Leo Carrillo

Leopoldo Antonio Carrillo Spanish pronunciation: [Cay-reel-yo] (August 6, 1880 – September 10, 1961), was an American actor, vaudevillian, political cartoonist, and conservationist. He was best known for playing Pancho in the very popular Western television series The Cisco Kid (1950–56) and in several films.

Biography

Early history

The family moved from San Diego to Los Angeles then to Santa Monica, where Carrillo's father Juan José Carrillo (1842–1916), served as the city's police chief and later the first mayor. His cousin was Broadway star William Gaxton (real name Arturo Antonio Gaxiola). Proud of his heritage, Carrillo wrote a book, The California I Love, published shortly before his death in 1961.

Career

Leo Carrillo on stage and screen. A university graduate, Carrillo worked as a newspaper cartoonist for the San Francisco Examiner before turning to acting on Broadway. In Hollywood, he appeared in more than 90 films, including The Gay Desperado (1936), in which he usually played supporting or character roles.

However, he is best remembered from the television series The Cisco Kid, on which, beginning at the age of seventy, he portrayed the sidekick Pancho, a role that he had previously played in several films. Duncan Renaldo starred as The Cisco Kid. The syndicated series ran from 1950 until 1956, notable as the first TV series filmed in color. After The Cisco Kid ended production, Carrillo appeared in the episode "Rescue at Sea" of the syndicated military drama, Men of Annapolis.

Personal life

In 1913, Carrillo married Edith Shakespeare Haeselbarth, of Nyack, New York, whom he met backstage at the New York City theater where she had seen him perform. They remained together until her death in 1953. They lived in "Los Alisos" ("The Sycamores") on Channel Road, in Santa Monica Canyon. The Carrillos had one child, a daughter, Marie Antoinette. They spent part of their time at their 4,500-acre (1,800 ha) ranch in Carlsbad, California. Carrillo frequently permitted Boy Scout groups to camp on the grounds.

Death

Leo Carrillo died of cancer in 1961 at the age of eighty-one and is interred at Santa Monica's Woodlawn Memorial Cemetery.

Legacy

For his contributions to the film industry, Leo Carrillo has a motion pictures star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1635 Vine Street, and a second star at 1517 Vine Street for his work in television.