Paul Rodriguez

Friendly as all get-out, Latino stand-up comic 'Paul Rodriguez' (qv) was born in Mexico but raised in East Los Angeles. After finishing his military service, he went to college on the GI bill with the idea of becoming an attorney, but developed an interest in comedy while taking elective courses.Paul honed his stand-up act at L.A.'s famous The Comedy Store while working as a doorman there, and got his break as an opening act for others at various concerts and universities and as a warm-up comic on 'Norman Lear' (qv)'s short-lived sitcom _Gloria (1982)_ (qv) starring 'Sally Struthers' (qv).Lear was so impressed that he wrote and developed a sitcom specifically for Paul entitled _a.k.a. Pablo (1984)_ (qv), which caught the public's eye only briefly. Other comedy series followed, however, including _Trial and Error (1988)_ (qv) and _Grand Slam (1990)_ (qv), and a few movies also came his way with _D.C. Cab (1983)_ (qv) and _Born in East L.A. (1987)_ (qv). Sticking to his Latino roots as the basis for his comedy, he has made an appealing crossover hit.The comedian broke through the talk show venue with "El Show de 'Paul Rodriguez' (qv)", which had a four-year run, and branched out into directing with the film _A Million to Juan (1994)_ (qv), which he also co-wrote and starred in. More recently, he appeared with 'Paul Hogan' (qv) in _Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles (2001)_ (qv) and had an atypical role in director 'Clint Eastwood' (qv)'s _Blood Work (2002)_ (qv) as an arrogant, smarmy police detective. More recently, he has been visible (good or bad) in _A Cinderella Story (2004)_ (qv), _The World's Fastest Indian (2005)_ (qv) and _Cloud 9 (2006)_ (qv).He also executive-produced and starred in the comedy concert film _The Original Latin Kings of Comedy (2002)_ (qv). He has been seen everywhere on cable comedy showcases, including 'Paul Rodriguez' (qv): Behind Bars (1991), _Crossing White Lines (1999)_ (qv), 'Paul Rodriguez' (qv) Live!: I Need the Couch (1986), 'Paul Rodriguez' (qv): Live in San Quentin (1995), 'Paul Rodriguez' (qv) & Friends: Comedy Rehab (2009) and 'Paul Rodriguez' (qv): The Here & Wow (2018)., all of which solidified his reputation as one of the country's best known Hispanic comics in the U.S.Other millennium film credits include a wide variety of roles, including those in _Tortilla Soup (2001)_ (qv), _Ali (2001)_ (qv), _Time Changer (2002)_ (qv), _Baadasssss! (2003)_ (qv), _Back by Midnight (2004)_ (qv), _Lonely Street (2008)_ (qv), _I'm Not Like That No More (2010)_ (qv), _Mission Air (2014)_ (qv), _Pray for Rain (2017)_ (qv), _Cholo Zombies (2020)_ (qv). He also provided voices for the animated features _Beverly Hills Chihuahua (2008)_ (qv), _Porndogs: The Adventures of Sadie (2009)_ (qv) and _Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore (2010)_ (qv). On TV, he was a regular on the Spanish-speaking comedy _Componiendo a Paco (2012)_ (qv) and played the title role in the English-speaking sitcom _Fixing Paco (2012)_ (qv).Paul has been recognized for his tireless charity work, which includes strong, avid support for the National Hispanic Scholarship Fund, Farm Aid, Leukemia Telethon, Project Literacy, and Housing Now, among many others.::Gary Brumburgh / gr-home@pacbell.net