviathan	G.P. Cobb
1990	Pretty Woman	Barnard Thompson
1990	Taking Care of Business	Warden Frank Toolman
1991	Final Approach	Dr. Dio Gottlieb
1991	Necessary Roughness	Coach Ed Gennero
1991	Frankie and Johnny	Nick
1992	There Goes the Neighborhood	Norman Rutledge
1992	Samantha	Walter
1993	Being Human	Dom Paulo
1994	Backstreet Justice	Steve Donovan
1994	Beverly Hills Cop III	Jon Flint
1994	Getting Even with Dad	Lt. Romayko
1994	Exit to Eden	Dr. Martin Helifax
1995	Perfect Alibi	Det. Ryker
1996	Dear God	Vladek Vidov
1997	Turbulence	Lt. Aldo Hines
1999	The Other Sister	Ernie
1999	Entropy	The Chairman
1999	Runaway Bride	Fisher
2001	Tortilla Soup	Martin Naranjo
2001	The Princess Diaries	Joe
2001	How High	Bill the Crew Coach
2003	Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman	Bane (voice)	Direct-to-video release
2004	Raising Helen	Mickey Massey	Uncredited
2004	The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement	Joe
2004	¡Mucha Lucha!: The Return of El Maléfico	Narrator, Ring Announcer	Voice
2006	I-See-You.Com	Greg Rishwain
2006	The Celestine Prophecy	Cardinal Sebastian
2007	Music Within	Ben Padrow
2007	Georgia Rule	Izzy
2007	Love in the Time of Cholera	Don Leo
2010	Valentine's Day	Edgar
2010	New York Street Games	Himself/narrator	Documentary
2011	New Year's Eve	Lester Kominsky
2014	The Book of Life	Carlos Sanchez (voice)
2016	Mother's Day	Lance Wallace
2017	The Lego Batman Movie	Commissioner James "Jim" Gordon (voice)
2020	Music	George	Completed

