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1-50 of 1,248
- Actress
- Producer
Ana de Armas was born in Cuba on April 30, 1988. At the age of 14 (2002) she began her studies at the National Theatre School of Havana, where she graduated after 4 years. At the age of 16 (2004) she made her first film, Virgin Rose (2006), directed by Manuel Gutiérrez Aragón. A few titles came after until she moved to Spain, where she continued her film career, and started on TV. In 2014 she moved to Los Angeles. She has appeared in films such as War Dogs (2016), Hands of Stone (2016) and Blade Runner 2049 (2017).- Actor
- Producer
- Director
One of Hollywood's most private and guarded leading men, Andy Garcia has created iconic characters while at the same time staying true to his acting roots and personal projects.
Garcia was born Andrés Arturo García Menéndez on April 12, 1956, in Havana, Cuba, to Amelie Menéndez, a teacher of English, and René García Núñez, an attorney and avocado farmer. Garcia's family was relatively affluent. However, when he was two years old, Fidel Castro came to power, and the family fled to Miami Beach. Forced to work menial jobs for a while, the family started a fragrance company that was eventually worth more than a million dollars. He attended Natilus Junior High School and later at Miami Beach Senior High School. Andy was a popular student in school, a good basketball player and good-looking. He dreamed of playing professional baseball. In his senior year, though, he contracted mononucleosis and hepatitis, and unable to play sports, he turned his attention to acting.
He studied acting with Jay W. Jensen. Jensen was a South Florida legend, counting among his numerous students, Brett Ratner, Roy Firestone, Mickey Rourke, and Luther Campbell. Following his positive high school experiences in acting, he continued his drama studies at Florida International University.
Soon, he was headed out to Hollywood. His first break came as a gang member on the very first episode of the popular TV series Hill Street Blues (1981). His role as a cocaine kingpin in 8 Million Ways to Die (1986) put him on the radar of Brian De Palma, who was casting for his gangster classic The Untouchables (1987). At first, he envisioned Garcia as Al Capone's sadistic henchman Frank Nitti, but fearing typecasting as a gangster, Garcia campaigned for the role of "George Stone", the Italian cop who gets accepted into Eliot Ness' famous band of lawmen. Garcia's next notable role came in Black Rain (1989) by acclaimed director Ridley Scott, as the partner of police detective Michael Douglas. He then co-starred with Richard Gere in Internal Affairs (1990), directed by Mike Figgis. In 1989, Francis Ford Coppola was casting for the highly anticipated third installment of his "Godfather" films. The Godfather Part III (1990) included one of the most sought-after roles in decades, the hot-headed son of "Sonny Corleone" and mob protégé of "Michael Corloene", "Vincent Mancini". A plum role for any young rising star, the role was campaigned for by a host of actors. Val Kilmer, Alec Baldwin, Vincent Spano, Charlie Sheen, and even Robert De Niro (who wanted the role changed to accommodate his age) were all beaten out by the up-and-coming Garcia. His performance was Oscar-nominated as Best Supporting Actor, and secured him international stardom and a place in cinematic history. Now a leading man, he starred in such films as Jennifer 8 (1992) and Hero (1992). He won raves for his role as the husband of Meg Ryan in When a Man Loves a Woman (1994) and gave another charismatic gangster turn in Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead (1995). He then returned in Night Falls on Manhattan (1996), directed by Sidney Lumet, as well as portraying legendary mobster Lucky Luciano in Hoodlum (1997). In perhaps his most mainstream role, he portrayed a cop in the action film Desperate Measures (1998). Garcia then starred in a few lower-profile projects that didn't do much for his career, but things turned around in 2001, with the first of many projects being his role as a cold casino owner in Ocean's Eleven (2001), directed by Steven Soderbergh. Seeing his removal from Cuba as involuntary, Garcia is proud of his heritage which influences his life and work. One such case is his portrayal of renowned Cuban trumpet player Arturo Sandoval in For Love or Country: The Arturo Sandoval Story (2000). He is an extremely private man, and strong believer in old-fashioned chivalry. Married to his wife, Maria Victoria, since 1982, the couple has three daughters. One of the most talented leading men around, Garcia has had a unique career of staying true to his own ideals and thoughts on acting. While some would have used some of the momentum he has acquired at different points in his career to get rich off lightweight projects, Garcia has stayed true to stories and films that aspire to something more. But with a presence and style that never seem old, a respect from directors and film buffs, alike, Andy Garcia will be remembered for a long time in film history.- Actress
- Producer
- Composer
Maria Conchita Alonso was born Maria Concepcion Alonso Bustillo on June 29, 1957 in Cienfuegos, Cuba, but raised in Caracas, Venezuela. She was crowned Miss Teenager World in 1971 and later as Miss Distrito Federal became the first runner up in the Miss Venezuela 1975 competition placing later that year in the top seven of the Miss World 1975. She became a popular actress in Latin America, working in ten telenovelas (soap operas) and starred in a quartet of Venezuelan films. She was also a popular singer, and has three Grammy Award nominations.
