Hector Elizondo

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Birthday:

22 December 1936, New York City, New York, USA

Height:

178 cm

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. Renault"); Freebie and the Bean (1974); Popi (1975) and as Sophia Loren's husband in the CBS special Courage (1986). 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. Pablo (1984), the first show to utilise seven cameras instead of the usual four. 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). 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. In addition, he performed in the 50th anniversary production of "War of the Worlds" co-starring Jason Robards and the TV-movie Addicted to His Love (1988) with Barry Bostwick. Show less «

I started in 1946 in radio. I was ten years old. I was discovered singing in a school play. Someone was in the audience and it's six degrees...Show more »

I started in 1946 in radio. I was ten years old. I was discovered singing in a school play. Someone was in the audience and it's six degrees of separation. Show less «

I used to work, part time, in a deli, in those days when your parents made you work just so you should know what work was like. And you'd ma...Show more »

I used to work, part time, in a deli, in those days when your parents made you work just so you should know what work was like. And you'd make 4, 5, 6, ten dollars. Show less «

Definitely not a sitcom, that's my first condition. No sitcoms.

Sometimes I just walk through; I just show up, as in The Other Sister.

I think you can tell the human condition better through comedy.

I'm attracted to pathos, because life is mostly pathos. I've had a lot of it in my life.

I'm a parent, especially when you've had the intense parenting the way I had. It's all in the bank. It's all in the great experience bank. T...Show more »

I'm a parent, especially when you've had the intense parenting the way I had. It's all in the bank. It's all in the great experience bank. Those are your secrets. That's the stuff that makes your work rich, that's what you dip into. Show less «

The fact that that's the difference between Mexicans and Cubans is pronounced. It's so immediately recognizable, the way a Cuban speaks, the...Show more »

The fact that that's the difference between Mexicans and Cubans is pronounced. It's so immediately recognizable, the way a Cuban speaks, the way a Cuban moves the hands. Show less «

I love the fact that it starts from there, and you don't know where it's gonna go. Wait long enough - love will find you. Everything's a sur...Show more »

I love the fact that it starts from there, and you don't know where it's gonna go. Wait long enough - love will find you. Everything's a surprise. When you think you've got it all figured out... as Emerson said, the dice of God are always loaded. Show less «

Which reminds me of a fortune cookie: you often find your destiny on the path you take to avoid it.

Pretty Woman was the easiest job I've ever done. I just wore the right toupee.

Food is a passion. Food is love.

You know, a low budget, you have to work harder. You have to plan well; you don't have much time to rehearse.

You can trust a Neil Simon script. Every dot. Every dash; that pause means something. He takes all the jokes out, practically.

Yes, and it's my third movie with Richard. American Gigolo was my first.

You're at the top of your game if you do comedy.

On those, I've said it before, I work free. It's the waiting they pay me for.

I work with Garry no matter what. What I wanted to keep going was the streak.

I've dodged bullets but there's no scandal in my life.

I started in radio, again accidentally. I wasn't looking for this kind of work at all.

I never learned to cook; I was a little spoiled as far as that's concerned.