George Alvarez is a Cuban-American actor known for his work on the

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

s ''

General Hospital ''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera. It is listed in ''Guinness World Records'' as the list of longest-running television shows by category, longest-running American soap opera in pro ...

'', ''

Port Charles ''Port Charles'' (commonly abbreviated as ''PC'') is an American television soap opera that aired on ABC from June 1, 1997, to October 3, 2003. It was a spin-off of the series ''General Hospital'', which has been running since 1963 and takes pl ...

'' and ''

Guiding Light ''Guiding Light'' (known as ''The Guiding Light'' before 1975) is an American radio and television soap opera. It is listed in ''Guinness World Records'' as the third longest-running drama in television in American history. ''Guiding Light'' a ...

''.

Early life

George Alvarez was born in Cuba. His family emigrated to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

in the 1950s, and Alvarez grew up in

West New York, New Jersey West New York is a town in the northern part of Hudson County, New Jersey, United States, situated upon the New Jersey Palisades. As of the 2020 United States census, the town's population was 52,912. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates ...

. He graduated from

Memorial High School Memorial High School may refer to: United States As ''Memorial High School'' alone *Memorial High School (Millville, New Jersey) *Memorial High School (West New York, New Jersey) *Memorial High School (St. Marys, Ohio) * Memorial High School (Tul ...

. He subsequently studied advertising at

Parsons School of Design Parsons School of Design, known colloquially as Parsons, is a private art and design college located in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City. Founded in 1896 after a group of progressive artists broke away from established Manhatt ...

in Manhattan but eventually decided that he did not wish to pursue that field solely to make money, preferring something that would allow him to more fully express his artistic side. McConnell, Elizabeth
"Man of the cloth: West New Yorker digs into role on daytime drama"
''

The Hudson Reporter ''The Hudson Reporter'' is a newspaper chain based in Hudson County, New Jersey. ''The Hudson Reporter'' publications mainly focus on local politics and community news. The oldest newspaper in the chain is the '' Hoboken Reporter'', founded in 1983 ...

'', May 7, 2000. Accessed August 29, 2019. "Alvarez, who grew up in West New York after his family emigrated here from Cuba in the late 1950s, wasn’t heading toward a life on screen when he graduated from Memorial High School. He went to Parsons School of Design, but balked at the idea of taking a job in an advertising agency to make money rather than pursuing art."

Career

Alvarez worked at

Studio 54 Studio 54 is a Broadway theater and a former disco nightclub at 254 West 54th Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Operated by the Roundabout Theatre Company, Studio 54 has 1,006 seats on two levels. The theater was ...

in its original heyday, and through the connections he made there, he responded to a casting call for a film. He got the part, but the project, and early attempt to adapt the

Anne Rice Anne Rice (born Howard Allen Frances O'Brien; October 4, 1941 – December 11, 2021) was an American author of gothic fiction, erotic literature, and Christian literature. She was best known for her series of novels ''The Vampire Chronicles''. B ...

novel ''

Interview with the Vampire ''Interview with the Vampire'' is a gothic horror and vampire novel by American author Anne Rice, published in 1976. It was her debut novel. Based on a short story Rice wrote around 1968, the novel centers on vampire Louis de Pointe du Lac, w ...

''. Nonetheless, Alvarez realized that acting was what he wished to do, saying, "You get to pretend, get to be a kid again, and get paid well to do it." After doing some theater work in New York, Alvarez moved to Los Angeles to more easily find film and television work. He also began to develop a passion for writing screenplays. In the 1990s Alvarez got a two-day part on the soap opera ''

'', which led to a long-term role on that show's spinoff, ''

''. In 1999, when the series ''

'', which films in New York, sought to develop the role of Ray Santos, Alvarez, who was eager to return to New York to be with his growing sons, took the part.

Personal life

Alvarez has two sons. As of 2000, he lives in his childhood home, a brownstone on

Boulevard East Boulevard East (officially John F. Kennedy Boulevard East, and sometimes referred to as JFK Boulevard East) is a two-way, mostly two lane, scenic county road in the North Hudson, New Jersey municipalities of Weehawken, West New York, Guttenberg a ...

, that he had renovated when he returned to the East Coast in 1999.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Alvarez, George 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors Male actors from New Jersey American male film actors Year of birth missing (living people) Cuban emigrants to the United States Living people Memorial High School (West New York, New Jersey) alumni People from West New York, New Jersey