In 1982, she emigrated to the United States, and made her Hollywood film debut in Paul Mazursky's Moscow on the Hudson (1984), opposite Robin Williams. She also starred in movies such as Touch and Go (1986), Extreme Prejudice (1987), The Running Man (1987), Colors (1988), Vampire's Kiss (1988), Predator 2 (1990) and The House of the Spirits (1993). In 1995, she was playing Aurora/Spider Woman in a Broadway production of "Kiss of the Spider Woman", making her the first South American woman to star on the Great White Way.- Actor
- Producer
- Music Department
Steven Bauer (born Esteban Ernesto Echevarría Samson) is a Cuban-born American actor. Bauer began his career on PBS, portraying Joe Peña, the son of Cuban immigrants on Qué Pasa, USA (1977-1980) and is perhaps most famous for his role as the Cuban drug lord Manny Rivera in the 1983 crime drama Scarface, in which he starred alongside Al Pacino and Michelle Pfeiffer. He also played the drug cartel leader Eladio Vuente in Breaking Bad and in Better Call Saul and as the retired Mossad agent Avi Rudin in Ray Donovan (2013-2020).- Music Artist
- Actress
- Composer
Camila was born on March 3, 1997 in Havana, Cuba. In 2012, she auditioned for the X-Factor and joined a girl group, Fifth Harmony, in which she was known as the lead singer. Cabello and her band-mates released one EP and two studio albums. Her departure from the group was announced in December 18th 2016. As a lead artist, Cabello released two hit singles with Shawn Mendes 'I Know What You Did Last Summer' and Machine Gun Kelly's 'Bad Things'. In 2017, Cabello prepared for the release of her debut solo album. Camila scored features with artists such as Cashmere Cat's 'Love Incredible' and Pitbull and J Balvin's 'Hey Ma' scoring the artists and Camila herself a Grammy nomination. While Cabello received these achievements she scored herself a Guess deal to become an official Guess girl and to be the face of their 2017 Fall campaign. Cabello was welcomed to join the Bruno Mars 24K Magic World Tour as an Opening act. She performed a total of 20 shows. Cabello release her hit single 'Havana' on August 3, 2017 as a gift to her fans. Due to the success of the single, Cabello then announced in an interview 'Havana' is the official first official single of her debut album scrapping her old song 'Crying In The Club', which was originally planned as the debut single. The hit 'Havana' scored #1 on Hot 100 Billboard, #1 In the UK Official charts and over 80 more #1's on iTunes. 'Havana" became #1 on the official worldwide charts thus making a name for her as a solo artist and giving Camila the record of holding the #1 spot the longest by a female artist in 2017. In just 11 months of a solo career, Camila had won a total of 18 awards, became a multi-platinum artist with over 50 certifications, sold over 17 million units and gained over 4 billion combined YouTube and Spotify streams all without an album out. Camila Cabello's debut album called 'Camila' was released January 12th 2018 racking up a score of 76 on metacritic and over 100 #1's. 'Camila' debuted at #1 on Billboard 200.- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Oscar Nuñez was born on 18 November 1958 in Cuba. He is an actor and writer, known for The Proposal (2009), The Office (2005) and Baywatch (2017). He has been married to Ursula Whittaker since 21 May 2011. They have one child. He was previously married to Carla.- Actor
- Producer
- Additional Crew
Yul Vazquez was born in Havana, Cuba. He is an actor and producer, known for Severance (2022), The Outsider (2020) and Russian Doll (2019). He has been married to Linda Larkin since 18 May 2002.- Actress
- Producer
- Director
Danay Garcia is an actress, writer and producer. She is currently a series regular in the AMC hit television show "Fear the Walking Dead" and recently costarred in two feature films. Garcia has been working steadily in film and television since arriving in the United States from Cuba in 2003.
