- Born
- Height5′ 10″ (1.78 m)
- Hector Elizondo was born in New York City, New York, where he was raised on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. He is the son of Carmen Medina Reyes and Martín Echevarría Elizondo. Hector is of Basque and Puerto Rican descent, and "Elizondo" means "at the foot of the church" in Basque. His lifestyle in his days before acting was as diverse as the roles he plays today. He was a conga player with a Latin band, a classical guitarist and singer, a weightlifting coach, a ballet dancer and a manager of a bodybuilding gym. In his teens, he played basketball and baseball, and was scouted by the New York Giants and Pittsburgh Pirates farm teams. After a knee injury ended his dance career, he switched to drama. Since then, he has frequently appeared on Broadway, most notably with George C. Scott in Arthur Penn's production of "Sly Fox" for which he received a Drama Desk nomination and for his role as "God" in "Steambath", which won him an Obie Award. Other theatre credits include; "The Prisoner of Second Avenue"; "The Great White Hope"; "Dance of Death" with Robert Shaw and "The Rose Tattoo" opposite Cicely Tyson. Countless starring roles in television include: Foley Square (1985); Medal of Honor Rag (1982); Casablanca (1983) (in which he recreated the Claude Rains role of police chief "Capt. Renault"); Freebie and the Bean (1974); Popi (1975) and as Sophia Loren's husband in the CBS special Courage (1986). Guest appearances include: Kojak (1973); Kojak: Ariana (1989); A Case of Immunity (1975); Baretta (1975); All in the Family (1971); The Rockford Files (1974) and Bret Maverick (1981). In addition, he also directed a.k.a. Pablo (1984), the first show to utilize seven cameras instead of the usual four. On the big screen, he has been seen in, among others, American Gigolo (1980); The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974); Cuba (1979); Valdez Is Coming (1971) and in four films directed by Garry Marshall: Young Doctors in Love (1982); The Flamingo Kid (1984); Nothing in Common (1986) and Overboard (1987). Elizondo starred with Dan Aykroyd and Michelle Pfeiffer in PBS' Tales from the Hollywood Hills: Natica Jackson (1987) (based on a collection of John O'Hara stories) and made his debut as a stage director with a production of "Villa!" starring Julio Medina. In addition, he performed in the 50th anniversary production of "War of the Worlds" co-starring Jason Robards and the TV-movie Addicted to His Love (1988) with Barry Bostwick.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Anonymous
- SpousesCarolee Campbell(April 13, 1969 - present)Marie Mandry(1963 - 1964) (divorced)Marie Rivera(1956 - 1957) (divorced, 1 child)
- ChildrenRod
- ParentsCarmen Medina ReyesMartín Echevarría Elizondo
- RelativesJuliette(Grandchild)
- Frequently works with Garry Marshall.
- Deep voice, with a light Spanish accent
- Considered by director/producer Garry Marshall to be his "good luck charm", and as such is offered a role in each of his movies. Appears in so many Garry Marshall films that his credit in the beginning of Exit to Eden (1994) was "As Usual... Hector Elizondo".
- Got the role in Pretty Woman after Al Pacino turned it down.
- Hector is a fine guitarist and singer. Wife Carolee Campbell is a noted bookbinder, photographer and actress.
- He has played the same character (Dr. Phillip Watters) on three different television series: Picket Fences (1992), Chicago Hope (1994) and Early Edition (1996).
- He is the only surviving member of the gang in The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974).
- I started in 1946 in radio. I was ten years old. I was discovered singing in a school play. Someone was in the audience and it's six degrees of separation.
- I used to work, part time, in a deli, in those days when your parents made you work just so you should know what work was like. And you'd make 4, 5, 6, ten dollars.
- Definitely not a sitcom, that's my first condition. No sitcoms.
- Sometimes I just walk through; I just show up, as in The Other Sister.
- I think you can tell the human condition better through comedy.
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