Emilio Delgado death: Delgado, who played fix-it shop owner Luis on Sesame Street for 45 years and was a friendly and familiar presence in children’s lives, has died.
His wife, Carol Delgado, said he died at their home in New York from the blood malignancy multiple myeloma. He was 81 years old when he died.
Who was Emilio Delgado?
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When Delgado, a Mexican American, had the opportunity to play a regular, non-stereotypical Latino character like Luis, there were few such portrayals for adults or children on television.
In a 2021 interview on the YouTube series Famous Cast Words, “There truly wasn’t any portrayal of actual people.” “The majority of the parts I auditioned for were for bandits or gang members.”
With Sesame Street, a broadcast of characters interacted with many youngsters, including Jim Henson’s Big Bird, Oscar the Grouch, Elmo, and Grover.
Emilio Delgado Death Cause
Emilio died Thursday in New York after a battle with cancer, his wife, Carole Delgado, told the media.
He was diagnosed with multiple myeloma late in 2020, yet he continued to make appearances and give interviews until his health deteriorated in 2021.
In 1971, Delgado joined the show during its third season. The producers, he added, were enthusiastic about his notion of including Spanish terminology in the script.
“My phrase was, ‘Big Bird,’ the first time I saw Big Bird go on,” Delgado stated in the 2021 interview. “However, I didn’t say ‘Big Bird,’ but rather ‘Pajaro.'”
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Emilio personal life
Delgado was born in 1940 on the US-Mexico border in Calexico, California, and raised a few miles away in Mexicali, Mexico.
He could hear music from a couple of beer gardens across the street well into the night from his house.
In a 2011 interview with Patsy Smullin for the series Up Close, he noted, “I recall going to sleep to the music of mariachis.”
He traveled to Los Angeles as a young man to pursue a career as an actor but had little success. In New York, he received a surprise call from the Sesame Street producers.
After an interview with producer Jon Stone, who spoke with Delgado but didn’t ask for an audition, he earned the position.
Emilio Delgado Career
In a 2021 interview, Delgado stated, “He didn’t want actors.” “He was looking for genuine people.”
He’d be on the program for 45 years, becoming an important part of generations of children’s lives and, for Latino youngsters, a rare figure who looked like them.
In a statement, the Sesame Workshop said, “His kindness and humor enabled children to experience a friendship that has echoed through decades.
At the vanguard of representation, Emilio proudly claimed the title of “longest-running Mexican American part in a TV series.” We are eternally grateful that he shared his gifts with us and the rest of the world. ”
Luis married Maria Figueroa, played by Sonia Manzano, the other notable Latina, in a ceremony on the show in 1988.
On Twitter, Rosy Cordero, a television reporter for Deadline, wrote, “Luis and Maria were the first Latinos I ever saw on TV.” “They were such an important part of my family.” They were the ones who blazed the road.”
During a retooling in 2016, Delgado’s contract was not renewed, and he quit the show.
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