Television audiences first got to know Garcia as a co-star of the popular Fox series "Prison Break," which ran for four seasons beginning in 2006. Garcia played the lead role of Sofia Lugo during the final two seasons and achieved instant fame, appearing in hundreds of magazines around the world. Garcia has also appeared in episodes of "Hawaii Five-0," "Supernatural," "CSI: Miami" and "CSI: New York."
In AMC's "Fear the Walking Dead," currently one of the highest rated series on cable, Garcia stars as "Luciana," the fearless yet compassionate leader who shows unwavering courage in the dangerous post-apocalyptic world overrun by zombies and humans who will do anything to survive.
Garcia recently wrote, directed and produced "La Cura," a short film about a small town in Mexico feeling the effects of an unknown disease that forces the local pastor to make an ethical decision that will impact the lives of everyone in his village.
Other film credits include "Avenge the Crows" (2017), an independent thriller which Garcia also produced costarring Lou Diamond Phillips, Steven Bauer, Emilio Rivera and Danny Trejo; "Sniper: Ultimate Kill" (2017), an action film produced by Sony and Mandalay Pictures; "Liz in September" (2014), by acclaimed director Fina Torres; "Eternal Ashes" (2011), which opened to critical acclaim at the Montreal Film Festival; "Rehab" (2011); "Peep World" (2010); "From Mexico With Love" (2009); and "Danika" (2006), a psychological thriller co-starring Marisa Tomei.
A highly sought-after model, Garcia has been featured in print ads for brands including Mercedes-Benz and Macy's, and has appeared in countless U.S. and international fashion magazines. Garcia is also classically trained in ballet.- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Langston Faizon Santisima is an African-American actor and comedian from Santiago de Cuba known for Wanda from Elf, Big Worm from Friday, Sean "Sweet" Johnson from Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Jahmal Abdul Jackson from The Replacements, Bruce the Bear from Zookeeper, Robin Harris from Bébé's Kids and Maurice from The Meteor Man.- Production Designer
- Production Manager
Jose Menendez was born to a prosperous family in Havana, Cuba. His father was a well-known soccer player who owned his own accounting firm. His mother was a swimmer who had been elected to Cuba's sports hall of fame. Although the family was not among the elite, Jose's parents were celebrity athletes and he and his two sisters wanted for nothing. But in 1959, this seemingly idyllic life was uprooted. Fidel Castro overthrew the ruling government and seized the property of the wealthy and upper-middle class. In 1960, a 16 year-old Jose left the country to live in the United States, flying with his sister's fiancé. In high school, he was a high achiever and won an athletic scholarship, but could not afford to attend an Ivy League college. While attending Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, he met his future wife, Mary Louise Anderson, nicknamed Kitty to those who knew her. They married in 1964. After graduating, he passed the CPA exam and he became a successful businessman. In all of his workplaces, he was credited with being an highly intelligent and diligent, but was widely disliked as arrogant and rude to co-workers and abrasive to subordinates. He became the father of two sons, Lyle Menendez and Erik Menendez, and was a stern and demanding father. He was also an unfaithful husband, with a string of mistresses. His family moved to southern California and he became an executive for RCA, and became acquainted with a number of show business celebrities. But he was experiencing marital problems and his relationship with both sons was deteriorating. In 1989, while he and his wife were watching television, they were shot to death by their sons.- Actress
- Additional Crew
- Music Department
Selenis Leyva was born on 26 May 1972 in Baracoa, Guantánamo, Cuba. She is an actress, known for Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), Orange Is the New Black (2013) and Creed III (2023). She has been married to Raul Rivera since 25 August 2001.- Actor
- Director
- Producer
As an actor Tony Plana has performed in more than 70 feature films. Recent films include Pain & Gain with Dwayne Johnson and Mark Wahlberg directed by Michael Bay, Roman J. Israel, Esquire starring Denzel Washington directed by Dan Gilroy, and the soon to be released, Bombshell, directed by Jay Roach starring Charlize Theron, John Lithgow, Nicole Kidman and Margot Robbie and Wasp Network, directed by Olivier Assayas with Penelope Cruz and Edgar Ramirez.
