Born Feb. 24, 1947, in East Los Angeles, CA, to Mexican parents, Edward James Olmos is an actor with a profound social conscience. Having performed in memorable roles on stage, television and in films, Olmos is most dedicated to doing what he can to encourage disadvantaged youth to work at improving their lot in life. Each year Olmos makes time to give more than one hundred speeches to groups of disadvantaged kids. He encourages them to pursue an education and to take control of their own destinies. Citing his own background, he often tells them, "If I can do it, anybody can."
After having bit parts in television series, Olmos got his acting break starring in Zoot Suit, a musical drama which began its run in Los Angeles and, after rave reviews, moved to Broadway, where Olmos was nominated for a Tony and won a Drama Critics Circle award for his performance.
On the screen, Olmos was featured in movies such as Blade Runner, Stand and Deliver (for which he won an Oscar nomination), and Selena. He received both an Emmy for Best Supporting Actor in a Series and a Golden Globe award for his role as Lt. Martin Castillo, in Miami Vice. Other memorable TV performances include Menendez: A Killing in Beverly Hills, The Burning Season, Twelve Angry Men, and The West Wing. Since 2003, he had a starring role in Battlestar Gallactica as Amiral William Adama. Olmos co-founded a film production company called YOY, in 1982, dedicated to making socially conscious films, the first one being, The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez. He made his directorial debut with the movie, American Me. He has been married three times: to Kaija Keel (1971-1992), to actress Lorraine Bracco (1994-2002) and to Lymari Nadal (2002-present).
Born: Feb 24, 1947 in East Los Angeles, California
Occupation: Actor, Director
Active: '80s-2000s
Major Genres: Drama, Culture & Society
Career Highlights: Blade Runner, Stand and Deliver, Selena
First Major Screen Credit: Wolfen (1981)
Biography
Though most easily recognized as a respected actor of stage, screen, and television, Edward James Olmos is also a distinguished humanitarian who spends considerable time and money supporting various causes and charitable organizations in his native Los Angeles. Born the son of an immigrant and a Mexican-American mother, Olmos was raised in an ethnically diverse area of East Los Angeles. Although he was placed in his mother's custody at age seven following his parents' divorce, Olmos kept in close contact with his father. In his teens, Olmos was a rock musician and with his close friend Rusty Johnson formed the Pacific Ocean, a popular group at Sunset Strip area clubs during the late '60s. It was Johnson who suggested Olmos, who by his own admission was not much of a singer, that he try acting.
Olmos spent nine years trying to establish himself as an actor, making his film debut (billing himself as Eddie Olmos) as an extra in Aloha, Bobby and Rose in 1975. Prior to that, Olmos had worked as a bit player and extra in several early '70s television shows ranging from Medical Center to Hawaii Five-O. In 1979, he made a splash on Broadway playing Pachuco in Luis Valdez's Zoot Suit. The play was originally staged in L.A. and represented the first time in which Olmos was paid to act on-stage. During the show's New York run, Olmos earned a Tony Nomination and a Drama Critics Circle Award. In 1982, Olmos reprised the role in Valdez's film version. Early in his film career, Olmos showed a preference for socially conscious films and after his first screen appearance played a leading role in Robert M. Young's Alambrista (1977). In 1982, he played a creepy police detective in Blade Runner. That year, Olmos and Robert M. Young co-founded YOY productions to make socially conscious films such as their first joint effort The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez (1982). Olmos became a star when he played the super-pragmatic Lieutenant Castillo on the hip police drama Miami Vice (1984-1989) and in 1985 won an Emmy for his efforts. He earned an Oscar nomination for his inspirational performance as a determined teacher who helps a troubled group of urban kids excel in math and science in Stand and Deliver (1986). Though his film career was sporadic during the '80s and '90s, Olmos continued to show up regularly in television movies. He made his feature film directorial bow in 1992 with the powerful American Me, a grim look at a reformed gangster's attempts to stay away from the violent, criminal ways of his old cohorts. Other notable 1990s efforts include the 1994 miniseries Menendez: A Killing in Beverly Hills and Gregory Nava's beautiful My Family/Mi Familia (1995).
