Emilio Delgado (1940-2022) — “Luis”
Emilio Delgado was born in California, spending his early childhood on both sides of the international border in a large extended family in Calexico and Mexicali, Mexico.
Emilio Delgado (1940-2022) was born in California, spending his early childhood on both sides of the international border in a large extended family in Calexico and Mexicali, Mexico.
It was in middle school in Calexico that his interest in acting began and continued throughout high school and college. It was in Los Angeles in 1968 that Delgado began his professional acting career in the Emmy Award-winning PBS series Canción De La Raza (Song Of The People) KCET-LA. In 1971, the producers of Sesame Street went to Los Angeles in 1971 and cast Emilio as Luis. The role of Luis was significant because it offered a long-overdue positive portrayal of Mexican Americans on television. Emilio had the longest running part for a Mexican American actor in a continuing television series for his 44 years on Sesame Street. In 2018 Delgado celebrated his 50th year as a professional actor with rave reviews in his starring role in Quixote Nuevo at California Shakespeare Theater.
Theater performances include Hamlet Prince of Cuba (Asolo Repertory), How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents (Round House Theater), Night Over Taos (Off Broadway), A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings (NJ Shakespeare), Dismiss All the Poets (NY Fringe Festival). Recent television appearances include Law & Order, Criminal Intent, Law & Order: SVU, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, House of Cards, and The Get Down. Recent films include iGilbert and A Case of You. You can hear his familiar voice on commercials, narration, animation, video games and books on Audible. For a more complete list of Emilio’s fiilm and television credits, please refer to IMDB. Delgado also enjoyed being a guest singer with the band Pink Martini at Carnegie Hall, The Hollywood Bowl, and other venues in New York, Portland, Los Angeles, Seattle and Montreal. Additionally, he recorded Joe Raposo’s ‘Sing’ on their album Splendor in the Grass.
Some notable awards he received include The Impact Award from the National Hispanic Media Coalition, The HOLA Ilka Award, and the Keys to the cities of Cincinnati and Omaha. Some of the organizations Emilio volunteered for include Workers, Head Start, 52nd Street Project, Alphabet Rockers, and Project Sunshine. Emilio and his wife Carole lived in Manhattan and were avid world travelers.