His latest television projects include principal roles in Academy Award winner Paolo Sorrentino's The Young Pope with Jude Law and Diane Keaton for HBO, Jugar Con Fuego for Telemundo and the recently released Mayans MC on the FX Channel. Current recurring roles include the comedies One Day at a Time with Rita Moreno and Super Store with America Ferrera, as well as the dramas, The Affair with Anna Paquin. Start Up with Martin Freeman and Ron Perlman, The Punisher with Jon Bernthal, Madam Secretary, Lethal Weapon, Colony, Alpha House, Elementary, The Fosters, and The Blacklist.
Tony Plana also starred as Ignacio Suarez, the widowed father to America Ferrera's Ugly Betty, in ABC's landmark, groundbreaking hit series for which he received the 2006 Golden Satellite Award from the International Press Academy, an Imagen Award, and an Alma Award. Ugly Betty received the highest ratings and the most critical acclaim of any Latino-based show in the history of television, most notably 11 Emmy nominations and a Golden Glove Award for best comedy.
Previously, he also starred in Showtime's original series, Resurrection Boulevard, and was nominated for two Alma Awards for best actor. Resurrection Boulevard was the first series to be produced, written, directed and starring Latinos and awarded an Alma Award for the best television series of 2002.
Other feature film credits include JFK, Nixon, Salvador, An Officer and a Gentleman, Lone Star, Three Amigos, Born in East L.A., El Norte, 187, Primal Fear, Romero, One Good Cop, Havana, The Rookie, Silver Strand and Picking Up the Pieces with Woody Allen. He has also appeared in the action thriller Half Past Dead with Steven Segal; The Lost City, with Andy Garcia, Bill Murray, and Dustin Hoffman; and Disney's highly acclaimed GOAL, The Dream Begins.
He has produced and directed two feature film comedies, A Million to Juan with Paul Rodriguez and The Princess and the Barrio Boy, the first Latino family film to be produced by Showtime, starring academy award nominee Edward James Olmos and Maria Conchita Alonso. The film received two 2001 Alma Award nominations for Best Made for Television Movie and Best Ensemble Acting and won the 2001 Imagen Award for Best Made for Television Movie. Plana's television episodic debut was 2001's Resurrection Blvd.'s Saliendo, which garnered critical acclaim, receiving a GLAAD Award for best dramatic episode of the year and a SHINE Award nomination for sensitive portrayal of sexuality. He has directed several episodes of Nickelodeon's hit series, The Brothers Garcia, receiving a Humanitas Award nomination and winning the Imagen Award for its third season finale, Don't Judge a Book by its Cover. He also directed the season finale of Greetings from Tucson for the Warner Brothers Network and the Halloween episode of Desperate Housewives in its final season on ABC.
Plana was the Co-founder and served as Producing Artistic Director of the East LA Classic Theatre (ECT), a group comprised of multicultural, classically trained theatre professionals, for over 20 years. The EastLA Classic Theatre was dedicated to serving economically challenged communities through educational outreach programs for primary and secondary schools. As ECT's Producing Artistic Director, Plana defined its mission as 'educational' with a priority on creating access to classic dramatic literature for young minority audiences, emphasizing interpretations filtered through a multicultural, non-traditional perspective and presented with a contemporary, populist aesthetic. His provocative adaptations of classic Shakespearean plays were specifically conceived for students with little or no theatre going experience. He produced, directed and adapted these plays set against curriculum relevant historical backgrounds that served as catalysts for the investigation of personal and interpersonal psychology, race and cultural relations, socio-political issues and world history. Such as A zoot suit styled, musical Romeo & Juliet, was set during World War II with 1940's swing music and dance, featuring an East L.A. Latina Juliet and a West L.A. Anglo sailor Romeo struggling to define their love and identities in a wartime city sharply divided by racism, xenophobia, and economics and a Mariachi Musical production of Much Ado About Nothing set in early California.