Olmos' humanitarian activities include acting as a United States Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF, being the national spokesman for the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation, serving a place on the boards of the Miami and Los Angeles Children's Hospitals, serving as the executive director of the Hazard Education Project, and contributing to the foundation for the Advancement of Silence and Education. For his many good works, Olmos has received Honorary Doctorates from five educational institutions including the University of Colorado, California State University at Fresno, and the American Film Institute in Hollywood. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Olmos was born Edward Olmos[1] in Los Angeles, California, where he was raised, the son of Eleanor (née Huizar) and Pedro Olmos, who was a welder.[2] His father was a Mexican immigrant and his mother Mexican American.[3] He grew up wanting to be a professional baseball player and became the Golden State batting champion. In his teen years, he turned to rock and roll, and became the lead singer for a band he named Pacific Ocean, so-called because it was to be "the biggest thing on the West Coast".[4] He graduated from Montebello High School in 1964. While at Montebello High School, he lost a race for Student Body President to future California Democratic Party Chair Art Torres. For several years Pacific Ocean played various clubs in and around Los Angeles and released a record in 1968. At the same time, he attended classes at East Los Angeles College, including courses in acting.[5]
Career
In the late 1960s and the early 1970s, Olmos branched out from music into acting, appearing in many small productions, until his big break portraying the narrator, called "El Pachuco," in the play Zoot Suit, which dramatized the World War II-era rioting in California brought about by the tensions between Mexican-Americans and local police. (See Zoot Suit Riots.) The play moved to Broadway, and Olmos earned a Tony award nomination. He subsequently took the role to the filmed version in 1981, and appeared in many other films including Wolfen, Blade Runner and The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez.
In 2006, he co-produced, directed, and played the bit part of Julian Nava in the HBO movie about the 1968 Chicano Blowouts, Walkout . He also appeared in Snoop Dogg's music video "Vato", featuring B-Real from Cypress Hill. In the series finale of the ABC sitcom George Lopez, titled George Decides to Sta-Local Where It's Familia, he guest-starred as the plant's new multi-millionare owner of the plant. More recently, he has been a spokesperson for Farmers Insurance Group, starring in their Spanish language commercials.
Social Activism
Olmos has often been involved in social activism, especially those affecting the Latino community. During the 1992 Rodney King Riots in Los Angeles, when many people left the city, Olmos went out with a broom and worked to get communities cleaned up and rebuilt. In 1997, Olmos co-founded the Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival with Marlene Dermer, George Hernandez and Kirk Whisler. That same year, he co-founded with Kirk Whisler the non-profit organization Latino Literacy Now that has produced 44 Latino Book & Festivals around the USA, attended by over 700,000 people. In 1998, he founded Latino Public Broadcasting and currently serves as its Chairman. Latino Public Broadcasting funds public television programming that focuses on issues affecting Latinos and advocates for diverse perspectives in public television. That same year, he starred in The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit, a comedy that sought to break Latino stereotypes and transcend the normal stigmas of most Latino-oriented movies.[citation needed] In 1999, Olmos was one of the driving forces that created Americanos: Latino Life in the U.S.1, a book project featuring over 30 award winning photographers, later turned into a Smithsonian traveling exhibition, music CD and HBO special. He also makes frequent appearances at juvenile halls and detention centers to speak to at-risk teenagers. He has also been an international ambassador for UNICEF. In 2001, he was arrested and spent 20 days in prison for taking part in the Navy-Vieques protests against United States Navy target practice bombings of the island of Vieques, Puerto Rico.
On January 5, 2007, he appeared on Puerto Rican Television to blame the Puerto Rican and United States Governments for not cleaning the Island of Vieques after the United States Navy stopped using the island for bombing practice.[citation needed] He has also given $2,300 to New Mexico governorBill Richardson for his Presidential campaign (the maximum amount for the primaries).[8]
Personal life
In 1971, Olmos married Katija Keel, the daughter of actor Howard Keel. They had two children, Bodie and Mico, before divorcing in 1992. Olmos also has three adopted children: Michael D., Brandon and Tamiko. He married actress Lorraine Bracco in 1994, but she filed for divorce in January 2002 after five years of separation.[4] He is currently married to Puerto Rican actress Lymari Nadal, 30 years his junior.
In 1996, he was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts from California State University, Fresno.
In 2007, after a seven-year process, he obtained Mexican nationality.[9]
^ According to the State of California. California Birth Index, 1905-1995. Center for Health Statistics, California Department of Health Services, Sacramento, California. At Ancestry.com
^ Bethel, Kari (2002) "Edward James Olmos" pp. 155-159 In Henderson, Ashyia N. (editor) (2002) Contempoary Hispanic Biography, Volume 1 Gale, Detroit, page 156, ISBN 0-7876-6538-X
