Hector Elizondo

Guest appearances include: Kojak (1973); Kojak: Ariana (1989); Columbo: A Case of Immunity (1975); Baretta (1975); All in the Family (1971); The Rockford Files (1974) and Bret Maverick (1981). In addition, he also directed a. k. a.

Renault"); Freebie and the Bean (1974); Popi (1975) and as Sophia Loren's husband in the CBS special Courage (1986).

On the big screen, he has been seen in, among others, American Gigolo (1980); The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974); Cuba (1979); Valdez Is Coming (1971) and in four films directed by Garry Marshall: Young Doctors in Love (1982); The Flamingo Kid (1984); Nothing in Common (1986) and Overboard (1987).

Pablo (1984), the first show to utilise seven cameras instead of the usual four.

Hector Elizondo was born in New York City, New York, where he was raised, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. He is the son of Carmen Medina Reyes and Martín Echevarría Elizondo. Hector is of Basque and Puerto Rican descent, and "Elizondo" means "at the foot of the church" in Basque. His lifestyle in his pre-acting days was as diverse as the roles he plays today. He was a conga player with a Latin band, a classical guitarist and singer, a weightlifting coach, a ballet dancer and a manager of a bodybuilding gym. In his teens, he played basketball and baseball and was scouted by the New York Giants and Pittsburgh Pirates farm teams. After a knee injury ended his dance career, he switched to drama. Since then, he has frequently appeared on Broadway, most notably with George C. Scott in Arthur Penn's production of "Sly Fox" for which he received a Drama Desk nomination and for his role as "God" in "Steambath", which won him an Obie Award. Other theatre credits include; "The Prisoner of Second Avenue"; "The Great White Hope"; "Dance of Death" with Robert Shaw and "The Rose Tattoo" opposite Cicely Tyson. Countless starring roles in television include: Foley Square (1985); American Playhouse: Medal of Honor Rag (1982); Casablanca (1983) (in which he recreated the Claude Rains role of police chief "Capt.

Elizondo starred with Dan Aykroyd and Michelle Pfeiffer in PBS' Great Performances: Tales from the Hollywood Hills: Natica Jackson (1987) (based on a collection of John O'Hara stories) and made his debut as a stage director with a production of "Villa!" starring Julio Medina.

He has played the same character (Dr. Phillip Watters) on three different television series: Picket Fences (1992), Chicago Hope (1994) and Early Edition (1996).

Considered by director/producer Garry Marshall to be his "good luck charm", and as such is offered a role in each of his movies. Appears in so many Garry Marshall films that his credit in the beginning of Exit to Eden (1994) was "As Usual... Hector Elizondo".

Turned down the role of Arturo in Sliders (1995) because it was being filmed in Canada.