Plana has continued to challenge the boundaries of teaching and learning language through an innovative approach called Language in Play (LIP). Working directly with language arts teachers, LIP utilizes the performing arts to impact literacy skills in academically at risk and bi-lingual students. Evolved collaboratively with educators over the last fifteen years, ECT's unique process of 'personalizing' language, through student play writing and play acting based on autobiographical experience, has proven more effective in achieving academic advancement and personal growth than established, traditional methods. It has consistently improved students' reading, writing and speaking skills resulting in higher attendance and lower drop-out rates, increased class participation and homework completion, as well as achieved better test scores, strengthened self-confidence and provided an engaging and meaningful school experience.
In 2005 he was honored as Educator of the Year by Loyola Marymount University's Department of Education. In 2008 he was awarded Loyola High School's Cahalan Award as a distinguished alumnus and a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Imagen Foundation. In 2009 the HOLA organization honored him with the Raul Julia HOLA Founders Award for excellence. In 2010, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa selected him as worthy of one of the highest honors bestowed by the City of Los Angeles, The Dream of Los Angeles Award for his contributions to the media arts and education. He is the proud recipient of the 2013 ALMA Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Council of La Raza, the National Association of Latino Independent Producers' Lifetime Achievement Award for 2016, and the 2018 Nosotros Lifetime Impact Golden Eagle Award. He is currently an affiliate faculty member of the Center for Equity for English Learners at Loyola Marymount University School of Education.- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
William Levy was born on 29 August 1980 in Havana, Cuba. He is an actor and producer, known for Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (2016), Addicted (2014) and Montecristo (2023).- David Fumero was born on 29 December 1972 in Havana, Cuba. He is an actor, known for One Life to Live (1968), Power (2014) and S.W.A.T. (2017). He has been married to Melissa Fumero since 9 December 2007. They have two children.
- Actress
- Producer
- Director
Marlene Forte is a Cuban-American actress born in Santiago De Las Vegas, Cuba. She was proudly raised in Hudson County, New Jersey -- a Bridge and Tunnel girl! A founding member of Labyrinth Theater Company in New York City, she credits her 30 year career to her Labyrinth Familia and now resides in Los Angeles where she steadily works on television, in movies, and on stage. Over her career she has played a wide variety of roles as well as producing films and directing for both the stage and screen. But her best production to date remains her daughter, Giselle Rodriguez, who she credits for saving her life!- Producer
- Actor
- Production Manager
Desiderio Alberto Arnaz y de Acha III was born in Santiago, Cuba on March 2, 1917. His father was the mayor of Santiago. The 1933 revolution led by Fulgencio Batista had landed his father in jail and stripped the family of its wealth, property and power. His father was released because of the intercession of U.S. officials who believed him to be neutral during the revolt. The family fled to Miami, Florida. One of Desi's first jobs in America consisted of cleaning canary cages. However, after forming his own small band of musicians, he was hired by Xavier Cugat, the "king" of Latin music.
Desi soon left Cugat, formed his own Latin band, and literally launched the conga craze in America. He was cast in the Broadway play "Too Many Girls" and then brought to Hollywood to make the film version of the play. It was on the set of Too Many Girls (1940) that he and Lucille Ball met. They soon married and approximately 10 years later formed Desilu Productions and began the I Love Lucy (1951) shows. Desi and Lucille had two children, Lucie Arnaz and Desi Arnaz Jr.. At the end of the I Love Lucy (1951) run, which included The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour (1957), the two divorced. Desi later wrote an autobiography entitled "A Book." In 1986 he was diagnosed with lung cancer. He died on December 2, 1986 at age 69.- J.R. Ramirez was born in Matanzas, Cuba. When he was still a baby, his family moved to the States and he was raised in Tampa, Florida.