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1967	The Edge of Night	Dimitri	Unknown episodes
1968	The Doctors	Waiter	2 episodes
1969	The Jackie Gleason Show		Episode: "The Honeymooners: Mexican Hat Trick"
1971	The Impatient Heart	Mr. Hernandez	Television film
1972	All in the Family	Carlos Mendoza	Episode: "The Elevator Story"
1973, 1976	Kojak	Det. Nick Ferro Carl Dettrow	Episode: "Web of Death" Episode: "A Need to Know"
1974	Maude	Cop	Episode: "Speed Trap"
1975	Baretta	Jerry Damon	Episode: "The Fire Man"
1975	Columbo: A Case of Immunity	Hassan Salah	Television film
1975, 1978	The Rockford Files	John Micelli Frank Falcone	Episode: "Say Goodbye to Jennifer" Episode: "A Good Clean Bust with Sequel Rights"
1976	Popi	Abraham Rodriguez	11 episodes
1976	Wanted: The Sundance Woman	Pancho Villa	Television film
1978	The Dain Curse	Ben Feeney	Television film
1978	The Eddie Capra Mysteries	Strickland	Episode: "Dying Declaration"
1980	Freebie and the Bean	Det. Sgt. Dan 'Bean' Delgado	7 episodes
1982	Medal of Honor Rag		Television film
1982	Bret Maverick	Mr. Gomez	Episode: "The Hidalgo Thing"
1982	Honeyboy	Emilio Ramirez	Television film
1983	Feel the Heat	Monkey Moreno	Unknown episodes
1983	Casablanca	Capt. Louis Renault	5 episodes
1983	Woman of San Quentin	Capt. Mike Reyes	Television film
1984	a.k.a. Pablo	Jose Sanchez/Shapiro	6 episodes
1984	Hill Street Blues	Insp. Joe Keenan	Episode: "Ewe and Me, Babe"
1985	Murder: My Reason of Insanity	Ben Haggarty	Television film
1985	Out of the Darkness	Father George	Television film
1985–1986	Foley Square	Jesse Steinberg	14 episodes
1986	Courage	Nick Miraldo	Television film
1986	Amazing Stories	Meadows	Episode: "Life on Death Row"
1986	Matlock	Det. Joe Peters	Episode: "The Cop"
1987	Tales from the Hollywood Hills: Natica Jackson	Morris King	Television film
1987	Night Heat	Detective Hector Gurvin	Episode: "The Kid"
1987	Down and Out in Beverly Hills	Dave Whiteman	13 episodes
1988	Addicted to His Love	Det. Currigan	Television film
1989	Kojak: Ariana	Edson Saunders	Television film
1989	The Equalizer	Ray Quintero	Episode: "Past Imperfect"
1989	Your Mother Wears Combat Boots	Sergeant Burke	Television film
1990	Sparks: The Price of Passion	Vic Ramos	Television film
1990	Dark Avenger	Capt. David Strauss	Television pilot
1990	Forgotten Prisoners: The Amnesty Files	Hasan Demir	Television film
1991	Chains of Gold	Lt. Ortega	Television film
1991	Finding the Way Home	Ruben	Television film
1991–93	The Pirates of Dark Water	Ioz	Season 1 only
1992	The Burden of Proof	Alejandro 'Sandy' Stern	Miniseries
1992	Fish Police	Don Calamari	Episode: "Beauty's Only Fin Deep"
1992	Mrs. Cage	Lt. Angel	Television film
1993	Jonny's Golden Quest	Atacama	Television film
1993	Tales from the Crypt	Leo Burn	Episode: "As Ye Sow"
1993	Animaniacs	Stradivarius (voice)	Segment: "The Cat and the Fiddle"
1994	Picket Fences	Dr. Phillip Watters	Episode: "Rebels with Causes"
1994–95	Aladdin	Malcho (voice)	Episodes: "Rain of Terror" & "The Return of Malcho"
1994–2000	Chicago Hope	Dr. Phillip Watters	141 episodes
1995	Batman: The Animated Series	Sheldon Fallbrook (voice)	Episode: "The Terrible Trio"
1995	Jonny Quest vs. The Cyber Insects	Attacama	Television film
1996	Gargoyles	Zafiro (voice)	Episode: "The Green"
1997	Borrowed Hearts	Javier Del Campo	Television film
1998	Mikhail Baryshnikov 's Stories from My Childhood	Voice	Episode: "Ivan and His Magic Pony"
1998	Early Edition	Dr. Phillip Watters	Episode: "Mum's the Word"
1998	Safe House	Dr. Simon	Television film
2001	Kate Brasher	Joe Almeida	6 episodes
2001–04	American Experience	Narrator	Episodes: "Zoot Suit Riots" & "Remember the Alamo"
2002	Fidel	Eddie Chibas	Miniseries
2002	The West Wing	Dr. Dalton Millgate	Episode: "Dead Irish Writers"
2002	Street Time	Fariz Hammoud	Episodes: "No Excuses", "Betrayal" & "Reversal of Fortune"
2002	What's New, Scooby-Doo?	Dr. Guitirrez	Episode: "3-D Struction"
2003	The Dating Experiment	Narrator	Unknown episodes
2003	Without a Trace	Father Henry Stevens	Episode: "Revelations"
2003	Miracles	Father 'Poppi' Calero	4 episodes
2004	Century City	Martin Constable	9 episodes
2004	Jack & Bobby	Gerald Cruz	Episode: "Chess Lessons"
2001–04	Justice League	Lt. Kragger (voice)	Episodes: "Starcrossed (1–3)"
2004–06	Justice League Unlimited	Lt. Kragger (voice) Hath-Set (voice)	Episodes: "Hunter's Moon" & "Ancient History"
2006	Avatar: The Last Airbender	Wan Shi Tong (voice)	Episode: "The Library"
2006	10 Days That Unexpectedly Changed America	Narrator	Episodes: 10
2007	Cane	Pancho Duque	13 episodes
2007–13	Grey's Anatomy	Carlos Torres	5 episodes
2008–09	Monk	Dr. Neven Bell	14 episodes
2011	American Dad!	Himself (voice)	Episode: "Fartbreak Hotel"
2011	ThunderCats (2011 TV series)	Viragor	Episode: "The Forest of Magi Oar"
2011–present	Last Man Standing	Ed Alzate	Main character
2013	The Legend of Korra	Wan Shi Tong (voice)	Episode: "A New Spiritual Age'"
2016	Elena of Avalor	Fiero (voice)
2017-2019	Mickey and the Roadster Racers	Grandpa Beagle (voice)	4 episodes

