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Pedro Gonzalez Gonzalez
Biography:
Providing rather unrestrained Latin caricature comedy relief by typically mangling the English language and appearing slow to grasp in the 1950s, diminutive character comedian Pedro Gonzalez-Gonzalez had to endure some "politically incorrect" flak over the latter course of his career but, in retrospect, was a proud and extremely talented entertainer who offered his very best and aimed to both entertain and work at the same time. The Texas native was born Ramiro Gonzalez-Gonzalez (the surnames o... more
Providing rather unrestrained Latin caricature comedy relief by typically mangling the English language and appearing slow to grasp in the 1950s, diminutive character comedian Pedro Gonzalez-Gonzalez had to endure some "politically incorrect" flak over the latter course of his career but, in retrospect, was a proud and extremely talented entertainer who offered his very best and aimed to both entertain and work at the same time. The Texas native was born Ramiro Gonzalez-Gonzalez (the surnames of both his mother and father), one of nine children. His Mexican-American father, a trumpet player, and mother, a Spanish dancer, put all their children into the family traveling show act which was called "Las Perlitas." Pedro it seemed had a natural born knack for comedy and soon was stealing the thunder out from under everyone else.He never finished school and, thus, became a functional illiterate for the rest of his life. Married at age 17 to a 15-year old dancer, Leandra ("Lee") Aguirre, who he met while playing the same bill in San Antonio, Pedro was a driver in the Army during WWII. In the late 1940s his parents retired from show business and Pedro found himself working the comedy circuits primarily to Spanish-speaking audiences. He later adapted by learning English. A one-time stagehand to make ends meet, he was appearing on a San Antonio telethon when recommended by the telethon's host to be a contestant on Groucho Marx's "You Bet Your Life" series. The appearance, with the two comedians mugging and trading quips, proved a riotous success and caught the eye of none other than 'John Wayne (I)'_, who signed Pedro to a contract with his production company. A character film actor was born.Making his film debut with Wings of the Hawk (1953), Pedro would become a stock player in Wayne's company for nearly two decades, appearing alongside the Duke in such films as Hondo (1953), The High and the Mighty (1954), The Wings of Eagles (1957), Rio Bravo (1959), McLintock! (1963), Hellfighters (1968) and Chisum (1970). As Pedro could not read or write, his wife would help him memorize his lines by reading his script to him, or sometimes the director would encourage the comedian to improvise a scene. Scores of TV parts came his way but the stereotype hurt him in the long run and prevented him from attaining top character stardom. Following the Duke's death in the late 70s, Pedro lost much of his desire to perform. He and wife Lee had three children. Son Pedro Gonzalez-Gonzalez Jr. appeared with his father in The Young Land (1959) and McLintock! (1963), but eventually retired to become a physician. Well-known actor/grandson Clifton Collins Jr. electrified film audiences recently when he co-starred with Philip Seymour Hoffman as doomed murderer Perry Smith in the critically-acclaimed film Capote (2005). Pedro died at age 80 of natural causes in Culver City, California, survived by his beloved wife of nearly 64 years.
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