J.R. is best known for his series regular role as "Jared Vasquez" on the Netflix (formerly NBC) hit series MANIFEST, executive produced by Robert Zemeckis (2018-2023). Prior to that, he was a series regular on the second season of the Netflix hit Marvel's JESSICA JONES (2018) and portrayed beloved fan favorite "Julio Moreno" on four seasons of Starz's top hit series POWER, which musician 50-Cent executive produces (2014-17).
Previously, J.R. starred as "Cal" in the Paramount Pictures comedy feature film DRUNK WEDDING, executive produced by John Hamburg (2015). In addition, he recurred as "Ted 'Wildcat' Grant" on CW's top-rated show ARROW (2014-15) and as "Dr. A.J. Aquino" on the CW dramedy EMILY OWENS, M.D. (2013). He first gained notoriety as "Diego Hernandez" on Tyler Perry's HOUSE OF PAYNE, in which he recurred for two seasons (2008-10).
J.R. is fluent in English and Spanish. He loves the outdoors and is an avid hiker, golfer, tennis & basketball player. He's a passionate perfectionist and, when not working in New York, he calls Tampa and Los Angeles home. A home that wouldn't be complete without his Havanese-Schnauzer rescue dog, Freddy. - Actress
- Soundtrack
Estelita Rodriguez was born on 2 July 1928 in Guanajay, Cuba. She was an actress, known for Belle of Old Mexico (1950), Rio Bravo (1959) and Susanna Pass (1949). She was married to Dr. Ricardo A. Pego, Ismael Alfonso Halfss, aka Henry Half, Grant Withers and Chu Chu Martinez. She died on 12 March 1966 in Van Nuys, California, USA.- Alberto Guerra was born on 5 December 1982 in Havana, Cuba. He is an actor, known for El Señor de los Cielos (2013), El Refugio (2022) and Ladrón de Corazones (2003). He has been married to Zuria Vega since 22 November 2014. They have one child.
- Actress
- Producer
Anabelle Acosta is an American film and television actress. She was born in Havana, Cuba to Cuban-American parents and has a younger brother named Jason Acosta. Anabelle is both a Meisner and Method trained actress. Her extensive training also includes dance and stage. She started her early acting and modeling career in New York City appearing in a series of national commercials and print ads. Her first big break into the acting world came in 2010 when after a long and arduous casting process across LA and NY Rob Burnett and Jon Beckerman finally discovered and cast Anabelle for the lead role of Kelly in their independent film "We Made This Movie".- Daisy Fuentes was born on 17 November 1966 in Havana, Cuba. She is an actress, known for Baywatch (1989), Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child (1995) and Loving (1983). She has been married to Richard Marx since 23 December 2015. She was previously married to Timothy Adams.
- Actress
Vida Guerra was born on 19 March 1974 in Havana, Cuba. She is an actress, known for CHIPS (2017), Mercy for Angels (2015) and Scarface: The World Is Yours (2006).- Victor Rivers was born in Sancti Spíritus, Cuba. He is known for The Mask of Zorro (1998), The Air I Breathe (2007) and Hulk (2003). He has been married to Mim Eichler Rivas since 1988. They have one child.
- Actor
- Director
- Producer
American actor and director, arguably best known for his role as the quietly spoken, resolute Tom Harvey, great-grandson of Kunta Kinte, in Alex Haley's award-winning miniseries Roots (1977) and Roots: The Next Generations (1979). Georg Stanford Brown was born in Havana, Cuba. When he was seven, his family moved to Harlem in New York. He dropped out of school, aged sixteen, moving to Los Angeles a year later. Hoping for an easy wicket, Brown enrolled at Los Angeles City College to study theater arts. He found this much to his liking and went on to further studies at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in Manhattan, on the side making ends meet as a school janitor to help with his tuition fees. During this time, Brown met his future wife, the actress Tyne Daly (of Cagney & Lacey (1981) fame). Their marriage lasted from 1966 to 1990 and produced three daughters.