Awards and nominations

OBIE Award

• 1971: Won, "Distinguished Performances" – Steambath

ALMA Awards

• 1998: Nominated, "Outstanding Individual Performance in a Television Series in a Crossover Role" – Chicago Hope
• 1998: Nominated, "Outstanding Individual Performance in a Television Series in a Crossover Role" – Turbulence
• 1998: Won, "Outstanding Actor in a Made-for-Television Movie or Mini-Series" – Borrowed Hearts
• 1999: Nominated, "Outstanding Individual Performance in a Television Series in a Crossover Role" – Chicago Hope
• 2000: Nominated, "Outstanding Actor in a Feature Film" – Runaway Bride
• 2000: Won, "Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series" – Chicago Hope
• 2002: Nominated, "Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture" – Tortilla Soup

Emmy Awards

• 1992: Nominated, "Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Special" – Mrs. Cage
• 1995: Nominated, "Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series" – Chicago Hope
• 1996: Nominated, "Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series" – Chicago Hope
• 1997: Won, "Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series" – Chicago Hope
• 1998: Nominated, "Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series" – Chicago Hope

Golden Globe Awards

• 1991: Nominated, "Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture" – Pretty Woman

Imagen Foundation Awards

• 2005: Nominated, "Best Supporting Actor in a Film" – The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement

NCLR Bravo Awards

• 1996: Nominated, "Outstanding Television Series Actor in a Crossover Role" – Chicago Hope

Satellite Awards

• 1997: Nominated, "Best Performance By an Actor in a Television Drama Series" – Chicago Hope

SAG Awards

• 1995: Nominated, "Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series" – Chicago Hope
• 1997: Nominated, "Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series" – Chicago Hope
• 1998: Nominated, "Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series" – Chicago Hope

Temecula Valley International Film Festival

• 2006: Won, "Lifetime Achievement Award"[15]

References

1. Wagner, Debbie (2008-08-07). "Mr. Elizondo and the obsessive-compulsive detective". Popentertainment.com. Retrieved 2013-09-19.
2. Laezman, Rick (2002-04-01). "Anger ain't the way to go". Latino Leaders. Archived from the original on 2013-09-21. Retrieved 2013-09-19. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
3. "Style Live: Movies & Videos". Washington Post. 1999-07-30.
4. "A LOCAL KID MAKES IT TO BROADWAY BUT NEVER FORGETS HIS ROOTS". Upper West Side Rag. March 10, 2016. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
5. Elizondo profile Archived 2007-01-25 at the Wayback Machine, FortuneCity.com; accessed 2016-03-19.
6. Héctor Elizondo at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
7. The Great White Hope at the Internet Broadway Database
8. Hector Elizondo on IMDb
9. "Actress Edith Diaz dies at 70; Credits include 'Sister Act' films and CBS' 'Popi' sitcom". The Hollywood Reporter. 2010-02-08. Retrieved 2010-03-18.
10. Keller, Richard (2008-07-08). "Tony Shalhoub and Hector Elizondo talk about season seven of Monk". Tvsquad.com. Retrieved 2013-09-19.
11. "Monk TV Series News -Emmy Award-Winner Hector Elizondo To Appear In Monk" (Press release). USA Network. 2008-04-30. Archived from the original on 2008-05-13. Retrieved 2013-09-19.
12. Carrion, Andrea (2013-04-19). "Héctor Elizondo, un apasionado de la lectura". Hoy Los Angeles (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2013-09-21. Retrieved 2013-09-19.
13. "Authors and Performers". LA Times Festival of Books. Archived from the original on 2013-12-04. Retrieved 2013-12-25.
14. Profile, washingtonpost.com; accessed 2016-03-19.
15. "Hector Elizondo: Getting to the Heart of Matters". Los Angeles Times. May 19, 1997.

External links

• Héctor Elizondo on IMDb
• Héctor Elizondo at The Interviews: An Oral History of Television