José Reymundí (July 13, 1940 – October 7, 2017) was Puerto Rican

Telenovela A telenovela is a type of a television serial drama or soap opera produced primarily in Latin America. The word combines ''tele'' (for "television") and ''novela'' (meaning "novel"). Similar drama genres around the world include '' teleserye'' ...

and stage actor.

Early years

José Reymundi who was popularly known as Pepe, was born on July 31, 1940, in the town of

Rio Grande, Puerto Rico Rio or Río is the Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, and Maltese word for "river". When spoken on its own, the word often means Rio de Janeiro, a major city in Brazil. Rio or Río may also refer to: Geography Brazil * Rio de Janeiro * Rio do Sul, a ...

. While studying in the public schools of Rio Grande in the 1950s, Reymundí traveled to Cuba during the revolution and participated in the resistance in favor of

Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (; ; 13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 200 ...

. He worked alongside his father in the family furniture store and the

Don Q Don Q is a Puerto Rican rum, distilled, manufactured, bottled, and distributed by Destilería Serrallés from its corporate facility in Ponce, Puerto Rico. Don Q, "Puerto Rico's best-known rum", is the top-selling rum in Puerto Rico, where ov ...

rum distillery, but he continued to perform in the theater.

Acting career

After finishing his studies in Puerto Rico, José Reymundí moved to

Mexico City, Mexico Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley of Mex ...

where he studied theater at the Cinematographic, Theatrical and Radio and Television Institute, better known as the Andrés Soler Instituted. Returned to Puerto Rico and joined an acting academy run by Edmundo Rivera Álvarez. In 1961 Reymundi began in television in the program "Teatro Carnation" on Telemundo channel 2. In 1962 he joined the

Puerto Rico National Guard The Puerto Rico National Guard (PRNG) – es, Guardia Nacional de Puerto Rico– is the national guard of the U.S. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. The Constitution of the United States specifically charges the National Guard with dual federal and s ...

and stepped away from acting for six months due to the training requirements. In the 1970s,

Tommy Muñiz Lucas Tomás Muñiz Ramírez (4 February 1922 – 15 January 2009), better known as Tommy Muñiz, was a Puerto Rico, Puerto Rican comedy and drama actor, media producer, businessman and network owner. He is considered to be one of the pioneerin ...

recruited him to do soap operas but n 1973 he started a strike against Tommy Muñiz because he hired Cuban actor

Héctor Travieso Héctor Travieso is an actor, comedian, and television host from Cuba. Travieso immigrated to Puerto Rico and has an extensive career in telenovelas. He hosted '' SuperXclusivo'', and La Comay serving as sidekick A sidekick is a slang expressi ...

to start in the telenovela "Marta" and did not consider him for the role. A couple of years later he went back to work for Muñiz as a comedian joining the cast of the shows "Ja Ja, Ji Ji, Jo Jo con Agrelot", "Esto no tiene nombre" and "La criada Malcriada". Reymundí did stage acting from 1966 to 1999. He also worked for Manolo Urquiza to join Telemundo and work on the melodramas produced by Angel del Cerro.

Telenovelas (soap operas)

*''"Marta Lloréns"'' *''"Tanairí"'' *''"Viernes social"'' *''"Alejandra"'' *''"Andrea"'' *''"Pacto de amor"'' *''"Apartamento de solteras"''

Death

José Reymundí suffered from

Alzheimer's Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As t ...

, he died on October 7, 2007, in

San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan (, , ; Spanish for "Saint John") is the capital city and most populous municipality in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2020 census, it is the 57th-largest city under the jur ...

at the age of 77https://www.elnuevodia.com/entretenimiento/farandula/notas/fallece-el-actor-jose-reymundi-tras-una-larga-enfermedad/

References

1940 births 2017 deaths Deaths from Alzheimer's disease in the United States Neurological disease deaths in Puerto Rico People from Río Grande, Puerto Rico Puerto Rican male soap opera actors Puerto Rican male television actors Puerto Rican male stage actors Puerto Rican male telenovela actors Puerto Rico National Guard personnel {{PuertoRico-bio-stub