Brown began acting on stage six months after completing his studies. Returning to L.A., he made his first credited appearance on screen as the Haitian rebel leader Henri Philipot in the Richard Burton/Elizabeth Taylor drama The Comedians (1967). He acquired mostly smaller supporting roles in other feature films until being third-billed as one of a group of inmates plotting an escape from a maximum security prison in the Gene Wilder-Richard Pryor comedy Stir Crazy (1980)]. Rather more prominent on the small screen by the late 60s, Brown came to the fore in guest spots on several prime-time detective/action shows. He made his breakthrough, starring as Officer Terry Webster in Aaron Spelling's police procedural drama series The Rookies (1972). After four seasons (1972-76) in the role of Webster, Brown decided to concentrate on working behind the camera, a move encouraged by Spelling. Brown, nonetheless, continued to act sporadically throughout the next three decades. Aside from Roots, he had notable roles in the miniseries North & South: Book 1, North & South (1985) (as Virgilia's headstrong husband Garrison Grady, eventually killed at Harper's Ferry) and as a visitor to Linc's (1998) bar (rapacious DC lobbyist Johnnie B. Goode). His voice has also featured in the animated series The Legend of Calamity Jane (1997) and Electric City (2012).
As a director, Brown has helmed a slew of made-for-television movies, in addition to multiple episodes of Starsky and Hutch (1975), Charlie's Angels (1976), Hill Street Blues (1981), Cagney & Lacey (1981) and Dynasty (1981). He was nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards, winning one for the top-rated final season five episode of Cagney & Lacey, entitled 'Parting Shots'.- Lovely, buxom, and vivacious blonde bombshell Louisa Moritz was born as Luisa Cira Castro Netto on September 25, 1936 in Havana, Cuba. Many members of Louisa's family which include her father Luis, sister Aurora, and her older brother Rafael all worked in the law profession. Moritz left Cuba and moved to New York City during the upheaval of the 1950s. Louisa was inspired to change her last name from Castro to Moritz after seeing the St. Moritz Hotel in New York City. She arrived in NYC in July 1960, aged 23.
She began her acting career in TV commercials in the late 1960s. She made her debut in a TV commercial for Ultra-Ban spray deodorant and won both a Clio Award and an Andy Award for her work as a student driver in a TV commercial for American Motors. Louisa made her film debut in the lead role of young prostitute Carmela in The Man from O.R.G.Y. (1970). Perhaps best known to general audiences as the hooker Rose in the Oscar-winning classic One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), her most memorable roles included Sylvester Stallone's airhead navigator Myra in the cult science fiction black comedy Death Race 2000 (1975), cheery prostitute Flora in the delightful Sixpack Annie (1975), Officer Gloria Whitey in Up in Smoke (1978), hilarious as the aggressively lascivious Carmela in the uproariously raunchy teen comedy hoot The Last American Virgin (1982), and ditsy kleptomaniac Bubbles in the terrifically trashy babes-behind-bars treat Chained Heat (1983). Among the television programs Moritz appeared on are The Leslie Uggams Show (1969), The Joe Namath Show (1969), Love, American Style (1969), Ironside (1967), Happy Days (1974), M*A*S*H (1972), Chico and the Man (1974), The Rockford Files (1974), The Incredible Hulk (1977) and The Associates (1979).
Outside of acting, Moritz sold real estate, sung a song she specifically wrote about host Jay Leno on "The Tonight Show," and bought a hotel in Beverly Hills which she renamed the Beverly Hills St. Moritz. Although often cast as the generic dumb blonde in many films and TV shows (a part which she always played with great spirit and infectiously sweet good humor), Moritz in real life was the total radical opposite of this particular persona: She not only made the Deans List while studying for her law degree at the University of West Los Angeles, but won the American Jurisprudence Bancroft Whitney Prize for Contracts as well. She went on to become a lawyer in southern California, but was eventually disbarred for failing to provide certain quarterly reports. Louisa Moritz died at age 82 from cardiovascular disease on January 4, 2019 in Los Angeles, California.